Cat's Eye Chrysoberyl

Often, the name chrysoberyl is spoken in the same breath as that of the beryl group, the most well known representatives of which include the emerald and the aquamarine. The name 'chrysoberyl' comes from the Greek and means 'gold-coloured beryl'. In spite of its name, however, it is not actually a beryl at all. Together with alexandrite, chrysoberyl forms an independent gemstone category. Its unique pleasing 'chatoyance' or opalescence that reminds one of an eye of a cat. Chatoyance is an optical reflectance effect seen in certain gemstones. Coined from the French "oeil de chat", meaning "cat's eye", chatoyancy arises either from the fibrous structure of a material, as in tiger eye quartz, or from fibrous inclusions or cavities within the stone, as in cat's eye chrysoberyl.

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Information Courtesy of AGTA