TIGER EYE
Tiger eye is a yellowish-brown to reddish-brown gemstone that has a silky lustre and when polished resembles the bright eye of a tiger. This gemstone has bands of yellow and brown and when viewed from the opposite direction, the colours are reversed. Tiger's eye is usually highly polished and set as a cabochon or cut as a bead to display the stone's chatoyancy, which is the light reflected in thin bands within the stone. This stone is sometimes heat-treated. Most tiger's eye is mined in South Africa, but it is also found in Australia, Brazil, Burma (Myanmar), India, Namibia, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), and the USA. Green-grey varieties of this stone are called cat's-eye quartz. Blue-grey to bluish varieties are called hawk's-eye. Deep brown varieties of this stone are called bull's-eye or ox-eye. Legend states that Roman soldiers wore tiger's-eye for protection in battle as it was thought to be all seeing due to its appearance.
Hardness 4 to 7