Short answer: tiger's eye is a golden to red-brown quartz gemstone with a silky band of light that slides across the surface as you move it. The shimmer, called chatoyancy, comes from parallel mineral fibers locked inside the quartz. It rates 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale, comes mainly from South Africa and Western Australia, and is traditionally associated with courage and protection.
What is tiger's eye?
Tiger's eye is a member of the quartz family, made chiefly of silicon dioxide (SiO2) and colored mainly by iron oxide. It is usually found in metamorphic rock as layers of tightly packed, parallel fibers. Its golden to red-brown color and silky luster are what give it the look of a big cat's eye.
It rates 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale, hard enough for beads, cabochons, carvings and everyday handling.
Why does tiger's eye shimmer?
Inside tiger's eye, quartz grew together with fibers of an amphibole mineral called crocidolite, all running in the same direction. Most of those fibers have since altered to limonite, an iron oxide that gives the golden-brown color.
Because the fibers are parallel, they reflect light as a single bright band at right angles to the fibers. Turn the stone and the band rolls across the surface. This effect is called chatoyancy, from the French for "cat's eye". It shows best on a smooth dome, which is why tiger's eye is usually cut as a cabochon or tumbled, and why a polished piece can look flat until you tilt it.
How did tiger's eye form? A newer answer
For a long time tiger's eye was described as a pseudomorph: quartz was thought to have completely replaced the crocidolite fibers, leaving their shape behind but none of the original mineral.
A 2003 study by Peter Heaney and Donald Fisher at Penn State University found otherwise. Quartz did not fully replace the crocidolite. Instead, the stone formed by crack-seal growth: the fibrous rock cracked again and again on a microscopic scale, and fluids sealed each crack with quartz. The original crocidolite fibers still exist, encased in quartz.
That has one practical consequence. Polished tiger's eye is generally considered safe to handle and wear, but grinding or cutting it can release small amounts of crocidolite, an asbestos mineral, into the air. Anyone cutting or sanding rough tiger's eye should work wet and wear proper respiratory protection.
What kinds of tiger's eye are there?
- Golden tiger's eye is the classic golden-yellow to brown stone.
- Red tiger's eye is usually golden tiger's eye that has been gently heated, which deepens the color to red-brown.
- Blue tiger's eye, also called hawk's eye, keeps more of the original blue color of the fibers and has a blue-gray shimmer.
- Tiger iron is a banded rock made of tiger's eye, red jasper and black hematite, used for beads, carvings and even knife handles.
Where does tiger's eye come from?
South Africa is the best-known source, and tiger iron is mined mainly in South Africa and Western Australia. Tiger's eye is also reported from India, Myanmar, Namibia, Brazil, China and the United States, among other places.
What is tiger's eye traditionally associated with?
Tiger's eye has a long protective tradition. Roman soldiers wore engraved tiger's eye to protect them in battle, and in some parts of the world the stone is believed to ward off the evil eye.
In modern crystal traditions, tiger's eye is associated with courage, confidence, focus and steady determination. It is commonly linked with the solar plexus chakra and is often given as a stone of encouragement.
These are traditions and beliefs. They are part of why people choose tiger's eye, not properties you can measure in the stone.
Raw, tumbled and polished tiger's eye
Rough tiger's eye shows its fibers as a striped, silky surface along broken edges. Tumbled stones are the most common form and show the shimmer as they roll in your hand. Palm stones, spheres, towers, hearts and carvings are cut so the fibers run across a broad face, which gives the strongest moving band of light. When cutting or buying a carving, look for a band that runs cleanly across the surface rather than breaking up.
Tiger's eye jewelry
Tiger's eye is a classic for men's and women's jewelry: beaded bracelets, cabochon rings, signet-style stones, cufflinks and pendants. At 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale it wears well, though like any quartz it can chip on a hard knock.
How do you care for tiger's eye?
- Clean it with warm water and mild soap, then dry it.
- Avoid harsh chemicals, which can dull the polish or affect treated colors.
- Store it apart from harder stones to protect the polish.
- Do not cut, grind or sand it without dust protection, as explained above.
How can you tell real tiger's eye?
- The band of light should move smoothly across the surface as you tilt the stone, following the direction of the fibers.
- Fiber optic glass is a common imitation. It is made in a wide range of colors, including bright colors tiger's eye never has, and its shimmer is often too even and too bright.
- Color treatments are common: red stones are developed by heating, and dark stones are sometimes lightened with acid. These are real tiger's eye that has been treated.
- Natural stones vary, with bands of different shades and an occasional dull patch.
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Frequently asked questions
What is tiger's eye traditionally associated with?
In crystal traditions it is associated with courage, confidence and protection, and with the solar plexus chakra. Roman soldiers wore it in battle for protection. These are traditional meanings rather than measurable properties.
Is tiger's eye safe to wear?
Polished tiger's eye is generally considered safe to handle and wear. The caution is for cutting and grinding rough material, which can release small amounts of crocidolite dust; that work should be done wet, with respiratory protection.
What is the difference between tiger's eye and hawk's eye?
They are the same kind of stone. Hawk's eye, or blue tiger's eye, keeps more of the original blue color of the mineral fibers, while golden tiger's eye has fibers that altered to golden-brown iron oxide.
Is red tiger's eye natural?
Red tiger's eye is real tiger's eye, but its color is usually produced by gently heating golden stones.
Can tiger's eye go in water?
Yes. Tiger's eye is a hard quartz stone and can be rinsed and washed with mild soap. Dry it afterward.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Tiger's eye: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger%27s_eye
- Wikipedia, Crocidolite: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocidolite
- Wikipedia, Chatoyancy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatoyancy
- Geology.com, Quartz: https://geology.com/minerals/quartz.shtml