CAT'S EYE GEMS

Some gems display chatoyancy from the French – ‘oeil de chat’ – that translates as ‘eye of the cat” All cats eye are cut in the cabochon form to show the chatoyancy. Many species can exhibit chatoyancy including tourmaline, apatite, beryl, actinolite, demantoid garnet, scapolite, sillimanite and quartz among others but only chrysoberyl can be called simply ‘cat’s eye’, the others must be prefixed by the species name. Cat’s eye was a popular stone for engagement rings in Victorian times,