How to clean it
Warm soapy water. Durable.
Golden brown with a shifting band of light
Tiger's Eye
Properties
Composition
Quartz replacing fibrous crocidolite
Hardness (Mohs)
6.5–7
Crystal system
Trigonal
Colour
Golden brown with a shifting band of light
Mined in
South Africa, Australia, Namibia, India
Worth knowing
The moving band is chatoyancy — light reflecting off parallel fibres. The same effect in a cabochon-cut chrysoberyl is called cat's eye.
History
Roman soldiers carried it into battle as a protective charm.
Practical
Caring for Tiger's Eye
How to tell it is real
Dyed versions in red and blue are common and undisclosed. Natural tigers eye is golden brown; the blue variety is properly hawks eye and occurs naturally, but bright dyed colours do not.
One general rule covers most mistakes: never store stones loose together. Diamond at 10 on the Mohs scale scratches everything else you own, and it does not need much contact to do it.
What that hardness means in practice
Softer than household dust. Better in earrings or a pendant than in a ring, where it takes constant knocks.
Traditional associations
Tiger's Eye is traditionally linked to nerve, practical courage and seeing a situation clearly. In chakra systems it is placed at the Solar Plexus, Root, and in elemental correspondence it is assigned to Fire.
These are cultural associations recorded across various traditions, not claims about physical effects. The composition and hardness above are measurable; this paragraph is folklore, and worth reading as such.
Questions
What is Tiger's Eye made of?
Quartz replacing fibrous crocidolite, crystallising in the trigonal system.
Where does Tiger's Eye come from?
South Africa, Australia, Namibia, India.
How do I clean Tiger's Eye?
Warm soapy water. Durable.
How can I tell if Tiger's Eye is real?
Dyed versions in red and blue are common and undisclosed. Natural tigers eye is golden brown; the blue variety is properly hawks eye and occurs naturally, but bright dyed colours do not.
Can I wear it every day?
At 6.5–7 on the Mohs scale, not in a ring. Keep it to pieces that take fewer knocks.