Hale Navy (BM HC-154) vs Sea Mariner (SW 9640)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Hale Navy, LRV 8.4 vs 7.
- Warmer
- About the same, both blue-gray (Lab b* -7.6 vs -6.9).
- North rooms
- About the same: both keep their brightness and color about equally (L* 27.7 vs 27.3 in north light).
- Trim that works
- White Heaven BM 2068-70, #E2E5F1, LRV 76.7: the Benjamin Moore white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 0.6, indistinguishable. At 0.6, pick on price, finish or availability.
See each color
Hale Navy (BM HC-154) is about as light as Sea Mariner (SW 9640) and about as warm: LRV 8.4 vs 7, deltaE 0.6 (indistinguishable).
Side by side
| Measure | Hale Navy | Sea Mariner | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Benjamin Moore | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | HC-154 | SW 9640 | |
| Hex | #434B56 | #434A54 | |
| RGB | 67, 75, 86 | 67, 74, 84 | |
| HSL | 215°, 12%, 30% | 215°, 11%, 30% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 8.4 | 7 | +1.4 |
| Lab L* | 31.6 | 31.2 | +0.4 |
| Lab a* | -0.5 | -0.4 | −0.1 |
| Lab b* | -7.6 | -6.9 | −0.7 |
| Undertone | Cool Gray | Cool | |
| Temperature | cool | cool | |
| Color family | Blue | Gray |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Hale Navy (BM HC-154), published as #434B56
#324354
#535356
Sea Mariner (SW 9640), published as #434A54
#324252
#535254
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Which should you pick
Rules of thumb computed from the LRV and Lab values in the table above; no room test was done.
- Pick Hale Navy (BM HC-154) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 1.4 LRV points lighter (8.4 vs 7), so it bounces back more of the limited light
Closest matches to Hale Navy in other brands
Closest matches to Sea Mariner in other brands
Common questions
- Is Hale Navy the same color as Sea Mariner?
- They are indistinguishable: a CIEDE2000 difference of 0.6. Most people cannot tell Hale Navy and Sea Mariner apart.
- Which is lighter, Hale Navy or Sea Mariner?
- Hale Navy, with an LRV of 8.4 against 7.
Full pages
Related comparisons
Sources: Hale Navy: LRV and hex from Benjamin Moore technical data (verified 2026-10-02); Sea Mariner: LRV and hex as published by the manufacturer, via PaintDB (CC BY 4.0). Color differences are CIEDE2000 values computed by this site from the hex values (data snapshot 2026-10-01). Color names and codes belong to their manufacturers.