Ecrevisse

Celeste is Bianchi's official color. If I remember correctly, it has changed over the years. I remember seeing a very old Bianchi celeste that looked blue rather than the current green color.

Here is a Bianchi advertisement:


Here is my 1983 Specialissima:


I thought there would be a noticeable difference. But it does not look different at all. So I looked it up on Wikipedia and found this - Celeste (color).There has been variation over the years.

Otis

There's a lot of variation over the years. I have original examples of a 1960, 1977, and 1981 bike in Celeste and none match each other at all.

What's that ad from? The copy is dated (I would guess from the mid 80's), why is the photo a modern bike? Are they re-hashing their old marketing?

Captain Blight

Just to confuse things: one of the Schneider Cup air racers of the '30s- the seaplanes- was the Abrahamic progenitor of the lineage that graced the skies with beauty and valor through that era and the War. The Supermarine-crud, I'm posting from a dumbphone and can't save the post AND search-- but you know the one I mean. Right? Like the 1927 or 29 Schneider Cup racers.

Forgive me, I digress. ANYWAYz, this plane was powered by a Napier engine, a behemoth of engineering that was startlingly advanced for its day. It was painted in a hard-to-pin-down shade of jade-ish turquoise or some such shxt, and (que minor chord fluorish) became known as British Racing green. For a while, until Bentley and Jaguar re-defined it by winning in auto races, Napier blue-- just a tick more blue than Celeste-- was the color of Champions.

it doesn't hurt that much of the plane's structure was something much like 531.

RFC

Then what is the official Celeste?

3alarmer 

So does this mean there is no truth to the rumor that
Bianchi Celeste is actually surplus Italian navy primer paint
left over from WW II ?

Edit: Oops, guess not.

mazdaspeed

Celeste is funny, I think they've just been doing it so long they can't stop since it's become their trademark color (whether they like it or not)

Italuminium

I may or may not have called Celeste "fairy barf" over here. I still want one.

Bianchigirll 

I guess since I don't read cycling magazines often, they just don't seem to have stories like the '80s, I never saw the add. I am however reall miffed that Bianchi never sent me a ballot!

Thant being said Celeste has certainly changed over the years, most notable in the late '80s early to mid '90s when Bianchi used that hedious "Mint Celeste" and the much nicer Nuovo Celeste with the blueish pear to it.

since most of bikes are from the same era they all appear to be very close save for one. my '90 Proto has a slightly darker and very deep rich color to it which I assume is simply because the frames were painted statside with Dupont Imron rather than the Italian Navy primer (BTW do you know why the Italian Navy ships have glass bottoms?)

the actual name Celeste I believe is Italian for Blue. I also believethe color was first used on the racing motor cycles and racing team. either the bikes or the team was refered to as the Freccia Celest, Blue Arrow, but I need to reread my Bianchi history book. I am not sure if the King and Queen actually rode around on Celeste bikes but I don't think the color was ever applied to any cars or trucks.

what I can't understand is that Bianchi lets trek get away with that seafoam color nonsense. it is clearly an attempt to copy Bianchis trademark color and thereby gain some sort of prestige for their POC bikes

shadoman

Celeste means Heavenly ( as in celestial ?) Shame on you BG ! I'd have thought you'd have changed your name to THAT !!!

lostarchitect 

Frankly, I really don't like it. If I was in the market for a Bianchi I'd go out of my way to find one in another color.

vjp

I have a barely used 1980 Bianchi Super Leggera that the original owner stripped and spray bombed metallic blue when NEW!! Apparently for the same reasons as you. I love Celeste but I may re-paint it black just because I have never seen one in that option.

Bianchigirll 

well I did say I thought it was blue and I had not read the book in several years. about halfway through the text you'll see a reference to Freccia Celeste aka Blue Arrow

this Bianchi history book seems to deal, IMHO, way too much with the Moto Bianchi racing teams and bikes, but I guess they are more exciting than bicycles. the cars and truck shown were fabulous too.



although for some reason Bianchi printed the book in both Italian and English so every other page or so is English (how annoying! one would thin even way back in '93 it would have been easier {but not cheaper?** to print a complete Italian and English versions.)

longhitv

In pulling my forks out of the 1980 748 Rekord I have, I saw the celeste green was pretty perfect, not seeing uv light for 45 years!!!!
So I am matching the colour and repainting a bike.

If you have a Celeste green bike and trying to figure out what colour works......damn .... this is as close as it gets...IMHO.
Its way better than the touch up paint I got for my 1987 Speciallisima Giro.

Maybe I should make 1000 touch up 1OZ sizes

Lattz

They could make a tongue-in-cheek smart ad - and I wonder why they don't - like the above was to shame Trek, but usually such action never brings any good, I just say, because in US advertising I see such more often than here in Europe. Hee we say we are the best, not "better than XYZ", or "even XYZ is copying us". Plus, how can it be trademark, if every second day Sergio mixed another one based on his mood and level of Chianti?

P!N20

Paging @Andy_K

jdawginsc 

This is my favorite Celeste...same as the bikes in the best catalog ever (1982)

Polaris OBark

That would be great.

I once tried to match it to finger nail polish at Walgreens. Caught in the act by one of my students. (At least around here, that buys you street cred.)

Although the color match is decent, it is an inferior touch-up paint.

Andy_K 

Do we need someone to keep the thread from quickly converging on an answer? I’m on it!

I do think the color @longhitv has on the steerer is one of the best variations. It’s nice to see it because I’ve heard theories that the green tint was the product of age. I believe that about some of the much older Bianchis but it’s clearly not the case here. I believe by the later 90’s they had gone to a less green version, and that’s belief led to my decision to use sea foam green on my ‘89. Mine looks fairly blue (sky blue, even ) in many lighting conditions.

SJX426 

I am no good at describing color variations. This totally mitigates mixing paints!
The color on the '71 changed in nearly every lighting condition. I decided no touch up attempt's. The original covers enough with the chips and scratches adding to the Patina. Any touch up paint would be apparent with changes in lighting.

longhitv

Yes I agree. Since the painted celeste has never seen the light of day since 1980 on teh steerer portion -- its perfect. This is colour I matched too. No UV exposure, no scratches, no rust, just the perfect colour sample to run with.

repechage

you are neglecting chemical modification from the outgassing of the headset grease and or dyes in it.
I have seen this alter color.

one does the best they can but there are no absolutes.

clear coats shift tint also over time.

longhitv

Hardly.

xiaoman1 

Why not merge the reads they will make for a good read......
Best, Ben

longhitv

Also -- When you google threads about Celeste Bianchi green you will get a lot on RAL 6027 and looks like below on your screen. But It is not this colour.
This is the swatch of it at my paint supplier, Same formula with the hex colours.

You can see 455A2 is almost identical to the 1980 Celeste I have for a match.

SJX426 

How does.it compare under different lighting?