Western Electric color question

[guitar1580]

When talking about hard plastic 500 and 2500 models, are harvest gold and yellow two separate colors, or one in the same.  Looking at used phone listings and auction listings, I notice that some photos look like a much more pale yellow, but you never know if a phone is faded, or when different digital cameras & lighting make colors look different.

JT

[MMikeJBenN27]

I don't know about WE using Harvest Gold, but Stromberg-Carlson did.  It is darker than the regular "Yellow".

[FABphones]

....I notice that some photos look like a much more pale yellow, but you never know if a phone is faded, or when different digital cameras & lighting make colors look different.

JT

All of the above can come into play, as can our own individual screen settings.

Sellers often don't know what colour phone they have. It looks yellow so is listed as yellow.

In my experience the closest guide is best obtained by asking the seller to remove both endcaps, and shell if they will, and to take photos of inside.

Prior, I have bought yellow that was ivory, ivory that was beige and ivory that was white. So nowadays I usually ask for more photos.

W.E. Colour chart below:

[guitar1580]

Thanks for the color chart.  Way more colors than I knew existed.

[paul-f]

Also note that Stromberg Carlson and ITT made 500 clones under license from the Bell System. They used somewhat different color palettes.
Their Harvest Gold was a slightly darker yellow than Western's yellow.

Not only sellers, but many collectors haven't seen enough samples of the various colors to know them all by sight.

http://www.paul-f.com/color.htm#SC500
http://www.paul-f.com/color.htm#ITT500

[guitar1580]

Yes, so many slight variations.  Would be hard to keep track of them all.

I really like your site, paul-f, I saved it last week and have been using it as a reference point.

JT