Tiger Eye

Tiger's Eye is one of the most hypnotic gemstones in the mineral world — that silky, shifting chatoyant light that ripples across the surface with every movement is unlike anything else. It's a variety of quartz exhibiting chatoyancy — from the French word for "cat's eye" — a metamorphic rock with golden to red-brown color and a silky luster created by parallel fibrous inclusions of crocidolite. Here's a fun fact: in the 1870s, Tiger's Eye was so rare and prized that it was worth half an ounce of gold per carat. Now it's widely available — but no less beautiful. The natural color is a warm golden-brown, and heating produces the solid golden, blue, purple and red varieties you'll also find here.