Duochrome Mauve shifts between pale pinkish-purple and brilliant sparkling sapphire. Why Luminescent Watercolors? Nature has optical surprises in the colors that you see in birds feathers, insects, fish, and seashells, many flowers also have a pearly, dewy sheen to them. Consider the iridescence of a snails trail or a silvery spiders web. Other things that also have a sparkle, or glow depending on the light, a silvery or golden moon, clouds aglow at sunset, rainbows, the sparkle of snow and ice, and glint of water reflections. Dont forget the sheen of metals like pewter, copper, silver, and gold. There are also mythic subjects that are often thought of as having a special iridescence to them such as fairies, dragons, mermaids and other fantasy figures. DANIEL SMITH Luminescent Watercolors add that touch of special color found in nature that regular colors cannot match. Theyre made from mica pigment, thin transparent particles coated with highly reflective metal oxides.