Description
Tiger's eye is a variety of quartz. The stone's color is yellow-brown to brown, streaky, and opaque. It is found in Africa, India, Mexico, California, and Australia, among other places. Tiger's eye is formed by the intercalation of blackish-blue asbestos fibers called crocidolite. This process creates solid inclusions of hair-like crystals within the quartz. The oxidation of the original crocidolite fibers creates the stone's golden-shining limonite fibers. Tiger's eye is so named because the stone reflects light reminiscent of a tiger's eye. This slit-shaped light effect is called chatoyancy or "cat's eye." When the stone is cut cabochon (sphere), the beautiful cat's eye effect is most visible. The stone's color gives it its name: the red variety is called Cat's Eye, the blue Falcon's Eye, and the yellow Tiger's Eye (golden yellow, golden brown).
