[Source] Cat's eye

Jewelry Discussion
1

hi, can anyone direct me to a source for cat’s eye? Thanks, Sue
Kapoor

2

Dear Sue: Just what kind of cats eye are you asking for? I presume
since you did not specify that you mean chrysaberyl if that is the
case http://www.multicolour.com/chrysoberyl.html should have what
you need if you are looking for more exotic stones with cat’s eye’s
email me of list as I have collected this type ( as well as stars
and color change ) stones for years . HTH Ron

3

Sue, What kind of cat’s eye are you looking for? Or maybe I should
ask what color? Chrysoberyl (traditional), tourmaline (lots of
colors), aquamarine, opalite, iolite, quartz, garnet, and more are
all possibilities.

4

Quite a few places carry the cats eye beads. Most beading supply
stores have them. One place that has a nice selection is Texas Beads.
Their website is: www.tx-beads.com

Betty

5 
 can anyone direct me to a source for cat's eye?

What kind of cat’s eye stone are you looking for?? cat’s eye
tourmaline, aquamarine, chrysoberyl, rubelite, alexandrite… amongst
others

Best regards, Robert Lowe, Lowe Associates - Brasil, Gemstones; Rough;
Specimens, Tucson - February, 5 - 10, 2004 - GJX # 205
e-mail: Brasil <@Robert_P_Lowe_Jr1>

6

hi sue- which type of cat’s eyes are you after? in new zealand
they have a lot of colour on the outside and a strong spiral on the
other. the size is good, too (for rings etc, approx 12-20mm dia). the
australian cats eye tend to be white only, the ones from the south
pacific are big ( up to 30mm), very colourful and with areas of
texture.

buying them? from shell shops usually. they have a range of them
from different parts of the world.

all the best- and they are lovely for jewellery michael

at Jenny Gore Enamels Adelaide, South Australia Ph. +61 8 8386-2233
Fax
+61 8 8386-0945 @jenny.gore

7

Gemologically, the term “cat’s-eye” used by itself is correctly
applied to only one gem: the greenish, grayish to amber type of
chatoyant chrysoberyl.

Even when the alexandrite variety of chrysoberyl is chatoyant (in
addition to exhibiting color change!) it’s called “cats-eye
alexandrite,” not just “cat’s-eye.”

Of course it’s one of those terms that over time has come to be used
for any gem that exhibits the “eye” effect, most commonly quartzes
like tiger’s-eye and hawks-eye. I own a cat’s-eye opal triplet from
the Spencer,Idaho opal mines. Natural cat’s-eye precious opal has
now been recognized from Australia and there’s opalite from Africa
and Brazil that exhibits fine eyes when properly oriented. Eyes can
occasionally be fashioned from many gem species: feldspar,
tourmaline, scapolite, beryl, etc.

One of the very best “eye” stones is sillimanite because it can be
very close in appearance to chrysoberyl though it has very different
physical properties. I can supply a range of very reasonably priced
cat’s-eye sillimanites from inventory. These stones “blink” when
rotated in the proper light and display the famous "milk and honey"
effect. I can usually supply chrysoberyl and alexandrite cat’s-eyes
by special order if I know a customer’s specific needs and price
range.

Please email me off-forum if you have questions.

Rick Martin
MARTIN DESIGNS