AB (Aurora Borealis)

🌈 AB (Aurora Borealis) Hotfix Rhinestones

One base color. A whole lot more happening when the light hits it. 💎✨

Our AB (Aurora Borealis) Hotfix Rhinestones combine a base rhinestone color with a highly reflective AB finish that produces beautiful multicolor reflections as the stone catches the light.

That means an AB rhinestone doesn't behave visually like an ordinary solid-color stone. Its appearance can change depending on the lighting, viewing angle, surrounding colors and movement of the finished design.

💎 What Does “AB” Mean?

AB stands for Aurora Borealis, a reflective finish named for the colorful appearance of the northern lights.

Start with a familiar base color—such as Sapphire, Amethyst, Rose or Peridot—and add the AB effect. You'll still have that underlying color influencing the overall appearance, but you'll also see additional reflective colors flash across the surface as the stone moves.

That's what makes AB stones so much fun:

The base color matters, but it doesn't get the stage to itself. 🌈

👀 Can't Tell Two AB Colors Apart? MOVE YOUR HEAD! 😂

Some AB rhinestones can look surprisingly similar when they're sitting still—especially in a photograph.

We've seen this ourselves with colors such as Jet AB, Amethyst AB and Tanzanite AB. Their underlying base colors are different, but the strong AB reflection can dominate what you see from one particular angle.

So if two AB colors look almost identical:

Change the angle. Change the light. MOVE YOUR HEAD. 😂💎

As the stones move, you'll often begin to see differences in the underlying color and the way each stone reflects light.

That's also why AB rhinestones can be especially difficult to judge from a single product photo.

🎨 Pair AB With Its Solid-Color Companion

One of our favorite ways to use AB rhinestones is to pair them with a coordinating solid-color stone.

For example, combining a solid color with its AB counterpart can give you depth, dimension and additional reflective sparkle without completely changing your color palette.

You can also mix AB stones with contrasting colors, clear crystal, metallic finishes or other specialty rhinestones to build more complex palettes.

🌈 AB Is NOT the Same as Color-Shift

This distinction matters!

AB rhinestones have a base color plus an Aurora Borealis reflective effect.

Our color-shifting specialty stones—such as Rainbow, Crystal Volcano, Blue Flame, Green Flame and ICY Prism—belong to a different effect family.

Both can display multiple colors as the light and viewing angle change, but “multicolor reflective” does not automatically mean AB.

That's why you'll find those specialty stones in our Multi-Color collection rather than automatically labeling every reflective stone AB.

💎 Please Note About AB Color

AB finishes are extremely reflective, so photographs and screens cannot always capture everything you'll see in person.

The apparent color of an AB rhinestone may change depending on lighting, viewing angle, surrounding colors and your screen/device settings.

When comparing AB shades—especially similar colors—view the stones from multiple angles and under different lighting whenever possible.

Base color + Aurora Borealis reflection = sparkle that refuses to sit still. 🌈💎✨