Mood Necklace Colors and Meanings: Full Color Chart

Mood Necklace Color Chart: What Each Color Means

Every mood necklace color means roughly what the chart below says, ordered from the coolest reading to the warmest. There is no industry standard, so exact shades and the temperature behind them differ from one maker to the next. Use the order of the colors as your guide, not a single fixed number.

Some makers put the warmest color at red, some at purple or even a final black for overheating, so if your necklace skips a color or reverses two, it is probably just that stone's calibration. If you want the same chart for rings, see the mood ring color chart, which covers the ring versions in detail.

What Do the Moods on a Mood Necklace Mean?

The moods on a mood necklace are a folk chart that pairs each color with an emotion, and the pairing is a convention, not a scientific scale. Three groups are easy to remember: dark colors (black, gray, brown) stand for tension or cold, middle colors (amber, green, teal) stand for neutral to calm, and cool-bright to warm colors (blue, purple, pink, red) stand for relaxed to excited. The meaning only works as a conversation starter, and it is not medical or psychological information.

What Does Purple Mean on a Mood Necklace?

Purple on a mood necklace traditionally means romantic, emotional or inspired. On most stones it appears near the warm end of the color range, so it often shows up when you are warm and relaxed, or just after being flushed. Different makers place purple differently, and on some stones purple is the very coolest color rather than the warmest, so check it against your own baseline. For a closer look at shades, read what purple means on a mood ring.

What Does Green Mean on a Mood Necklace?

Green on a mood necklace traditionally means calm and balanced, and on many stones it is simply the color you see when you are at rest in a comfortable room. If yours is green most of the day, that is a sign it is calibrated to your normal skin temperature, not that you are secretly bored. See what green means on a mood ring for the shade differences.

What Do Blue, Dark Blue and Teal Mean on a Mood Necklace?

Blue means relaxed and happy, teal sits between green and blue and means at ease, and dark blue means deeply relaxed. These are the colors most people hope to see, and they usually appear when your skin is warm, such as in a cozy room or after a warm drink. Read what blue means on a mood ring for more on the lighter and darker shades.

What Do Pink and Red Mean on a Mood Necklace?

Pink means affectionate and warm, and red means excited or energized. Because both are the warm end of the scale, exercise, a hot shower or standing in the sun can produce them with no emotion involved. More shade detail is in pink and red guides for mood rings.

What Does Black Mean on a Mood Necklace?

Black on a mood necklace traditionally means stressed, but the more likely explanation is that the stone is cold or no longer working. A pendant hangs on a chain under clothing and is often cooler than a finger, so a black reading is common in air conditioning or winter air. Hold the pendant in your closed hand for about a minute: if it changes color, the stone is fine and was simply cold. If it stays black, it has probably worn out. The ring version is covered in what black means on a mood ring.

How Does a Mood Necklace Work?

A mood necklace works by sealing a heat-sensitive color-changing material, usually thermochromic liquid crystals, inside the pendant, so the stone shows a different color as its temperature changes. The pendant does not sense emotion at all. It reacts to the warmth of the stone, which depends on your skin, the clothes over it and the air around you. The full mechanism is explained in how mood rings work, and the same science applies to necklaces.

Are Mood Necklaces Accurate?

Mood necklaces are accurate as rough temperature indicators and unreliable as mood detectors. Stress, calm and excitement can change skin warmth, so a link sometimes shows up, but room temperature, clothing, exercise and how snug the pendant sits matter just as much. Treat the color as a talking point, not a diagnosis. A necklace also tends to read cooler and less reactive than a ring, since a pendant rests on or above clothing rather than skin that is constantly warmed. If you feel unwell or anxious, general information like this is no substitute for asking a doctor.

Why Is My Mood Necklace Reading Wrong?

A mood necklace reads wrong when something other than your mood is warming or cooling the pendant. Check this short list first.

• Stuck on black: cold air, a thick sweater between the pendant and skin, or a worn-out stone. Do the one minute hand-warming test above.
• Different color indoors and out: the stone responds to air temperature too, so moving between rooms changes it.
• Opposite of how you feel: skin warmth does not always follow feelings, and caffeine or a warm room can shift it.
• Never changes: the seal may have let moisture in, or the stone has aged out.

Mood jewelry is usually not built to get wet, so take it off before showers, swimming or washing up, and wipe it dry if it gets splashed. Check the maker's care note for the exact piece you own.

Mood Necklace or Mood Ring: Which Is Easier to Read?

A mood ring is usually easier to read because it sits against skin that warms and cools quickly, while a necklace sits on a chain and changes more slowly. Neither is an instrument. If you mainly want the color chart, the mood ring color chart is a good companion to this page.

What If You Want Color Meaning Without the Color Change?

We do not currently sell color-changing mood jewelry, so none of our product pages describe a color-changing stone. If what you like is a necklace that carries a color and a meaning, birthstone necklaces do that in a fixed way. For example, the January Garnet Infinity Birthstone Necklace is 925 sterling silver at $59.99, and the Heart Initial Necklace is 18K gold plated over a base metal at $34.99. Plating wears gradually, so keep it away from water and perfume. Browse birthstone necklaces, personalized jewelry or the birthstone necklace guide, and see the jewelry gift finder if you are shopping for someone else. US orders ship free.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do the colors on a mood necklace mean?

The colors run from black (stressed or cold) through green (calm) and blue (relaxed) to purple, pink and red (romantic, warm or excited). The chart above gives each color, its traditional mood and the everyday cause that can mimic it.

What does purple mean on a mood necklace?

Purple traditionally means romantic, emotional or inspired. On most stones it sits at the warm end, but makers differ, so compare it with your own baseline.

What does green mean on a mood necklace?

Green traditionally means calm and balanced. On many stones it is the color you see at rest in a comfortable room.

What does blue or dark blue mean on a mood necklace?

Blue means relaxed and happy, and dark blue means deeply relaxed. Both usually appear when the pendant is warm.

What does it mean if my mood necklace stays black?

Most often the stone is cold, or it has worn out. Warm the pendant in your closed hand for about a minute: if it changes color it still works, and if not, it has likely reached the end of its life.

How does a mood necklace work?

It holds a heat-sensitive, color-changing material that shows a different color as its temperature changes. It reacts to warmth, not to feelings.

Are mood necklaces accurate?

They are accurate as rough temperature indicators but unreliable as mood detectors, since room temperature, clothing and activity also change the color. Treat them as a fun guide.

Can a mood necklace get wet?

Generally it is best not to, because moisture can damage the color-changing material. Remove it before water and follow the maker's care note.

Do you sell mood necklaces?

No, we do not currently sell color-changing mood jewelry. We do offer birthstone and personalized necklaces with fixed colors, linked above.

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