Tiger’s Eye of My Son

My son joined me this year on my Tucson trip, which was the best ever! We had so much fun and while there, he picked up quite a bit of fossils and this strand of tiger’s eye, his favorite stone. I told him I would design something for him using this faceted stone and maybe mix in a little bit of bone that I had purchased too. The result is this really unique necklace fit for a young man…and he tells me that he really likes it!

The necklace is crafted of faceted round tiger's eye stones, a mix of creamy bone rondelles and gold tone metal disks.

Tiger’s Eye quartz is a semiprecious variety of quartz exhibiting chatoyancy, a vertical luminescent band like that of a cat’s eye. Unlike cat’s eye quartz, tiger’s eye is formed when parallel veins of crocidolite (blue asbestos) fibers are first altered to iron oxides and then replaced by silica. As a result, it is more opaque and has a rich yellow to brown color and when cut and polished, the stone has a fine luster. The major source of tiger’s eye is Griquatown West, in South Africa, but it has also been found in Wittenoom Gorge, Western Australia.

 

Legend says that the stone takes its name from its resemblance to the eye. This appears when the brown inclusions are cut in a certain way, just like the cat’s eye and falcon’s eye stones. For about a hundred years it has been highly sought after and used for jewelry or for therapeutic purposes.

The traditional properties of the tiger’s eye say that is an effective healing stone for bronchial problems, helpful in the cases of headaches and migraines and effective in lifting depression and promoting concentration.

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Tiger Iron, the Mystery

Tiger Iron is a misunderstood gemstone and often mistaken for Tiger’s Eye, with it’s hues of blackish blue, golden yellow and deep red. However, Tiger Iron is composed of 2 billon year old sedimentary deposits comprised of three other gemstones; tiger’s eye, red jasper and black hematite. The rippled wavy bands of color often resemble beautiful scenic views, giving luster hue effects in the polished gemstones.

Tiger Iron in its own right is an actual gemstone with its own properties, but is a combination of other stones as well; ultimately it is a member of the quartz family. It has been mined in such places as England, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, and even the Lake Superior Region of the United States.

One such form of tiger iron is Marra Mamba, found in one are of Australia near Mount Brockman. It is very rare type of tiger iron and contains shades of red, green, yellow, and blue. The area has been mined out for many years so very little of the ‘true’ Marra Mamba is available today.

Physical Properties
As a banded mineral composed of tiger eye, red jasper and hematite, tiger iron stimulates the vitality and enhances the immune systems. It strengthens force of will and courage and can be quickly utilized as a protective shield. This is an especially strong stone, which brings to mind the saying "Be careful what you wish for".

Healing Properties
Tiger Iron is considered an important healing gemstone as it combines the healing properties of Hematite (pain), Red Jasper (heart/circulation) and Tiger Eye, which stimulates energy production. In addition, it is considered a stable healing stone, which rarely needs cleansing.

In this design I have paired the three colors of red, blue, yellow/gold together. I then accented the necklace by wire wrapping each stone in non-tarnish gold wire. The earrings dangle with the same matching pieces and wire wrap.

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