Versailles Gold

Bleu de France is one of France's national symbolic colors. In the Middle Ages, French royalty chose blue for heraldry—"Azure semé de fleurs-de-lis or." This was unusual, as blue was once considered a "barbarian" color. King Louis IX (Saint Louis) first used blue in royal arms. The tricolor flag's blue represents freedom and revolution.

Versailles Red comes from the lavish interiors of the Palace of Versailles. Louis XIV, the "Sun King," used deep red extensively—the Hall of Mirrors' velvet drapes, the throne room's brocade walls. This red later became the French Revolution's symbol—revolutionaries stormed the Bastille under red flags. It embodies both royal luxury and revolutionary passion.

Siamese Gold is the soul of Thai Buddhist art. Thailand, the "Land of the Yellow Robe," has over 40,000 temples, nearly all gleaming with gold. Bangkok's Wat Arun and Chiang Mai's Wat Phra That Doi Suthep blaze with gold leaf. Thais believe applying gold to temples is the highest merit—devotees save for years to offer a single gold leaf.

Pharaoh Gold is ancient Egypt's symbol of eternity. Egyptians considered gold the "flesh of the gods"—sun god Ra's skin was golden. "Nubia" means "gold mine land" in ancient Egyptian. Tutankhamun's gold mask weighs 10.23 kg. Gold meant immortality—it doesn't tarnish, like the eternal gods. Pharaoh mummy masks were gilded so the pharaoh would have a divine golden body in the afterlife.

The Pampas is Argentina's breadbasket and the home of the gaucho. At sunset its endless grass turns warm gold, with horses and ranches silhouetted against South America's vastest poetry. The color also appears on Argentina's away football kits.

In 1925 Le Creuset introduced its first flame-orange enamel cocotte in Fresnoy-le-Grand, inspired by the glow of molten cast iron. The orange turned cookware into heirloom art, and Flame remains the brand's best-selling color.