Patent No. U.S. 7,060,126 B2 Merck Patent GmbH has been granted a patent for a multilayered luster pigment comprised of a metallic substrate opaque to light and reflective and a plurality of layers, each of the plurality of layers completely or essentially completely surrounding the substrate, comprised of at least one layer pack comprising a colorless dielectric layer of a material having a refractive index n of <1.8, and a colorless dielectric layer of a material having a refractive index n of >1.8, and an absorbent layer.