I contacted the HP 9825's industrial designer, LeRoy LaCelle on your behalf. Here's what LeRoy wrote:
"When I was developing the design of the 9825, HP was also looking for a new color scheme for the calculator products, a little more definitive.
I worked for weeks developing many different approaches and finally came up with the direction which I applied to the 9825 model. We calibrated the color in local paint facilities and presented the direction to California.
Well the color scheme (main body) on the model was a little too yellow, so we worked with HP's Palo Alto color lab to develop a grayed down version.
They developed and specified the color there and I don't really have any references to the final color in any of my documents. Additionally, since it was a custom color developed by HP Palo Alto color labs, there would not be a Panatone equivalent color.
Regards,
LeRoy"
For detailed info on the HP 9825's industrial design, go here: http://www.hp9825.com/html/industrial_design.html
http://www.hp9825.com/html/industrial_design.html
Edited: 10 Aug 2009, 4:15 p.m.