Minerals

Luster

The luster of a mineral is the appearance of light reflected off of the surface of a mineral. The descriptive terms used to define the luster of a mineral are quite self-explanatory. The two main catagories of luster are metallic and nonmetallic.

Metallic luster: Has the appearance of metal.

Those minerals that show a nonmetallic luster are further sub-divided with terms such as:

Vitreous-Resembles broken glass.

Silky-Appearance of silk.

Pearly-Appearance of pearls.

Earthy-Dull, similiar to soil or a broken brick.