1. Having a shimmering or glowing quality that seems to move across the surface, like a cat's eye; displaying a luminous band of light that shifts as the stone is moved.
Usage: Commonly used in gemology and jewelry to describe certain precious stones, especially cat's eye and tiger's eye.

Examples

• The chatoyant emerald caught the light beautifully, displaying a soft glow across its surface.
• A chatoyant effect in the diamond made it appear to have a moving band of light.
• The jeweler selected a chatoyant sapphire for its unique optical properties.
• Tiger's eye is prized for its chatoyant appearance, which resembles a cat's eye.
• The chatoyant quality of the stone made it shimmer as she turned it in her hand.
• Gemologists use the term chatoyant to describe stones with this distinctive light-reflecting feature.