Iron oxide coated perlescent pigments

In a pearlescent pigment comprising a plateletlike substrate coated with metal oxides, the metal oxide layer containing titanium dioxide and iron oxide, the improvement wherein the pigment comprises a multi-layer structure in which superimposed on the substrate is a first layer of TiO.sub.2 in the rutile form, formed from a precipitated layer of titanium dioxide or titanium dioxide hydrate, having a thickness of at least 40 nm, the latter being superimposed by a layer of pseudobrookite and the latter being superimposed by an iron oxide layer, formed by the precipitation of an iron oxide or hydroxide layer, having a thickness of at least 15 nm, wherein the TiO.sub.2 concentration, relative to the total pigment, is about 20 to about 50% by weight, and the iron side concentration relative to the total pigment, is about 10 to about 50% by weight.