Tiger's Eye
Other Silicates & Gemstones
Tiger's eye is a chatoyant gem material, usually a metamorphic rock, made from parallel intergrowths of quartz and altered amphibole fibers. Iron oxides give it golden to red-brown color, while the aligned fibrous texture produces a silky band of reflected light.
Identity
- Material or variety
- Quartz-rich metamorphic rock
- Scientific or material identity
- Quartz
- Classification
- Natural mineral or mineral variety
- Aliases or trade names
- Tiger eye
- Composition or formula
- SiO₂
- Crystal system or structure
- Trigonal
- Geological or manufacturing origin
- Can form in more than one geological environment, or combines several materials.
- Mohs hardness
- 7
- Specific gravity
- 2.65
Origins
Australia · India · Myanmar · Namibia · South Africa · USA
Appearance & optical properties
golden-brown tiger eye with a moving silky light band.
History & discovery
Tiger's eye was long described as quartz completely replacing pre-existing crocidolite while preserving its fibrous shape. Research published in 2003 instead argued that quartz and amphibole grew together as repeated fractures opened and were sealed, leaving some original amphibole enclosed within the quartz and revising the familiar replacement model.
Uses & care
- Common uses
- It is polished into cabochons and beads to display its moving light band, and larger pieces are used for carvings and ornamental slabs.
- Handling and cleaning
- Clean gently with warm water, mild soap, and a soft brush, and avoid thermal shock or hard blows. Cutting or grinding should be left to controlled lapidary facilities because fibrous amphibole may be released in dust.
Jewellery
5 pieces of Tiger's Eye jewellery. Learners earn each one in DigMyGem by learning words; until then it shows as a silhouette.
Golden Eye Cabochon Ring
Ring
A man's signet set with a silky golden-brown cabochon cut so the band of cat's-eye light crosses the stone.
Chatoyant Bead Necklace
Necklace
A strand of polished tiger's-eye beads whose shifting sheen runs from honey gold to deep brown as the wearer turns.
Watchman's Tiger-Eye Locket
Pendant
A round gold locket faced with a domed tiger's-eye, its floating band of light said to watch over the wearer.
Silk Band Bangle
Bracelet
An imagined bangle carved in one piece from tiger's eye, its golden bands flashing like silk as it turns.
Golden Tiger Crown
Crown
An imagined gold crown set with tiger's eye, its striped golden stones shining like a tiger's coat.