Opaque Gems and Light Effects
Opals, turquoise, lapis lazuli, malachite, jade and moonstone: body colors and plays of light.
Each gem in four tones: its main color, its light part, its deepest part and the flash or glow that sets it apart. The colors are our own approximations, not laboratory standards.
Opal
Silica spheres
Its play of color comes from ordered silica spheres that diffract light: spheres of about 0.1 micron give violet, those of about 0.2 give red, and sizes in between give the rest of the rainbow.
Here the hue is the white body of a light opal, and the other swatches are flashes of its play of color.
Opal · hue
The main hue, the color the gem is named by.
Material: Opal, faceted, hue
RGB(232, 238, 240)
Opal · light
The light part, where the stone is thinnest or light passes straight through.
Material: Opal, faceted, light
RGB(138, 208, 232)
Opal · deep
The deepest part, in the facets in shadow.
Material: Opal, faceted, deep
RGB(62, 154, 110)
Opal · sparkle
The sparkle, where light bounces off the facets back to the eye.
Material: Opal, faceted, sparkle
RGB(232, 96, 74)
Fire opal
Opal colored by iron
Its yellow to red body color comes from inclusions rich in iron (Fe3+) between the silica spheres.
According to CIBJO, it is commonly untreated.
Fire opal · hue
The main hue, the color the gem is named by.
Material: Fire opal, faceted, hue
RGB(232, 100, 42)
Fire opal · light
The light part, where the stone is thinnest or light passes straight through.
Material: Fire opal, faceted, light
RGB(242, 140, 82)
Fire opal · deep
The deepest part, in the facets in shadow.
Material: Fire opal, faceted, deep
RGB(184, 64, 26)
Fire opal · sparkle
The sparkle, where light bounces off the facets back to the eye.
Material: Fire opal, faceted, sparkle
RGB(248, 176, 122)
Turquoise
Colored by copper
Its color ranges from dull greens to grass greens to a bright, medium-toned sky blue; copper (Cu2+) gives it.
The trade calls turquoise of that color «Persian blue», whether or not it was mined in Iran: a place name that does not tell the origin. According to CIBJO, it is rarely found untreated; it is commonly impregnated with plastic.
Turquoise · hue
The main hue, the color the gem is named by.
Material: Turquoise, faceted, hue
RGB(62, 184, 192)
Turquoise · light
The light part, where the stone is thinnest or light passes straight through.
Material: Turquoise, faceted, light
RGB(122, 210, 214)
Turquoise · deep
The deepest part, in the facets in shadow.
Material: Turquoise, faceted, deep
RGB(30, 136, 144)
Turquoise · sparkle
The sparkle, where light bounces off the facets back to the eye.
Material: Turquoise, faceted, sparkle
RGB(178, 230, 232)
Lapis lazuli
Colored by sulphur
Its signature hue is slightly greenish blue to violetish blue, medium to dark and highly saturated. Its blue comes from the sulphur in lazurite, its main mineral, with no metal involved.
It may hold golden flecks of pyrite: here, the sparkle.
Lapis lazuli · hue
The main hue, the color the gem is named by.
Material: Lapis lazuli, faceted, hue
RGB(42, 74, 168)
Lapis lazuli · light
The light part, where the stone is thinnest or light passes straight through.
Material: Lapis lazuli, faceted, light
RGB(78, 110, 200)
Lapis lazuli · deep
The deepest part, in the facets in shadow.
Material: Lapis lazuli, faceted, deep
RGB(24, 46, 120)
Lapis lazuli · sparkle
The sparkle, where light bounces off the facets back to the eye.
Material: Lapis lazuli, faceted, sparkle
RGB(212, 174, 58)
Malachite
Colored by copper
Green, colored by copper (Cu2+), like turquoise.
According to CIBJO, it is commonly untreated.
Malachite · hue
The main hue, the color the gem is named by.
Material: Malachite, faceted, hue
RGB(30, 138, 90)
Malachite · light
The light part, where the stone is thinnest or light passes straight through.
Material: Malachite, faceted, light
RGB(78, 176, 126)
Malachite · deep
The deepest part, in the facets in shadow.
Material: Malachite, faceted, deep
RGB(14, 94, 58)
Malachite · sparkle
The sparkle, where light bounces off the facets back to the eye.
Material: Malachite, faceted, sparkle
RGB(134, 210, 170)
Jadeite
Jade
For the LMHC, jade is a trade name covering jadeite, omphacite, kosmochlor and nephrite. Jadeite ranges from white through pale green to deep green, with rare pinks and lavenders.
The finest jadeite, almost transparent and of a vibrant emerald green, is called «Imperial jade»: the royal court of China once had a standing order for all of it. Chromium gives its green; iron, its lavender.
Jadeite · hue
The main hue, the color the gem is named by.
Material: Jadeite, faceted, hue
RGB(46, 154, 90)
Jadeite · light
The light part, where the stone is thinnest or light passes straight through.
Material: Jadeite, faceted, light
RGB(108, 192, 138)
Jadeite · deep
The deepest part, in the facets in shadow.
Material: Jadeite, faceted, deep
RGB(20, 106, 54)
Jadeite · sparkle
The sparkle, where light bounces off the facets back to the eye.
Material: Jadeite, faceted, sparkle
RGB(168, 222, 184)
Nephrite
Jade
The other great stone of jade, an amphibole: it ranges from white to deep green, and can also be brown or black (LMHC).
Like jadeite, its green can come from chromium (Gems & Gemology).
Nephrite · hue
The main hue, the color the gem is named by.
Material: Nephrite, faceted, hue
RGB(90, 122, 62)
Nephrite · light
The light part, where the stone is thinnest or light passes straight through.
Material: Nephrite, faceted, light
RGB(134, 160, 102)
Nephrite · deep
The deepest part, in the facets in shadow.
Material: Nephrite, faceted, deep
RGB(52, 74, 34)
Nephrite · sparkle
The sparkle, where light bounces off the facets back to the eye.
Material: Nephrite, faceted, sparkle
RGB(178, 196, 150)
Moonstone
Feldspar
A semitransparent to opaque feldspar, colorless to white, with a blue, silver or white glow called adularescence.
That glow comes from light scattering in very thin layers of two feldspars, 50 to 1000 nanometers thick. So-called «rainbow moonstone» is actually a labradorite.
Moonstone · hue
The main hue, the color the gem is named by.
Material: Moonstone, faceted, hue
RGB(232, 236, 242)
Moonstone · light
The light part, where the stone is thinnest or light passes straight through.
Material: Moonstone, faceted, light
RGB(255, 255, 255)
Moonstone · deep
The deepest part, in the facets in shadow.
Material: Moonstone, faceted, deep
RGB(174, 184, 200)
Moonstone · sparkle
The sparkle, where light bounces off the facets back to the eye.
Material: Moonstone, faceted, sparkle
RGB(158, 194, 240)
Pigmentoria is an independent color atlas. Gem, variety, place and trade names (for example «pigeon's blood» or «Paraíba») are used descriptively only and do not indicate the origin, quality, treatment or certification of any stone. The colors are our own digital approximations, not official standards of any laboratory. GIA, CIBJO, LMHC, SSEF, Gübelin and the other organisations cited belong to their owners; Pigmentoria is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.