Likely visual appearance of gem-gum products
Contents
Production devices (as products)
Structures near the wavelength of light can lead to albino white (subsurface scattering)
or iridescent appearance. Both with more or less transparency.
– Former case for highly irregular inner structure cases,
– latter case for highly regular cases (more likely). Perhaps a bit like near transparent opal.
In convergent assembly the topmost assembly level may end up at this scale
So iridescence like on a CD on production chips seems not unlikely.
UV protection
If active measures for UV protection of internals are taken then a likely appearance may be
silver, golden, or orange-transparent, or even all absorptive black.
Related: Radiation damage
Actual products
It seems reasonable to assume product metamaterials to typically have
more regularity than production devices. If not at the visible wavelength scale then
complete transparency is not unlikely.
Intentional coloring and styling
For intentional coloring color gemstone color centers suggest themselves. Ligand field theory.
Much more so than organic pigments.
