Asterism

For the patterns of stars in the Earth's sky, see constellation. For a list of asterisms, see list of constellations.

In jewelry, an asterism is an optical phenomenon displayed by some rubies, sapphires, and other gems of an enhanced reflective area in the shape of a "star" on the surface of a cabochon cut from the stone. This is caused by small needles of rutile (titanium oxide) in the gem. The stars may have six rays or twelve. The rays are reflections from the the rutile crystal. Rutile can also cause a "cat's eye" effect in gemstones.