SHINY TIGER’S EYE

Tiger’s Eye is popular for its gorgeous striped bands and has a truly
luxurious feel. Bead’s very own Gemmologist tells you more.

Naturally golden brown in lighter and darker bands, Tiger’s Eye can be heated to produce an attractive red form. There is also a natural blue variety called Hawk’s Eye. The mineral Pietersite is closely related, but is more broken up and includes more quartz.

The generally accepted view of Tiger’s Eye is that it is a quartz pseudomorph (literally ‘like-shape’). It was originally the mineral crocidolite (a form of asbestos) which has been completely replaced by quartz, but keeping the original structure. It is safe to wear and only requires careful handling when cutting. South Africa and Namibia have huge deposits of Tiger’s Eye and the associated mineral Pietsersite. USA has large reserves where it is usually called Binghamite. Recent investigations have found that Tiger’s Eye is a finely banded inter growth of the minerals chalcedony (quartz) and amphibole.

It is a beautiful stone, most commonly cut into cabochons or rounded beads to show off its marvellous ‘cat’s eye effect’ which is called chatoyancy (shat-oi-an-cee). This is caused when light bounces off the fibres and is reflected back to the viewer. Other stones sometimes show this effect but it is consistently seen in Tiger’s Eye.

Tiger's Eye has a very male energy increasing.physical strength and sex drive. It increases energy flow around the body and boosts the metabolism and general vitality. It is a stone for focus, motivation and getting things done. A stone for July and the star sign Leo.