Tiger's Eye Guide

Tiger's Eye is a popular, well known chatoyant gemstone. It takes on a few different forms that can be difficult to distinguish and it is often heated or dyed. In this article I will show the difference between Tiger's Eye, Tiger Iron, Hawk's Eye and Variegated Tiger's Eye. Also the altered versions like Red Tiger's Eye. 

Tiger's Eye

Tiger's Eye is the name for a variety of Chatoyant Quartz. Its distinctive sheen comes from the subparallel intergrowth of Quartz crystals and amphibole fibers that have turned into Limonite. It is found in a range of golden colors and ideally has large areas of Chatoyancy. 

Tiger Iron

Tiger Iron is a type of Banded Iron formation featuring three distinct zones of Red Jasper, Hematite and Tiger’s Eye. An ancient stone, Tiger Iron formed over 1.7 to 2.2 billion years ago during the Precambrian era. This combination boosts energy, creativity and overall vitality. The inherent protective properties of Tiger’s Eye are enhanced by the shielding effects of Hematite. An excellent stone for motivation, energy renewal and will power. Tiger Iron is not the same as red Tiger’s Eye, which is heat treated Tiger’s eye. Natural Tiger Iron is actually quite uncommon, with inly a few deposits worldwide. Defined banding with chatoyancy is ideal. 

Blue Tiger's Eye / Variegated Tiger's Eye

Blue Tiger's Eye is Crocidolite. All Tiger's Eye begins as Crocidolite, and over millions of years, the blue fibers oxidize and are replaced or encapsulated by Quartz. Often, you will see a combination of blue and gold color in the same stone. The term for this mix of color is Variegated. Blue Tiger's Eye would be complete Crocidolite, which is all blue with a grayish hue. 

Hawk's Eye / Falcon Eye

These trade names are used to describe either all Blue Tiger's Eye or variegated Tiger's Eye.

Red Tiger's Eye

Heat Treated Tiger's Eye. The only time you will see true red in Tiger's Eye, is in Tiger Iron which features Red Jasper. 

Synthetic Tiger's Eye

Tiger's Eye is almost never faked. It is more common to see Tiger's Eye heat treated to look red. It would cost less to purchase natural commercial grade Tiger's Eye than to create a synthetic. 

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