Stone Explorer Tiger’s eye

Compare tiger’s eye, side by side.

Golden, red and hawk’s eye share one material: quartz with aligned fibrous inclusions. Set any two side by side, or follow one proposed growth model in five steps.

Three records

Two ways in · pick one

Any specimen on the right opens its own file.

Evidence instrument

What can you tell?

Source ledger

Every claim keeps its scope.

The sources describe the material or particular studied specimens. Photo credits document images. They do not establish the identity, origin or treatment of a BE. lot.

Jin et al. (2025), Structures Behind the SpectacleMaterial reference · scope of use
Use
Quartz structure, amphibole inclusions, blue/gold colour, competing formation accounts and pietersite boundary.
Limit
This reference does not identify or certify a BE. specimen.
Link
Open source ↗
Heaney & Fisher (2003), New interpretation of the origin of tiger’s-eyeMaterial reference · scope of use
Use
Crack-seal model for studied South African material; discussed in the GIA review.
Limit
This reference does not identify or certify a BE. specimen.
Link
Open source ↗
Penn State, Closer look at tiger’s eye stoneMaterial reference · scope of use
Use
Institutional account of authors’ study; scope limited to examined South African specimens.
Limit
This reference does not identify or certify a BE. specimen.
Link
Open source ↗
GIA, Fall 1989 Gems & Gemology, p. 165Material reference · scope of use
Use
Heating brownish-yellow tiger’s eye can produce a red stone.
Limit
This reference does not identify or certify a BE. specimen.
Link
Open source ↗
Geological Survey of Western Australia: PseudofossilsMaterial reference · scope of use
Use
Tiger iron as a banded, iron-rich rock that contains tiger’s-eye material.
Limit
This reference does not identify or certify a BE. specimen.
Link
Open source ↗
GIA: An Introduction to Gem TreatmentsMaterial reference · scope of use
Use
Bleaching of tiger’s eye; dyeing of quartz and chalcedony.
Limit
This reference does not identify or certify a BE. specimen.
Link
Open source ↗
Rasmeni et al. (2016), Tiger’s eye in the Northern Cape ProvinceMaterial reference · scope of use
Use
Yellow, blue and variegated tiger’s eye recorded in the Prieska area.
Limit
This reference does not identify or certify a BE. specimen.
Link
Open source ↗
Names and material boundariesClassification · trade names · related materials

Tiger’s eye is a quartz variety. Its colour names, treated appearances and related rocks describe different things. A field study near Prieska recorded yellow, blue and mixed blue-yellow material. That regional list does not set a worldwide limit.

Golden tiger’s eye

Natural appearance

Gold and brown occur where iron-rich amphibole inclusions have altered to iron oxides and hydroxides. A golden appearance alone cannot establish the treatment history of a piece.

GIA 2025

Blue hawk’s eye

Natural appearance

Hawk’s eye and falcon’s eye are names for the dark blue appearance. Less altered amphibole fibres retain their colour. Judge the visible sheen separately from any claim that a stone is untreated.

GIA 2025

Variegated tiger’s eye

Natural mixed appearance

Rasmeni and colleagues recorded yellow and blue material together, with distinct contacts, in the Prieska area. Mixed colour belongs in this comparison. It is an appearance within tiger’s eye.

Rasmeni 2016

Red tiger’s eye

Colour and treatment

Heating brown-yellow tiger’s eye can produce red material. A red colour or a trade name alone does not identify the process that produced it. The photographed examples here do not establish a separate untreated red category.

GIA 1989

Pale or unusually coloured material

Treatment question

GIA documents bleaching of tiger’s eye. A light colour therefore needs its own treatment record. Names such as silver, green or galaxy, without a material identification, cannot establish a mineral variety or a specific treatment.

GIA treatments

Tiger iron

Related composite rock

Tiger iron combines tiger’s-eye material with iron-rich banded rock. Jasper and iron oxides contribute layers that differ from the chatoyant quartz. The name describes a rock association.

Geological Survey WA

Pietersite

Related material

Pietersite also contains chatoyant fibrous inclusions. Its chalcedony matrix and disordered texture differ from the columnar quartz of tiger’s eye, and call for a separate formation account.

GIA 2025

Specimen photographsImage credits · reference specimens

Golden tiger’s eye: Ra’ike · CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized; colour and original labels preserved.

Red tiger’s eye: CrimeaGems · CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped; colour unchanged.

Hawk’s eye: Alice Chodura · CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped; colour unchanged.

Formation illustrationExplanatory model · not site data
Use
Illustrates the bounded formation pathway described in this Explorer.
Limit
The drawing is not a measured field section, microscopy image or record of a BE. product.

Questions about Stone Explorer

Which tiger’s eye varieties can I compare?

Golden tiger’s eye, red tiger’s eye and hawk’s eye. All three are quartz with aligned fibrous inclusions.

How does tiger’s eye turn red?

Heating brown-yellow tiger’s eye can turn it red. GIA recorded this result in 1989.

What does the tiger’s eye formation view show?

One proposed growth model for studied South African material, in five steps.