Tigers Eye Crystals from South Africa
Tigers eye tumbled stones in larger sizes, carefully chosen for our collection of rocks and minerals.
Some of the world's finest tigers eye comes from Griqualand West in the Northern Cape of South Africa.
This distinctive stone is well known for its chatoyant properties. The word "chatoyant," which comes from French for 'cat's eye,' describes how light interacts with fibres within the stone. Chatoyance can be seen in other rocks and minerals but is best known in tigers eye.
Tigers eye is a type of quartz that contains the mineral crocidolite, a type of asbestos. The presence of asbestos often causes panic, however, the fossilised crocidolite is encapsulated deep within the quartz, so poses no risk to health.
The chatoyance in tigers eye is dependant on the orientation of the crocidolite fibres within the quartz. The level of skill applied when cutting this stone also plays a part.
Tigers eye is safe to handle, but appropriate precautions must be taken if the stone is being cut because the dust is toxic.
Although classed as a larger tumbled stone, size can vary from piece to piece.
We also have tigers eye tumbled stones in smaller sizes.
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