TIGER'S EYE (NATURAL AND UNPOLISHED) - South Africa
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TIGER’S EYE
Natural and unpolished
Northern Cape Province, South Africa
Tiger’s eye is the name for a variety of quartz which has a remarkable optical quality called ‘chatoyancy’, where light is reflected in a particular way due to the fibrous structure of the mineral. The effect is similar to the sheen off a spool of silk with the streak of reflected light always perpendicular to the direction of the fibres.
Tiger’s eye started life as the fibrous mineral crocidolite but all the microscopic fibres of crocidolite have been completely encapsulated by quartz. The fibrous structure has, however, been retained producing the optical effect.
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Size: 8 x 6 x 2 centimetres
Weight: 240 grams
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