The color of the precious stone Beryl, from the Greek Berullos. The colour was standardised in 1934. The Green Beryl is coloured by the presence of iron, the gem can vary from translucent to transparent, which results in increasing the shine and brilliance of the gem.
It is so called because the colour is the shade of grey from the specular, micaceous hematite paint used for rustproofing iron and steel battleships.
The darker of the two ship greys of our colour standard. A colour standardised in 1934
A descriptive name. The colour is characteristic of one of many tones found in coal ash. The use of this colour in interior decoration particularly in carpets, paint and laminated plastics is comparatively modern.
The first recorded use of ash grey as a colour name in English was in 1374.
