Antique 19th Century Genuine Natural Four and One-Third Carat Hand Crafted/Polished Indian Tiger's Eye Semi-Precious Gemstone Oval.

CLASSIFICATION: Indian Tiger's Eye Polished Cabochon.

ORIGIN: 19th century India.

SIZE: Length: 12mm. Width: 10mm. Depth (Thickness): 3 1/2mm. Measurements approximate.

WEIGHT: 4.33 carats.

NOTES: Upon request we can set your gemstones as a ring, pendant, or as earrings .

DETAIL: Healing stone of the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, Roman Legionary Soldiers carried tiger's eye believing that it gave them an advantage over their opponents in combat. According to ancient Near Eastern legends, tiger's eye enabled the wearer to be "all seeing" - even to the point of being able to see through walls so one could observe what was happening in another room. It was not only worn to enable "clear vision" and good fortune, but also to drive off phantoms and shades of the dead. The Assyrians (neighbors to the Babylonians) carved the tiger's eye into cylinders which were covered with depictions of mythic creatures and names of gods, and the cylinders were then worn about the neck as charms for protection. In nearby ancient Egypt, many Egyptian statues of their various gods were fashioned complete with eyes made from tiger's eye.

Here's a nice quality 19th century antique hand crafted/shaped/polished "Tiger's Eye" semi-precious gemstone from India. This is an exceptionally nice, high quality specimen, with nicely defined and quite sharp "chatoyancy" (eye). Though the feline "eye" is difficult to capture here with a scanner (the eye "travels" following the motion of the scanner tube), it is very well defined in hand. This particular specimen is of very nice quality, very beautiful, a nice jewelry-grade gemstone. Upon close examination of the gemstone it becomes obvious that the gemstone has been hand shaped and hand finished. The slight irregularities which are the hallmark of a handcrafted gemstone are generally regarded as appealing to most gemstone collectors, and is not considered detrimental. Unlike today's computer controlled machine finished gemstones, the cut and finish of a gemstone such as this is the legacy of an artisan who lived two centuries ago. Such antique hand-crafted gemstones possess much greater character and appeal than today's mass-produced machine-produced gemstones.

HISTORY: Tiger's Eye has been enormously popular in various Asian cultures for thousands of years. Cabochon cut stones of this variety show the chatoyancy (small ray of light on the surface) that resembles the feline eye of a tiger. The ancient source for Tiger's eye was India, where it was a very important trade good, and was traded throughout the ancient Orient and into the Mediterranean. It was used as a very important healing stone by both the ancient Egyptians as well as the Greeks. Many ancient Egyptian statues of their various gods have been found with eyes made from tiger's eye. According to ancient legends, tiger's eye enabled the wearer to be "all seeing" - even to the point of being able to see through walls so one could observe what was happening in another room. It was not only worn to enable "clear vision" and good fortune, but also to drive off phantoms and shades of the dead. It was often carried by nighttime travelers for these purposes, as well as to help them see in the dark.

Tiger's eye was also quite popular in the ancient Middle East. The Assyrians (neighbors to the Babylonians) carved the tiger's eye into cylinders which were covered with depictions of mythic creatures and names of gods. These cylinders were then worn about the neck as charms for protection. Roman soldiers carried tiger's eye believing that it gave them an advantage over their opponents in combat. Tigerseye is a form of quartz which contains brown iron which produces its golden-yellow color. Quartz, known to many as "rock crystal", attracted the attention of many ancient cultures with it's brilliant transparency and gorgeous tones. The water-clear variety of quartz, rock crystal, was known to the ancient Greeks as "krystallos", from which the name "crystal" is derived. The name "quartz" is derived from the ancient Slavic word for hard, "kwardy".

There are many varieties of quartz which are not generally recognized as quartz. Purple quartz is known as amethyst; yellow quartz as "citrine", green quartz as "adventurine"; and ametrine is a variegated gemstone possessing a color somewhere between amethyst and citrine. More readily recognized varieties of quartz include smoky quartz, rose quartz, onyx, agates, chrysoprase, and rutilated quartz. Rock crystal is the clearest form of quartz. According to ancient history, the sun and universe were contained within an enormous crystal. Rock crystal was used in ancient times to make crystal balls and bowls. Since ancient times colorless quartz crystals have always been popular in jewelry due to mystical legends concerning the "power" of quartz crystals. Even today many people believe that wearing quartz crystals benefits a person's health and spiritual well being. Besides use as gemstones and decorative accoutrements, quartz was also ground by ancient cultures to produce primitive forms of glass and ceramics. For instance, the ancient Egyptians used ground quartz to produce turquoise colored "faience" beads and amulets. Ceramic "glass-like" beads were also produced by the ancient Sumerian and Babylonian cultures.

SHIPPING OPTIONS: All purchases are backed by an unlimited guarantee of satisfaction and authenticity. If for any reason you are not entirely satisfied with your purchase, you may return it for a complete and immediate refund of your entire purchase price. Most of these antique gemstones were originally part of two collections, one originating in India principally composed of gemstones originally mined in India, Burma, Ceylon, and Siam, and then hand faceted in India. The addition of a second accumulation of antique gemstones originally mined in the Urals in the mid to late 19th century (including alexandrite) completed the collection. These gemstones as well were hand finished. The Urals have been one of the world's major sources of precious and semi-precious gemstones for many centuries. As well, additional specimens are occasionally acquired from other institutions and dealers in Eastern Europe and Asia. These antique gemstones are now in the United States and are available for immediate delivery.

We ship inventory from the USA order fulfillment center near Seattle, Washington. Your purchase will ordinarily be shipping within 48 hours of payment. A certificate of authenticity is available upon request. We prefer your personal check or money order over any other form of payment - and we will ship immediately upon receipt of your check (no "holds"). We will accept PayPal payments. Please see our "ADDITIONAL TERMS OF SALE".