Tiger Eye

Tiger eye has been a popular stone for thousands of years. The stone exhibits a silky luster as light is reflected within its thin parallel fibrous bands. This effect is called CHATOYANCY (from the French: CHAT meaning cat and OEIL meaning eye: CAT'S EYE.).

 
A member of the quartz species, tiger eye is a mixture of chalcedony and the fibrous silicate mineral riebeckite.

 
Tiger eye includes the colors of yellow or honey, red and brown. Most of the time, these colors are either in lines or bent. It is found in many areas of the world, notably South Africa and Australia

 

Species: quartz - variety of chalcedony ♦ Chemistry: silicon dioxide ♦ Color: brown, yellow-brown ♦ Cleavage: none ♦ Fracture: fibrous ♦ Transparency: opaque ♦ Luster: vitreous ♦ Crystal System: trigonal ♦ Moh's Hardness: 6.5-7 ♦ Localities: South Africa, Australia, Burma, India, Namibia, USA.