Chatoyant

Literally meaning ‘like a cat’s eye’. chatoyant means having a certain optical reflectance effect, which can be likened to the sheen of a spool of silk.


The term, defined also as ‘varying in colour when seen in different lights or from different angles’, is most frequently used to describe the effect of certain semi-precious stones such as Tiger Eye Quartz or the finish of certain woods like Flame-figured Maple.