Gallery of Mineral Lusters

Luster is a simple word for a complex thing: the way light interacts with the surface of a mineral. This gallery shows the major types of luster, which range from metallic to dull. No two discussions of luster are the same, and not all the types of luster are equally well defined.

I might call luster the combination of reflectance (shininess), penetration (clarity) and absorption (cloudiness). In that scheme, here is how the common lusters would come out, allowing some variation:

Metallic: very high reflectance, no penetration, no absorption
Submetallic: medium reflectance, no penetration, no absorption
Adamantine: very high reflectance, high penetration, low absorption
Glassy: high reflectance, high penetration, low absorption
Resinous: medium reflectance, medium penetration, medium absorption
Waxy: medium reflectance, low penetration, medium absorption
Pearly: low reflectance, low penetration, high absorption
Dull: no reflectance, no penetration, no absorption