tiger eye
overview
- Naming: Tiger's eye owes its name to its cat's eye effect. When the stone is cut into a cabochon, a light reflection is created that is very reminiscent of a tiger's eye.
- Mineral group: Tiger's eye is formed from hawk's eye, a microcrystalline striped subspecies of quartz in a blue-gray to blue-green color that has a striped surface iridescence. The name hawk's eye is derived from the fact that it is reminiscent of the eyes of birds of prey.
- Color: The tiger eye is characterized by its warm, golden yellow and golden brown color nuances.
- cut
- To emphasize the special cat's eye effect, the tiger's eye is usually processed into a cabochon cut.
- Special feature: The cat's eye effect - a unique light reflection that is strongly reminiscent of a tiger's eye - makes the tiger's eye a very special colored gemstone.
Quality factors
Color
The tiger eye is golden brown to golden yellow striped. When a tiger eye is fired, it takes on an intense dark red to purple color. With red tiger eyes you can be sure that the stones are artificially treated.
carat
The value of a gemstone is determined by the so-called 4Cs: Colour, Clarity, Carat and Cut. The carat number is the weight of the gemstone. One carat (ct) weighs approximately 0.2 grams.
purity
The fewer inclusions the tiger eye has, the more valuable the gemstone is.
cut
A tiger's eye is very often cut into a smooth cabochon or sphere, as this is the only way to show off its chatoyance (cat's eye effect).
The Tiger Eye – its Origin from the Hawk Eye
When the fibrous, bluish crocidolite contained in hawk's eye is displaced by quartz deposits that take on the structure of the previous mineral, tiger's eye is created. The fact that the parallel fibers do not run straight but are slightly bent or curved gives tiger's eye its striped appearance. Iron is responsible for the warm, shimmering golden color.
Special tiger eyes
Esotericists use the tiger eye as a healing stone. According to them, it is supposed to relieve headaches and sciatica.
Special occasions
birthstone
The tiger eye is considered the birthstone for November.
occurrence of tiger's eye
The tiger eye gemstone occurs in nature in association with the hawk eye. The largest known deposits of tiger eye are in South Africa - there are also deposits in Western Australia and less significant ones in India, China, Ukraine, Myanmar and California.
jewelry with tiger eye
Are you interested in jewelry with this gemstone or would you like to buy a loose tiger eye gemstone? RENÉSIM will be happy to advise you and help you design your own personal tiger eye jewelry. Fill out the contact form below or give us a call!
Tiger Eye Selection at RENÉSIM
In addition to tiger eye, you can buy numerous other gemstones at RENÉSIM.
Further articles
Tiger's eye exhibits the phenomenon of the cat's eye effect. This means that a narrow reflection of light can be seen on the surface of a gemstone.
To the encyclopedia article – The cat's eye
Like the tiger's eye, the chrysoberyl cat's eye also has a cat's eye effect. Chrysoberyl is one of the rarest gemstones from the oxide and dyroxide mineral class.
To the Gemstone Lexicon – Chrysoberyl Cat's Eyejewelry collections
Optical Effects in the Lexicon
Things to know
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