The turquoise family
The word comes from the French for “Turkish”, because the stone reached Europe through Turkey. Real turquoise ranges from sky blue to green, and the named colours cover the same spread.
| Name | HEX | Hue / lightness |
|---|---|---|
| Turquoise (CSS) | #40E0D0 | 174°, 56% |
| Medium turquoise (CSS) | #48D1CC | 178°, 55%; slightly softer |
| Dark turquoise (CSS) | #00CED1 | 181°, 41%; more saturated, bluer |
| Turquoise (name list) | #06C2AC | 173°, 39%; deeper and greener, closer to the stone |
Dark turquoise has lower lightness on paper (41% against 56%), yet it is fully saturated, so it still looks vivid rather than dark. What it really drops is the soft, milky quality of the lighter one.
Turquoise vs aqua
Aqua in CSS is #00FFFF, exactly the same as cyan. It is pure, maximum-strength blue plus green, and it is much more electric than turquoise. Turquoise has red mixed in (64 out of 255) and a hue slightly towards green, which is why it looks like a natural colour while aqua looks like a screen colour. If you want an aqua that sits comfortably in a design, start from turquoise and push it bluer, rather than starting from #00FFFF.
Text and turquoise
Turquoise is light, so text on it should be dark: black scores 12.79:1 and navy 9.75:1. White manages 1.64:1. Turquoise text on a white page is equally weak; use it for icons and accents, and keep the words dark.
Pairings
Coral is the classic partner: they are near opposites on the wheel, which gives a beachy, tropical feel. Tan and white bring out the sand-and-sea look; navy grounds it for something less holiday-like. Turquoise with silver jewellery-style accents is another familiar combination, from the stone's use in Southwestern US silverwork.
Questions
What is the RGB value of turquoise?
rgb(64, 224, 208); HSL hsl(174, 72%, 56%).
Is turquoise the same as teal?
Same hue family, very different lightness. See teal for the darker version and how text behaves on it.