Tiger's eye
Tiger's eye (sometimes called tiger eye) is a gemstone that is a variety of macro-crystalline Quartz known for its unmistakable chatoyancy in rich layers of gold and brown color. It is a pseudo morph of Quartz. It originally formed as layers of Amphibole class needle like fibers such as Crocidolite (a fibrous blue asbestos) that were replaced over time by Chalcedony Quartz while still retaining the original shape of the asbestos fibers. An alternate theory states that a simultaneous growth of the minerals occurred through a crack-seal vein-filling process. In either case, during the replacement process, the iron within the Crocidolite dissolves and stains the Quartz, thereby providing the golden yellow to brown color of the Tiger's Eye. Reflection of the light on the fibers which formed in a parallel yet wavy orientation are what causes the intriguing chatoyant effect seen in Tiger's Eye.
There are many variations of this interesting gemstone. Tiger's Eye may form together with brownish-red or metallic- gray Hematite, or with yellow Limonite. These minerals forms stripes, streaks, or patterns within the Tiger's Eye.
Tiger iron is an altered rock composed of tiger's eye, red jasper and black hematite. The contrasting bands of color patterns and its chatoyant luster make a beautiful display piece. Tiger iron is mined primarily in South Africa and Western Australia.
Serpentine deposits with chatoyant bands of chrysotile fibers have been found in Arizona and California. These have been cut and sold as "Arizona tiger-eye" and "California tiger's eye" gemstones.
Pietersite is a trade name used for a brecciated chalcedony containing amphibole fibers and is often referred to as “tiger's eye” from Namibia and China
Cat’s Eye Quartz is another name for Tiger’s Eye. It actually differs with the alignment of the asbestos fibers. Cat’ s Eye fibers are straight, lying in the same direction, creating a single band of light across the stone like the narrow iris of a cat. It may form in white, gray, green, yellow or brown Quartz.
Hawk’s Eye (Falcon’s Eye) is a mix of golden to brown Tiger’s eye and blue-gray to blue-green variety which is actually mid phase in the development of Tiger’s Eye, occurring before Quartz replacement of Crocidolite has altered to iron oxide, retaining the original gray-blue or green of the asbestos fibers. Pure blue is referred to as Blue Tiger’s eye
Ox Eye (Bull’s Eye) aka Red Tiger’s eye is a mahogany or reddish variety of Tiger’s Eye that occurs naturally when the golden brown variety is exposed to further metamorphic activity, such as heat from fire or lightning, converting the iron oxide into red Hematite.
Marra Mamba Tiger's Eye is a strongly chatoyant Tiger's Eye from the Hamersley Range in Western Australia, with a beautiful multicolored effect of reddish brown, steel-blue, yellow, and yellowish-green.
Item # C-RTE03188250
Red Tigereye Slab from South Africa
$12.00
Lapidary rough slab of red tiger's eye from South Africa. Photos taken outdoors in natural sunlight with specimen wet to show colors.( greyish spots are where the wind quickly dried the surface while photographing)
slab weighs 1.68 oz (48g) and measures 3 x 1.5 x 0.26" (77 x 39 x 6.6mm)
Hawk's Eye (Blue and Gold)
This specimen has been in our collection for about 25 years. We think it is the most amazing specimen of Hawk's Eye (Blue and Gold variegated Tiger's eye) that we have ever seen. It has excellent color with a Very Rare Blue and Gold variegated Tiger eye over a layer of Plume Agate from Western Australia. We finally decided to sell off a few pieces and we hope you can appreciate this unique stone as much as we have. We cut these slabs thick enough to be polished into excellent collector slabs that will display the rare Plume Agate layer.
Item # 11HKEYE03185460
Hawk's Eye over Plume Agate Rough Cut Display Slab from Western Australia
$25.80
Very unique and rare rough cut thick display slab of blue and gold tiger's eye (hawk's eye) over a layer of milky clear Plume Agate. Photos taken outdoors in natural sunlight with specimen shown dry and also wet to show colors. Last photo shows translucent agate when backlit in natural sunlight
slab weighs 5 oz or 0.31 lb (142 g) and measures 5.3 x 2 x 0.28" (13.6 x 5.2 cm x 7.2 mm)
Item # 14HKEYE03180961
Hawk's Eye over Plume Agate Rough Cut Display Slab from Western Australia
Very unique and rare rough cut thick display slab of blue and gold tiger's eye (hawk's eye) over a layer of milky clear Plume Agate. Photos taken outdoors in natural sunlight with specimen shown dry and also wet to show colors. Last photo shows translucent agate when backlit in natural sunlight
slab weighs 4.1 oz or 0.25 lb (116 g) and measures 5.3 x 2.1 x 0.25" (13.5 x 5.4 cm x 6.3 mm)