Hermès Gris Pantin

Gris Pantin is a medium Hermès grey, neutral rather than blue or brown. Product pages listed it for four lines: the Picotin Lock 18 and 22, Della Cavalleria Elan and mini, Bolide Messenger, and Constance Slim and To Go. It appears online far less often than Étoupe, Gold or Noir.

What Gris Pantin looks like

Gris Pantin is a mid-tone grey, lighter than charcoal and darker than a pale dove grey, with no strong blue or brown cast. Gris is French for grey, and Pantin is the town just outside Paris where Hermès has workshops, which is the usual explanation given for the name.

Like any neutral grey, it takes on some of the colour of the light around it: in daylight Gris Pantin can look slightly cool, and under warm indoor light a little softer, which makes it easy to confuse with other greys in photos. The swatch above is only an on-screen approximation. The name on the hermes.com product page is the reliable way to know you are looking at Gris Pantin rather than a similar grey.

Gris Pantin across leathers

The four lines listed in Gris Pantin are made in different leathers. Hermès describes Taurillon Clemence as semi-matt with a generous, irregular grain, Epsom as having a small, regular and slightly glossy grain, and Togo as matt, with a round, irregular grain where veins and wrinkles are often visible.

Matt and slightly glossy surfaces return light differently, so Gris Pantin on one leather will not be an exact match for Gris Pantin on another. We do not score the colour leather by leather. Compare photos of the model and leather you are considering, and read the leather guides for what each surface is like.

Similar colours

Étoupe is the closest alternative if you want a neutral with some brown in it, and it was listed for far more lines. Noir is the darker, plainer option. For a light, understated colour instead of a mid-tone, Craie is the pale choice in the same quiet family.

Frequently asked questions