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Cat's Eye Minerals Collection. Photo: Frans Jonker G. |
Cat's Eye describes a gemstone polished into a cabochon that displays a narrow band of concentrated light going accross the width of the stone.
The precipitates that cause chatoyance in chrysoberyl are the mineral rutile, composed mostly of titanium dioxide. Examined samples have yielded no evidence of tubes or fibres. The rutile precipitates all align perpendicularly with respect to cat's eye effect. It is reasoned that the lattice parameter of the rutile matches only one of the three orthorhombic crystal axes of the chrysoberyl, resulting in preferred alignment along that direction.
Gem species known for this phenomenon include the aforementioned quartz, chrysoberyl, beryl (especially var. aquamarine), charoite, tourmaline, labradorite, selenite, feldspar, apatite, moonstone, thomsonite and scapolite amongst others. Glass optical cable can also display chatoyancy if properly cut, and has become a popular decorative material in a variety of vivid colors.
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Unlike other cat’s-eye gemstones Chrysoberyl can exhibit a very sharp and distinct cat’s-eyes under almost any kind of light. (Photo by: Tino Hammid) |
- Quartz
- Tourmaline
- Apatite
- Beryl
- Alexandrite
- Emerald
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