These Are the Rarest Colors on Earth Rare colors around the world
Scientists estimate that the human eye can distinguish up to 10 million colors. That’s pretty impressive, considering the interesting fact that we only have three types of color-perceiving rods in our retinas: red, green and blue. But when you think about all the different shades and tones in each color category, what sounds like a weird fact at first begins to make more sense. The seven best-known hues of all, of course, are the colors of the rainbow. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet have been commonly known as ROYGBIV for years, an unwavering rainbow fact. But with 9,999,993 other colors out there just waiting to be seen, we thought it was time to investigate rare colors around the world.
We’ve rounded up the coolest and rarest colors, from killer pigments (literally) to science-fiction shades that could leave your zodiac power color in the dust. There are colors you can only see in ancient art, some accidentally invented in the lab and colors you shouldn’t have in your bedroom—at least if you ever intend to share it.
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Ultramarine blue
This gorgeous blue paint shade was once such a rare color, the cost often exceeded the price of gold. Artists would wait for months for shipments to come in. The pigment was made from grinding lapis lazuli, a gem found mostly in Afghanistan. Its rarity meant that it was used very sparingly, and it was usually reserved for extremely special uses, such as painting the cloak of the Virgin Mary in religious artworks. In the late 1820s, synthetic ultramarine began to be manufactured in France and Germany, replacing the expensive and labor-intensive process of mining, shipping and grinding up lapis lazuli. It’s not nearly as much work to create a stunning home color scheme.
