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Post by cabby on Sept 16, 2024 10:53:13 GMT -5
I’ve been looking through my tiger eye and came up with tons of questions! I can’t track down the info I want so if anyone can answer this (and/or point me to a resource about it) that would be awesome! Question 1: all of the red tiger eye is has lots of fractures and pits. Is this normal or defective? Wet slabs that match the dry rough.  Question 2: are the pieces that have permanent dark brown streaks and the pieces that only show brown at certain angles (yellow otherwise) considered the same color? Is that brown or golden? Can’t figure out the difference between those names.   Question 3: the second pic above has a small layer of orangey color. First time I’ve seen that… just a variation on standard tiger eye or different enough to affect value? No reds with the chatoyancy. Question 4: about value… I honestly can’t figure out why some slabs by the same sellers get priced higher than others. Am I correct in thinking that the order of importance is material quality (solid), chatoyancy, then color? question 5: more color name questions! Streaky colors get called variegated or hawks eye, right?  if I only see blue some blue layers and the rest stays extremely dark, is that considered black or still generic hawks eye?  is there a name for distinct layers of blue and gold, or still variegated?  the greens I found videos of are variegated with a green sheen but mostly yellow. Would this slab be called green or still just hawks eye?  sorry for the plethora of questions! Thought tiger eye would be easy to price out but got overwhelmed by the variety! |
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python
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2024
Posts: 292
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Post by python on Sept 16, 2024 11:10:54 GMT -5
I'm just a newb that is learning, but I will take a shot at some answers that I THINK that I know. Hopefully, the more knowledgeable members will either confirm or correct my answers.
1) I think the fractures are normal on Red Tiger Eye since it is heat treated to get the color red.
2) I think they're both just considered Gold Tiger Eye.
5) I think that in order for it to be called Hawk's Eye, it has to be blue.
I have nothing to offer on the other questions. Now we will see if I know anything about this subject 😂.
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Post by cabby on Sept 16, 2024 11:49:15 GMT -5
python thanks for the response! I knew about the heating but didn’t know if the cracking is guaranteed or if it’s a sign that someone rushed it (too hot too fast) This guy seems to have bought fairly nice quality materials overall, so wouldn’t make sense for him to buy subpar red tiger eye… but after seeing the mutilated fire agates I can believe that he would experiment with heating the tiger eye himself.
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Post by tribeunited on Sept 16, 2024 12:21:15 GMT -5
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Post by cabby on Sept 16, 2024 12:28:39 GMT -5
Pretty sure mine is South African, like the second link. Notice how that second link has some blues and yellows? Mine doesn’t have that, so it’s probably “artificially” heated rather than “natural” (happening in the ground before being dug up) |
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Post by tribeunited on Sept 16, 2024 12:35:43 GMT -5
Just wanted to show you I found some natural occurrences. Also show you location of some of the top tier tiger eye.
I can't make a judgement on what's been heat treated or not - I'm going to trust they were right saying mine were heat treated - unless I come across it's twin occurring naturally a reputable website.
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python
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2024
Posts: 292
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Post by python on Sept 16, 2024 14:59:50 GMT -5
python thanks for the response! I knew about the heating but didn’t know if the cracking is guaranteed or if it’s a sign that someone rushed it (too hot too fast) This guy seems to have bought fairly nice quality materials overall, so wouldn’t make sense for him to buy subpar red tiger eye… but after seeing the mutilated fire agates I can believe that he would experiment with heating the tiger eye himself. Ok, I thought that all red was artificially heat treated. I didn't know that there is naturally occurring red tiger eye. I have already learned something new. 👍 See? I told you that I was a newb 🤣. |
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realrockhound
Cave Dweller 
Chucking leaverite at tweekers
Member since June 2020
Posts: 4,483
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Post by realrockhound on Sept 16, 2024 15:16:01 GMT -5
Just wait until you learn about purple and green tiger eye
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Post by tribeunited on Sept 16, 2024 16:07:35 GMT -5
I wonder how that purple stuff looks in slabs. I can't seem to find any slabbed photos.
It's an enigma!
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realrockhound
Cave Dweller
Chucking leaverite at tweekers
Member since June 2020
Posts: 4,483
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Post by realrockhound on Sept 16, 2024 16:50:53 GMT -5
I wonder how that purple stuff looks in slabs. I can't seem to find any slabbed photos. It's an enigma! Probably man made. |
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Post by pauls on Sept 16, 2024 17:06:31 GMT -5
I will attempt to answer the questions about the Tiger Eye going dark across the slab.
When you are cutting Tiger eye, either with the saw or when shaping it to make a cabochon you need to get the fibres orientated so they are parallel with the surface to get a nice moving shimmer. Obviously in most pieces of rough the fibres are wavy so you get some fibres diving down into the stone, the ends of the fibres don't reflect light, they soak it up so are dark. The trick when you are making a cab to get maximum shimmer is to cut the dome so it follows the bendiness of the fibres.
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Post by cabby on Sept 16, 2024 17:11:49 GMT -5
Just wait until you learn about purple and green tiger eye I don’t need more confusion! I struggle enough with naming the naturally occurring colors… Considering how flush the market is with dyed material, I’m gonna just stick to tiger eye, hawks eye, and variegated. Even if it looks black or green I’m just calling it hawks eye. That solves most of my problems! Basically brings me down to: 1) is cracked and pitted red tiger eye normal or subpar? 2) is the layers of blue and yellows still called variegated? 3) is the grading of quality ordered by flaws, then chatoyancy, then color? |
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realrockhound
Cave Dweller
Chucking leaverite at tweekers
Member since June 2020
Posts: 4,483
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Post by realrockhound on Sept 16, 2024 17:13:59 GMT -5
I think y’all are getting way too caught up on fine details 😂
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Post by cabby on Sept 16, 2024 17:20:02 GMT -5
pauls you actually hit upon something that I choose not to ask yet! Noticed that one of my blues has an end grain on the face that is hidden in a dark area then show up like a pattern in the chatoyant band. Wasn’t sure if that was considered nifty or defective.    realrockhound that’s actually a pervasive theme in my life! I tend to get stuck on what I DON’T know and try to learn as much as I possibly can. That’s why I am forcing myself to toss things in the saw this week!
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Post by tribeunited on Sept 16, 2024 17:28:41 GMT -5
I wonder how that purple stuff looks in slabs. I can't seem to find any slabbed photos. It's an enigma! Probably man made. Somebody cut off the air supply I suppose!!! |
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Post by pauls on Sept 19, 2024 17:44:49 GMT -5
Check the end of your slab to see how the fibres bend then cut your cabs to take advantage of the bend, with the bend of the fibres following the dome. If your slab is really wavey then you will get black bands which help to highlight the bright areas, so not a problem, just don't cut it with all the fibres going the wrong way or your cab will be nearly all dark.
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Post by cabby on Sept 19, 2024 18:21:24 GMT -5
Check the end of your slab to see how the fibres bend then cut your cabs to take advantage of the bend, with the bend of the fibres following the dome. If your slab is really wavey then you will get black bands which help to highlight the bright areas, so not a problem, just don't cut it with all the fibres going the wrong way or your cab will be nearly all dark. Thankfully (or unfortunately for me) the vast majority of my tiger/hawk eye is uncut roughs. Probably only 2# or less of the 16# is slabbed up already. Have the option of cutting a different angle if needed! Keep jumping from one thing to the next, but will probably start myself off with slabbettes on the 10” to learn cut angles. I do have one rough that the majority of the cut face is super dark, so wondering if that’s what happened. There’s a few blue bands that stand out amazing against the basically black background, but it might be a good idea to test angles on that piece to see if I can get a better cut. |
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Post by pauls on Sept 19, 2024 21:41:58 GMT -5
Here are a few nice pieces of Wastern Australian Marra Mamba. Not polished just sawn and with a drop of baby oil on them.    |
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Post by rmf on Sept 19, 2024 22:09:06 GMT -5
for a fun experiment take some blue tigereye and heat it gently and it will become golden. Take golden and heat it and it will become red. Heating too quickly causes the cracking due to water expansion.
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Post by cabby on Sept 19, 2024 22:18:22 GMT -5
for a fun experiment take some blue tigereye and heat it gently and it will become golden. Take golden and heat it and it will become red. Heating too quickly causes the cracking due to water expansion. Thank you! That answers the question about the red: it was heating too fast and therefor subpar. Guessing he had experimented with it himself after reading about it. |
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