Names: Tiger eye, also spelled
tiger's-eye and tigereye; also called crocidolite cat's-eye or African
cat's-eye. Tiger eye has a rich yellow and golden brown stripes, with a fine golden
lustre when polished.
Tiger eye is quartz that contains oriented fibres of crocidolite that have been replaced
by silica.
Tiger eye is displaying chatoyancy (a vertical luminescent band like that of a cat's eye)
. Tiger eye with its bands resembles an eye of tiger, so it is received its name due to
this similarity.
The most important mine for Tiger Eye is
in South Africa. The best stones come from Griqualand West. It is widely used in
pendant and beads where it's lovely tiger-like peculiarity displays out best.
