Silver vs gray (and a CSS oddity)
As a flat colour, silver is simply a light grey. The CSS greys come from two old lists that were merged, and the result is a famous quirk: darkgray is lighter than gray.
| Keyword | HEX | Lightness | Black text |
|---|---|---|---|
| lightgray | #D3D3D3 | 83% | 14.03:1 |
| silver | #C0C0C0 | 75% | 11.54:1 |
| darkgray | #A9A9A9 | 66% | 8.94:1 |
| gray | #808080 | 50% | 5.32:1 |
gray and silver come from the original 16 HTML colours; darkgray and lightgray came from the X11 list, which defined grey differently. Nobody fixed it, for backward compatibility. If you need a predictable scale, write HEX values instead of keywords.
Making silver look like metal
On screen, a metal look comes from contrast between highlights and shadows, not from the base colour. A gradient across light and dark greys does most of the work:
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F5F5F5 0%, #C0C0C0 45%, #808080 55%, #D3D3D3 100%);The quick drop from light to dark in the middle mimics a reflected horizon line, which is what makes chrome read as chrome. Try variations in the gradient generator.
What goes with silver
Silver is cool and neutral, so it partners naturally with blues and with black; silver text on navy reads at 8.80:1. Burgundy adds warmth for a winter or anniversary palette. Avoid white text on silver: 1.82:1.
Questions
What is silver in RGB?
rgb(192, 192, 192).
Is silver the same as light grey?
As a flat colour, yes, it is a light grey. The difference is only in finish, which a single colour code cannot capture.