What makes a gemstone polychromatic

Simply put, a gemstone's pleochroism is the characteristic of seeing two or three different colors when you look at it from different directions (e.g., orange vs. green), or two distinctly different color intensities of the same color (e.g., red vs. pink), which we call pleochroism.

A gemstone with multidirectional chromaticity must have the following characteristics:

1. It must be a crystalline gemstone

Non-crystalline gemstones such as coral, pearl, opal, amber, or natural glass (obsidian, modavite) do not have multidirectional chromaticity.

2. Crystalline gemstones must be colored transparent gemstones of uniaxial or biaxial crystal systems

Diamonds, garnets, spinels, fluorites, etc. of the equiaxial crystal system do not have multidirectional chromaticity; and opaque non-monocrystalline gemstones such as jadeite (jadeite), nephrite (alabaster, Taiwan jade, Canadian jade, Australian jade), turquoise, malachite, etc., and colorless transparent gemstones such as colorless corundum and colorless zircon, etc., do not have multidirectional chromaticity either. are not polychromatic. Colored transparent gemstones in the uniaxial crystal system show two color variations, and colored transparent gemstones in the biaxial crystal system show three color variations.

Some of the more popular polychromatic gemstones

Sapphire, amethyst, tourmaline, zircon, chrysoberyl, peridot, and andalusite. Spodumene (Spodumene) Cordierite (Iolite) Tanzanite (Tanzanite) Titanite (Sphene or Titanite)