Beautiful opalescent heart - Ammolite heart

An opalescent Ammolite heart from Canada, Alberta. The iridescence properties of this piece show the iridescent color variation typical of Bearpaw Ammolite when the light source is moved.

The physical mechanism of Ammolite iridescence differs from iridescence in opals. In opals, color variety is created by diffraction on SiO₂ sphere structures. In Ammolite, it is created by thin-film interference on aragonite lamellae. Both mechanisms produce similar visual effects but are gemologically clearly distinguishable.

The aragonite lamellae are only a few nanometers thick and follow the original shell growth direction. When the jewelry piece is rotated or the light source is moved, the reflection angles change, and the colors move across the surface.

Heart-shaped sculpture is a classic processing tradition.

A Canadian collector's item with thin-film interference-based iridescence and mineralogically distinguishable opal mechanics.