Tiger Eye also called as the ‘tiger’s eye’, ‘crocidolite cat’s eye’ or ‘African cat’s eye’, as the name entails, resembles the eyes of a tiger or a female cat. The surface of the stone glistens as a small ray of light passes through. Tiger’s eye is a variety of quartz and contains fibers of crocidolite which is then altered to silica. This is a chatoyant gemstone which is usually golden to reddish brown in color. Tiger iron is the main source of tiger’s eye. Other stones like red japer and black hematite are also obtained from the same rock but by different methods.
Tiger’s Eye Gemstone
The tiger’s eye is a stone that has been used in jewelry even during the times of the Roman civilization. Roman soldiers wore it during battle as a symbol of protection. People still believe that wearing tiger’s eye in their jewelry helps them accomplish their goals without any hindrance and also helps them in taking right decisions. Many people are of the opinion that this gem has medicinal properties that assists in lowering blood pressure, curing bronchial asthma and problems related to the kidneys.
A lustrous golden color is generated from this bead and the variant of the same bead in blue is called as hawk’s eye. This gem looks attractive because of the black and yellow stripes in it and is primarily used in making large pendants and necklaces. The tiger’s eye is given as a wedding anniversary gift, especially for the 9th wedding anniversary.
One must be really careful in buying tiger’s eye as many swindlers have started replacing it with honey-colored stones and also have started making artificial stones that look similar. Though the tigers eye are quiet expensive, people still buy them as they are attractive behold.
The most expensive tiger’s eye gems are still obtained from the mines in South Africa and Griqualand West in South Africa. It is also mined in places place like Australia, Brazil, Nigeria, United States, Canada, Namibia and China.
