Simplify the following text for a Grade 8 native English-speaking person.
Original: It possesses the property of presenting a different appearance according to the manner in which it is cut : when cut in one direction it is jet black ; in another it is glistening gray .
Simplified: It possesses the property of presenting a different appearance according to the manner in which it is cut . When cut in one direction it is a beautiful jet black ; when cut across another direction it is glistening gray .