Tiger's eye
Tiger's eye (also Tigers eye, Tiger eye) is a chatoyant gemstone that is usually yellow- to red-brown, with a silky luster.
It is a fibrous silicified crocidolite (blue asbestos), a classic example of pseudomorphous replacement. An incompletely silicified blue variant is called Hawk's eye. A member of the quartz group, its physical and optical properties are identical or very near to those of single-crystal quartz.
The gems are usually cut en cabochon in order to best display their chatoyancy. Red stones are brought about through gentle heat treatment. Honey-coloured stones have been used to imitate the much higher valued cat's eye chrysoberyl (cymophane), but the overall effect is unconvincing. Artificial fibreoptic glass is a common imitation of tiger's eye, and is produced in a wide range of colours.
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