Eye of the Tiger in Jewelry

Tiger eye is a relatively inexpensive gemstone that is used to make a wide variety of jewelry including sterling pendants, necklaces and bracelets. It has warm earthy colors that jewelry fans find quite endearing. Being a form of quartz, its properties are quite similar to those of quartz. It generally has a hardness of around 7 and a specific gravity of approximately 2.67. The stone contains iron oxide in the form of vertically oriented fibers that are luminescent. This property is called chatoyancy, and gives the stone the appearance of the feline eye. The stone is sometimes heat treated to change its color. Heat treated stones have a reddish color, and the change is irreversible. South Africa and Australia are the world’s largest producers of tiger eye. Some of these best quality specimens also come from these countries. Myanmar, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Namibia, and the United States of America are some of the other producers of this stone.