Pantone Gold Colors
57 colors in the gold family
Pantone Gold covers the warm yellow-brown spectrum - from bright golden yellow like Pantone 116 C through classic old golds like Pantone 124 C and deep amber tones such as Pantone 4505 C. Our catalog shows 57 gold-family colors, each with a unique code, HEX value, and CMYK print equivalent.
| Total colors | 57 |
|---|---|
| Hue range | 45° to 55° |
| Lightness range | 34% to 76% |
| Saturation range | 38% to 100% |
| Light / Medium / Dark | 20 / 35 / 2 |
Featured Pantone Gold colors
Twelve well-known gold codes with full values, shades, harmonies and contrast checks on each color page.
Pantone Gold shades by lightness
Gold-family colors break naturally into three lightness bands. Light golds - pale champagne, cream gold, bright yellow-gold - sit above 65 percent lightness and read as soft and understated. Medium golds - classic "old gold," warm brass, and the recognizable brand golds - sit between 35 and 65 percent lightness and carry the bulk of the family's visual weight. Dark golds - deep amber, antique gold, and near-brown gold - sit below 35 percent lightness and read as grounded, antique, or premium.
How to match Pantone Gold in design
Matching Pantone gold in design starts with deciding flat gold versus metallic gold, then choosing a hue direction, then verifying against a physical proof. For flat gold - the standard choice for four-color printing and screen work - pick a hue direction: bright yellow-gold (Pantone 116 C) feels energetic and youthful, mid-tone old gold (Pantone 124 C) feels traditional and warm, deep brass-gold (Pantone 4505 C) feels grounded and antique. For metallic gold, specify Pantone Premium Metallic codes (871 C, 872 C, 873 C) and accept that no screen preview will match the printed result. Always pair gold with strong supporting colors - gold on white often looks flat, while gold on navy or chocolate brown reads as luxurious. And for brand-critical gold, proof on the actual stock under actual lighting - gold is the family where screen accuracy is at its worst.
Common mistakes with Pantone Gold
Confusing flat gold with metallic gold - flat golds are matte yellow-brown inks, metallic golds have reflective pigment, and they look completely different in print
Trusting a screen preview of gold - screens cannot reproduce metallic reflection, so digital previews of gold are inherently misleading
Using gold on white without supporting contrast - gold alone on a white background often looks flat and cheap; it needs darker supporting colors to feel premium
Using too much gold - gold is most effective in small quantities; large gold areas often read as gaudy rather than luxurious
Assuming Pantone 871 C and 872 C look like the flat golds - the metallic codes are physically different inks with a different finish, and specifying them changes the production process and cost
All 57 Pantone Gold colors
Every color in this family, from pale tints to deep shades. Open any color for HEX, RGB, CMYK, shades, harmonies and contrast checks.
Questions about Pantone Gold
What is the Pantone code for gold?
There is no single "gold" in the Pantone system - gold is a perceptual category spanning warm yellow-browns. For flat (non-metallic) gold, the most common codes are Pantone 116 C, 124 C, and 1235 C. For metallic gold, the standard codes are Pantone 871 C, 872 C, and 873 C from the Premium Metallic library. The right code depends on whether you need a flat ink or a reflective metallic finish.
What is the difference between Pantone 871 C and 116 C?
Pantone 871 C is a metallic gold - a special ink with reflective metallic particles that produces a shiny, reflective finish. Pantone 116 C is a flat (non-metallic) golden yellow - a standard ink that produces a matte yellow-gold. The two are fundamentally different in print behavior: 871 C reflects light and looks metallic, while 116 C looks like a warm flat yellow. 871 C is more expensive, requires a dedicated spot plate, and cannot be reproduced on screen accurately.
What is the Pantone code for old gold?
Pantone 124 C is the classic "old gold" - a deep, warm golden yellow that has a slightly aged or antique feel. Pantone 1245 C is a slightly darker old gold, and Pantone 4505 C is a deeper brass-gold that reads as antique gold in premium contexts. The choice between them depends on how dark and how "aged" you want the gold to appear - 124 C is the most common "classic old gold" reference.
How many Pantone golds are there?
There is no formal Pantone "gold" family - the standard Pantone system has no numbered gold series. Our catalog shows 57 gold-family colors using a hue and saturation filter that captures the warm yellow-amber range most people perceive as gold. The metallic golds (Pantone 871 C through 877 C and the metallic coated family) are a separate library and are not typically classified in our base-color pages.
Why does gold look different on screen than in print?
Gold is highly sensitive to both display rendering and print behavior. On screen, gold is rendered as a flat yellow-brown color - the display cannot reproduce metallic reflection, so metallic gold looks nothing like its screen preview. In print, gold shifts based on paper stock: coated paper preserves brightness, uncoated paper mutes it, and metallic gold on any paper reflects light differently under different lighting conditions. For gold-critical work - packaging, awards, luxury branding - always proof on the actual stock under actual lighting; no digital preview is a reliable substitute.