While the Pomeranian breed can be found in an array of colors, it is orange that most people think about when picturing a Pom (at least non-Pom owners) and is the classic Pomeranian color. It is one of the oldest colors as well; however, even back in the 1700's there is mention of sables, brown (chocolate), white and creams.
The Pomeranian Project
has put an extensive amount of work into researching the development of this breed and lists the very first orange Pomeranian conformation winner in the UK as being Ch Mars.
His win occurred in 1907. He was not a 'perfect' orange Pom since this coat color should have a black nose and he had a brown nose, however his gait was ideal; so much so, that from that moment on, an ideal gait was referred to as 'Mars action'.