Pleochroism, the Speed of Light and a "different" way we can start to appreciate beauty.

There is an extraordinary Optical phenomenon that exists in many Gemstones called Pleochroism. It is when a substance, in this case, a gemstone, appears to have different colors or depth of color, depending on the angle the light is hitting the gemstone and the angle in which you are viewing it from. Some gemstones like Tourmaline are Dichroic, meaning it displays two colors. Whereas Trichroic gemstones, like Tanzanite, have three different colors. I found this phenomenon to be absolute fascinating when I really started to think about it. Don’t we all know people whose beauty and elegance can easily be classified as “Pleochroismatic.” The beauty that you saw in a person on one day can be completely different on another day, depending on the way the light and the angle in which you view them.

The primary concept that I think you can understand about Pleochroism is the color is only one identifying factor, it doesn’t completely tell you the identity of that gemstone. Color and its associated characteristic of Beauty, is only one aspect of what defines a gemstone. In our human relationships, I think all of us have to be “Gemmologists” in our own different ways. We have to take the time to find out whether or not the beauty that we “see” in a person in one situation or environment is truly their overarching color or defining characteristics. The phenomenon of Pleochroism teaches us that you can’t just look at a gemstone or person and know what it is. But whether that person is dichroic, trichroic or multi-chroic, ultimately, you have to determine if that person is really the intoxicating gemstone you saw in that person, the first time you saw them.