Tiger's Eye
Quartz that replaced blue asbestos fibre by fibre, keeping the silk.
- Family
- Quartz
- Formula
- SiO₂
- Mohs
- 7
- System
- Trigonal
Science
Tiger's eye began as crocidolite, a fibrous blue amphibole, that was replaced by quartz while iron oxidised to golden brown. The parallel fibres survive and bounce light in a moving band called chatoyancy. Blue, unoxidised material is hawk's eye; the two together are pietersite.
- Mineral
- Quartz (variety)
- Formula
- SiO₂
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Mohs hardness
- 7
- Specific gravity
- 2.65
- Refractive index
- 1.544 to 1.553
- Lustre
- Vitreous
- Colours
- Golden brown, Brown
Composition
SiO₂. Made of Silicon, Oxygen, with trace Iron responsible for colour.
Origin
- South AfricaNorthern Cape
- AustraliaWestern Australia
- Namibia
- India
Filled dots are primary sources
Rarity
Abundant from South Africa. Fine chatoyant blue hawk's eye is less common.
- 1 Abundant
- 2 Common
- 3 Uncommon
- 4 Rare
- 5 Exceptional
Hardness
Tiger's Eye sits at 7 on the Mohs scale. It will scratch glass and holds a polish in daily wear.
Energy
Associations from crystal-healing tradition, recorded here as folklore. They are not medical claims.
Chakras
- Solar Plexus
- Sacral
- Root
Element
- Fire
Zodiac
- Leo
- Capricorn
Planets
- Sun
Properties
- Courage
- Willpower
- Focus
- Grounded confidence
Lore
Roman soldiers wore engraved tiger's eye in battle, believing it lent the eye of the predator. It was rare and expensive until the South African deposits were found in the 1800s.
In modern practice it is a stone of steadiness: the confidence to act rather than the urge to.
- ChatoyancyFrench for 'cat's eye'; a moving line of light from parallel fibres.
- SafetyThe asbestos has been fully replaced by quartz and is not a hazard.