Tiger's eye

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Tiger's eye is a quartz whose original fibres have been replaced by silica, which gives it a silky, shifting sheen known as chatoyancy. It is opaque and yellow-brown.

  • Colour: golden brown, with a silky, shifting sheen.
  • Family and hardness: fibrous quartz (silica); Mohs hardness 7.
  • Traditional symbolism: With its shifting golden sheen, it is traditionally associated with courage, confidence and determination.
  • Care: Lukewarm water and a soft cloth; avoid prolonged exposure to sun and heat, which can alter its shade.

Heating a brown tiger's eye produces the reddish bull's eye, and blue-grey hawk's eye can be heated to turn golden. Unusual colours (bright blue, green) are generally dyed.

Profile: Tiger's eye

Colourgolden brown, with a silky, shifting sheen
Mineral familyfibrous quartz (silica)
Hardness (Mohs scale)7
Contact with wateryes
Sun exposurecaution
Traditional symbolismWith its shifting golden sheen, it is traditionally associated with courage, confidence and determination.
Traditional chakrasolar plexus
CareLukewarm water and a soft cloth; avoid prolonged exposure to sun and heat, which can alter its shade.
Good to knowHeating a brown tiger's eye produces the reddish bull's eye, and blue-grey hawk's eye can be heated to turn golden. Unusual colours (bright blue, green) are generally dyed.

See all the stones in the glossary · Cleansing and recharging

The meanings given are traditions and symbolism, presented for their cultural and personal interest. They are not promises of results and do not replace the advice of a health professional.