Only the other day I was standing in a garment shop, when a young lady came inside and asked for black jeans. The salesperson showed the woman a number of dark jeans that looked black to me, but the woman did not like them and left the shop saying she wanted a jet-black pair of jeans and not soft black jeans. I wondered what she meant by jet black and looked up to the salesperson. There are many like me who feel the same way. This article attempts to clear the difference between black and jet black.
Jet Black
The phrase jet black owes its origin to a lignite called jet that is ultra black (sometimes brown also). Jet black is used to describe an item that is black in color but is as dark as is possible. Therefore, whether it is a plastic product, a garment, a gadget or an appliance, the mere mention of the phrase is enough to convey the impression of a very black product that also has a metallic shine. Items that appear to be extra dark and shiny are also called coal black.
The phrase has become popular these days because of very dark color used by people, to color their hair black. There are several shades of colors available in the market and those having blonde or red hair make use of jet-black color to look and feel attractive. Of course, some aged people loathe jet black color for their hair and would go for soft black, or even dark brown shades.
Black
The absence of all colors is termed as black by some, and black is a universal color in some products such as clothing and gadgets as it goes with all other colors. Even black cars are preferred by people all over the world. If you look at jeans made by different companies, you may find a difference in their blackness so to say. Black has many degrees, just as there are degrees of whiteness, so a particular black product may look more attractive than another product that appears darker or lighter.
Key Takeaways
- There can be shades of black where the blackest black is called jet black while others are just black.
- Jet black is a color that comes from lignite called Jet that is very black and shiny.
- Black is a universal color, and Jet black is one of the black shades.
