Tiger’s Eye
COLOR RANGE
Golden Yellow to Gold Brown
HARDNESS & TOUGHNESS
Hardness: 6.5 – 7 Toughness: Good
MAJOR SOURCES
Australia, Namibia, South, Africa, USA, India
Tiger’s eye is a variety of Quartz which exhibits a fascinating and constantly shifting light effect since the alternating silky gold and brown bands keep reversing their appearance with the slightest change in position of the light source or of the stone. Tiger’s Eye is widely used as an ornamental and lapidary rock. Tiger’s eye is famed for its remarkable chatoyancy and its attractive golden brown colors. It is closely related to hawk’s eye and pietersite, both of which exhibit similar chatoyancy.
It has a beautiful yellow colour that offers an extraordinary honey glow. The stone has inclusions of iron and quartz, and a silicon dioxide composition. Tiger’s eye gemstones are not normally treated or enhanced in any way. Some reddish or maroon colored stones may have been dyed or heated to improve color.
