Asterism (gemology)

Common card · No. 407439

An asterism (from Ancient Greek ἀστήρ (astḗr) 'star' and -ism) is a star-shaped concentration of light reflected or refracted from a gemstone. It can appear when a suitable stone is cut en cabochon (i.e. shaped and polished, not faceted). A gemstone that exhibits this effect is called a star stone or asteria. The best known is star sapphire, but many other minerals can also be asteria, usually due to impurities in the crystal structure.

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