Color Meanings for Mood Necklaces and Rings

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Learn how mood necklaces work and whether they’re truly accurate

Co-authored by Dan Hickey Reviewed by Stina Garbis

Last Updated: March 4, 2026 Fact Checked

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Color Meanings

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How does it work?

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Are they accurate?

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Choosing Mood Jewelry

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Maintenance

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Why are they so popular?

Mood necklaces and rings have been around since the ‘70s, and our fascination with them never seems to end! These unique jewelry pieces change colors as your body temperature rises and falls, indicating your underlying mood. But what exactly do the colors mean, and how accurate are mood stones? We’ve got all the answers you’re looking for below, along with insight into how they work and tips to take care of your necklace so it can sense your mood for years to come.

Mood Necklace Color Chart

Generally, cool colors represent calm and happy feelings, while warm colors represent more energetic, agitated, or anxious feelings. Neutral colors like brown, gray, and black indicate sadness, distress, or anxiety. The number of colors your mood necklace shows depends on the manufacturer of the mood stone.

Section 1 of 6:

Common Color Meanings for Mood Necklace

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Blue: Relaxed, at ease, calm A soothing blue color on your mood necklace indicates you’re feeling calm, relaxed, happy, and serene.^{[1]
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Research source} Most mood stones are a blue, blue-green, or green color when you’re at your “base level” (not particularly agitated, but not particularly sad or down either).
- Lots of people mistakenly think blue equates to sadness or depression (like you’re “feeling blue”). Instead, think of blue’s calm and tranquil vibes.
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Green: Average, calm, not under stress Like blue, a green mood necklace color indicates you’re feeling pretty calm, upbeat, and content. You might be a little more active when your mood stone is green compared to blue, but they both indicate that you’re feeling pretty good!^{[2]
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- In general, cool colors like blues, greens, and sometimes purples indicate calm and happy moods, while warm colors like yellows, oranges, and reds reveal more stress and anxiety.
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As we move into the warm colors, you may feel more anxiety or uneasiness. When your mood stone is yellow or amber, you might be jittery, confused, or a little bit nervous, indicating a small amount of stress or maybe excitement (they feel a little similar sometimes, don’t they?).^{[3]
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Think of orange as a more intense yellow—you may be feeling a bit more agitated, uneasy, or nervous. Like yellow, though, this could also indicate a sense of excitement, positive energy, or adventure.^{[4]
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Research source} It all depends on what you’re experiencing in the moment.
A red mood stone indicates you’re feeling passionate or excited about something. Exactly what this means for your mood depends on your circumstances—you could be passionately angry on one hand or very enthusiastic about something on the other.^{[5]
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Pink isn’t a common color on mood necklaces or rings, but if yours has it, it usually means you’re in a cheery, affectionate mood. A pink mood tends to be less active and passionate than red and a little less romantic or amorous than purple.^{[6]
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Purple/violet: Passionate, excited, very happy Not all mood necklaces and rings have a purple or violet color, but when they do, it generally indicates a super excited, romantic, or very happy feeling.^{[7]
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Research source} Love and passion might just be in the air!
- Violet or purple typically indicates the highest body temperature readings.^{[8]
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Brown: Nervous, anxious, cool If your necklace or ring turns brown, you may be feeling cautious, distracted, or aloof. While warm colors indicate higher levels of agitation or anxiety, neutrals like brown, gray, or black skew more towards fear, stress, and sadness.
- Brown might also indicate that your stone has water damage and can’t change colors as a result.
If your mood stone is gray, you may feel strained by something causing you anxiety or fear.^{[9]
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Research source} Gray (or black) usually indicates the coolest body temperature readings.^{[10]
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Black: Afraid, stressed, sad, overwhelmed Black represents the peak of negative emotions, including fear, stress, sadness or depression, or being overwhelmed.^{[11]
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Research source} Like gray, black indicates the coolest body temperature your mood stone can react to.
- A black color can also indicate that your mood necklace is broken or has water damage, and the stone has turned black as a result.

Section 2 of 6:

How do mood necklaces and rings work?

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Mood necklaces contain crystals that react to your body temperature. Mood stones are usually made of hollow quartz or glass shells that contain thermochromic liquid crystals (like the liquid in an LCD display) that change color as your body temperature rises or falls. The temperature changes affect the crystals’ molecular structure, which alters the wavelengths of light they can absorb or reflect. This simple science is what powers mood necklaces, rings, and bracelets!^{[12]
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- Technically, mood stones don’t detect your mood directly. They detect changes in body temperature, which are then associated with different moods.

Section 3 of 6:

Why Mood Necklaces Aren’t So Accurate

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Your body temperature and mood are not as linked as you might think. Yes, it’s true that your mood can influence your body temperature, causing your mood necklace to change colors. However, mood isn’t the only factor that affects your body temperature. Your activity level, the heat of your environment, your health, and your unique physiology can also cause your temperature to go up or down, resulting in a “wrong” mood color.^{[13]
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- For example, if you’re perfectly calm and content, your body temperature may be average (a blue or green color). But, if you were to enjoy a piping hot cup of tea to help you relax, this could make your temperature rise, even though your mood hasn’t changed.
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Different mood stones have different color properties. Unfortunately, not all mood stones are created equally. Mood stones made by different manufacturers might show different colors at the same temperature. One necklace might be red while another might be green, even though your temperature (and mood) hasn’t changed!
- Not all mood stones have the same range of colors, either. For example, the original mood ring only displayed amber, green, blue, violet, black, and gray.^{[14]
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- Some types of mood stones, like those made with Leuco dyes, only include a colored, colorless, and intermediate state.
- Any tint in the quartz, glass, or plastic casing around the liquid crystals could also affect their color.
Since mood stones are temperature-dependent, where you wear them can affect their color. Your chest is warmer than your fingers, for example, so the same stone might turn a warmer color in a necklace than it would in a ring.^{[15]
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Ultimately, you’ll have to wear the same stone in the same spot for a while to pick up on how its unique makeup changes color with your body temperature. This might be a good thing, though—it means that only you will really know what the colors on your ring mean, making it a more personal and unique accessory.

Section 4 of 6:

Choosing Mood Jewelry

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Take your pick of mood necklaces, rings, or bracelets. Mood stones aren’t just dazzling in necklaces—they also make great rings and bracelets, too! For the best results, look for mood stones or beads that lie flat against your skin to pick up your temperature more accurately.
- Some stones and beads may touch your skin directly (like a beaded mood bracelet), while others have a sterling silver or gold-plated layer that goes between the stone and your skin (like the band of a mood ring). The look and style are totally up to your preference.
- Some jewelry, like necklaces and rings, features one stone. Others, like bracelets, may feature many stones or beads, meaning you can potentially have a rainbow of colors due to slight temperature variations between the stones.
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Or, make your own jewelry with thermochromic mood stones or beads. It’s simple (and pretty cheap) to make your own mood jewelry! All you need is a chain or string (for necklaces or bracelets), a ring (for mood rings), and one or more color-changing stones or beads.
- For necklaces: Wire wrap your stone and attach it to a chain or string.
- For bracelets: Slide color-changing beads onto a string, chain, or elastic band and secure it around your wrist.
- For rigs: Make a wire ring and wrap your stone in it, or attach the stone to a metal ring with clear glue or adhesive.

Section 5 of 6:

Mood Necklace Maintenance

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Store your jewelry in a dry, room-temperature location to extend its life. Most mood necklaces and rings don’t last forever (a few years to a few decades at most), but you can get more wear out of them by storing them safely. Keep them away from moisture (i.e., don’t store them in the bathroom) and make sure they stay cool or at room temperature, as high heat can cause irreversible damage.^{[16]
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- A jewelry box or drawer that doesn’t get direct sunlight is the smartest place to keep mood necklaces or rings.
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Avoid wearing mood jewelry in extreme temperatures or watery settings. Water, high humidity, or extreme heat can permanently alter or damage the stone. The liquid crystals in mood necklaces (especially old or vintage ones) are highly susceptible to water damage. A tiny bit of moisture in the crystal can make it turn “unresponsive” and stay a black, brown, or gray color. Extreme heat (like leaving your mood necklace in direct sunlight for a long time) can also damage the stone and affect how (or if) it changes color.^{[17]
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- For example, wearing your mood necklace to the beach might seem fun, but that’s actually one of the worst places you could bring it!

Section 6 of 6:

Why are mood necklaces so popular?

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Mood jewelry is a whimsical way to express yourself that many enjoy. Mood rings were invented in 1975 in New York and were an instant commercial success. The allure of a piece of jewelry that could change colors and “show your mood” was wildly popular, and mood rings and necklaces were a big fad throughout the mid-70s. (The 70s was the decade of the New Age movement and experimental trends in wellness, so mood jewelry fit right in.)^{[18]
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- The mood ring market quickly became oversaturated, and the craze died down by 1976 or ‘77, but the jewelry continued to reemerge in nostalgic throwback trends in the 80s, 90s, and even today.
- Mood rings were so popular at first that a silver-plated ring could sell for $45 (and gold rings could cost up to $250!). Thankfully, prices today are much lower.