Tiger Eye

Tiger's eye (tiger eye) is a chatoyant golden-brown gem variety of quartz, famous for the moving band of light — the cat's-eye effect — that sweeps across a polished surface. It formed when silica replaced fibrous blue crocidolite while preserving the fibrous structure, so the parallel fibres reflect light as a shifting sheen.

Identifying tiger's eye

Tiger's eye is hard (7, like all quartz), with golden-brown to honey colours and a strong silky lustre. The blue variety, which keeps the original crocidolite colour, is called hawk's eye, and partly oxidised reddish material is called ox eye or red tiger's eye. The chatoyant banding shows best on cabochons cut across the fibres.

Where it is found

The world's classic source is the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, where tiger's eye forms in banded ironstone; Western Australia and other regions also produce it.

For collectors and lapidaries

Strong, sharp chatoyancy, rich golden colour and good silky lustre give tiger's eye its value; hawk's eye and multicoloured pieces are also popular.