Tiger's eye
Variety SiO2
Also called Tigereye and Tiger eye
Take care.
- Can shed asbestos fibres: Keep it in a closed box, and never break, saw, sand, or scrape it.
About it
Golden, silky quartz with a band of light that glides across it (chatoyancy) from fibres of altered crocidolite. Mostly from South Africa and Western Australia; polished pieces are safe, but cut and grind it wet.
- Type
- Variety
- Group
- Quartz variety
- Formula
- SiO2
- Hardness (Mohs)
- 6.5–7
- Specific gravity
- 2.64–2.71
- Streak
- white
- Lustre
- silky, vitreous (glassy)
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Colours
- golden yellow, golden brown, red-brown (heated)
- Transparency
- opaque
- Cleavage and fracture
- none; conchoidal fracture
Typical values: real specimens vary. For more, see mindat.org.