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DESIGN8 min read· Oct 9, 2026

The Ultimate Guide to Copper Color Codes, Hex Codes, and Shades of Copper

Copper is the warmest of the metals — an orange-brown with a reddish glow that shows up in cookware, lighting, jewelry, interiors, and craft packaging. It sits between gold and bronze: less yellow than gold, more orange than brown. Like the other metals, copper only reads as copper when its highlights and reflections survive; a flat fill of the same hex looks like plain tan-orange. In this guide we list the documented copper hex codes with their RGB, HSL, and CMYK values, note where each name comes from, and show how to recolor a product to copper without losing its sheen.

The Ultimate Guide to Copper Color Codes, Hex Codes, and Shades of Copper

The most popular copper hex codes at a glance

If you just need a copper hex code to copy, use #B87333 — the most widely cited copper value. Unlike silver or gold, copper has no CSS keyword, so every copper name comes from a named color list (Crayola, ISCC-NBS and others). We list the source for each so you can check it.

Interactive Copper Swatch Grid

Click any swatch to copy its Hex code to your clipboard and view its RGB/HSL conversions.

Copper

the classic warm copper, the best all round default (Maerz and Paul, A Dictionary of Color).

Selected color: #B87333

Copper in RGB, HSL, and CMYK

A hex code is a compact RGB triplet, so #B87333 is RGB(184, 115, 51): lots of red, a medium amount of green, and little blue. That mix is what puts copper on the orange side of brown.

For copper #B87333: RGB(184, 115, 51), HSL(29°, 57%, 46%), CMYK(0%, 38%, 72%, 28%). For pale copper #DA8A67: RGB(218, 138, 103), HSL(18°, 61%, 63%), CMYK(0%, 37%, 53%, 15%). For copper red #CB6D51: RGB(203, 109, 81), HSL(14°, 54%, 56%).

Notice how the hue drifts from 29° (classic copper) down to 14° (copper red) and 0° (copper rose): the lower the hue angle, the redder and more "rose gold" the copper looks. Standard CMYK ink cannot reproduce the metallic sheen, so printed copper looks like a flat brown-orange unless you use a metallic ink or foil.

Copper vs. gold vs. silver: how the metals differ in code

All three metals are defined more by their highlights than by a single hex, but their base colors differ clearly. Copper #B87333 has a hue around 29°, metallic gold #D4AF37 sits higher at 46° (more yellow), and silver #C0C0C0 has no hue at all.

That gives you a practical rule when you recolor: turning gold into copper means rotating the hue down toward orange and darkening slightly; turning silver into copper means adding color while keeping the lightness pattern. See our guides to gold color codes and silver color codes for the other two metals.

How to make copper look metallic when recoloring

A flat #B87333 fill produces a tan-orange object, not a copper one. The metallic look comes from bright, almost white highlights and deep brown reflections, all of which live in the lightness of the original photo.

Worked example: to turn a stainless steel kettle copper, keep the kettle's own highlights and shadows and change only its color. In Recolorify, select the kettle, paste #B87333 (or #DA8A67 for a lighter, newer copper), and use a texture or shading preserving mode rather than a flat fill. The reflections stay where the camera put them, so it still reads as polished metal. For the theory, see preserving texture and shading when recoloring.

Best color pairings for copper

  • Copper + teal (#008080) — the classic complementary pairing; copper's natural patina is blue green.
  • Copper + deep navy (#0B1F3A) — warm metal on a cool, rich base for premium packaging.
  • Copper + charcoal (#333333) — industrial and modern for lighting and hardware.
  • Copper + cream (#FAF3E0) — soft and warm for kitchens, candles, and craft brands.
  • Copper + forest green (#228B22) — earthy and natural for outdoor and botanical products.

Matching brand coppers across assets

Copper drifts easily: warm studio lighting pushes it toward orange, cool daylight toward brown. Pick one reference copper (a name, a hex, and whether you want new and bright or aged and rosy) and recolor every asset to that value instead of eyeballing it.

With Recolorify you can paste an exact copper hex and recolor a product photo, furniture, a logo, or any object in a photo while keeping its highlights intact. See also our guides to orange color codes and brown color codes.

Frequently asked questions about copper color codes

What is the hex code for copper? The most widely used copper hex code is #B87333, which is RGB(184, 115, 51).

Is there a CSS color name for copper? No. CSS has keywords for gold and silver but not copper, so use the hex value #B87333 directly.

What is the difference between copper and rose gold? Copper #B87333 is orange brown; rose gold is pinker and lighter. Copper rose #996666 and copper penny #AD6F69 sit in between.

Why does Crayola copper look lighter? Crayola's "Copper" crayon is #DA8A67, which other references call pale copper. It shows copper as new and bright rather than the deeper classic #B87333.