By Jennifer Heebner, Editor in Chief
It’s quite the coincidence that “Brat Green,” the limey, slime-suggestive color of this summer, winds down in Peridot season.
The term “Brat Green” was coined on June 7 when U.K. pop star Charli XCX’s new album Brat debuted. The album’s cover color is this in-your-face neon green similar to Peridot, while the music has amassed more than 15 million Spotify streams and took the No. 3 spot on the Billboard 200.
Brat has become a phenomenon, inspiring hashtags like #bratsummer and #bratstyle, and vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has even adopted Brat Green and the album’s Arial font for use on her X account. (This happened after Charli tweeted out some love for the veep on the social platform.)
This isn’t the first time anyone has seen Brat Green—it’s been a fixture on couture runways—but Charli brings it back because it resonates with brats: “It girls—the bona fide brats of the world whose personal style skews more irreverent than effortless,” pens Marie Claire.
Brat Green isn’t a calming color like blue, and its use aims to capture the “complex nature of womanhood, often riddled with oxymorons and contradictions,” according to Town & Country. “[Brat Green] is to be indulgent and chaotic, authentic, messy, and earnest.”
The shade has had limited appeal, until now, perhaps. With a summer of promotion under its belt, Brat Green could have some staying power for fall.
In the jewelry world, the most obvious color match is Peridot, though most have mixed feelings about it. Jewelry Designer Diana Widman of the eponymous firm loves it, but admittedly doesn’t have much of it in her line.
“A lot of my work is in green,” she says. “I use a lot of teals, tsavorite Garnet, and watery Montana green Sapphires.”
Shivam Poddar of Shivam Imports isn’t a fan of Peridot and hasn’t had any calls for it because of Brat Green but admits to seeing the hue “everywhere” this summer. He thinks that besides Peridot, other similar color options exist in Prehnite, Sphene, and even some Emeralds.
A flip through AGTA’s 21st Edition Source Directory turns up even more: green Zircon, Chrysoberyl, demantoid Garnet, green Diamonds, and Chrysoprase, to name a few.
Raja Mehta of AG Gems & Jewelry, Inc., thinks the color is refreshing and his buyers appreciate it when fine qualities are available. One of his most recent creations is an 18.02 ct. light green Tourmaline flanked by yellow Diamonds—a combination that is “happy, bright, and has an energy you can feel,” he says.
Peridot-like colors can even be found in the Jade family, according to Jordan Wentz of Mason-Kay Jade. Yellow-green Jade has a Peridot-like hue, which Wentz considers edgy and a color that one might wear to a rave. “It’s a glow-in-the-dark, vibrant, excited color for the nocturnal and social,” she muses.
Jane Taylor’s Cleo Zancope learned about Brat Green on Instagram and notes its fortuitous timing ahead of August’s original birthstone. While she loves grass green, she can’t muster much affection for Peridot—even though it’s her birthstone.
“I was so happy when Spinel was added as a birthstone,” she reveals. “Because I’m an August baby I have a personal relationship with Peridot. I love admiring it, but I don’t love wearing it.”
For that reason, there’s not much of it in her and her mother Jane’s jewelry line, but her conflicted feelings about the color are ever present.
“The color of my nails now is Brat Green,” she says. “I have an on-and-off relationship with it.”
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