Thin (d=60 nm/140 nm) nanocrystalline CeO2 films were deposited onto mica flakes. Their sintering behavior was characterized and compared with the known equivalent TiO2 special effect pigments in terms of grain size, grain growth and layer porosity. The color travel of the resulting products was analyzed using the CIELAB color metric. The intensity of the interference color was correlated with the effective refractive indices of these films, which also depend on their porosity. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.