Tiger iron is an altered rock composed chiefly of tiger's eye, red jasper, and black hematite. The undulating, contrasting bands of color and luster make for an attractive motif, and it is mainly used for jewelry-making and ornamentation. Tiger iron is a popular ornamental material used in a variety of applications, from beads to knife hilts.
Tiger iron is mined primarily in South Africa and Western Australia. Tiger's eye is composed chiefly of silicon dioxide (SiO2) and is colored mainly by iron oxide. The specific gravity ranges from 2.64 -2.71. It is formed by the alteration of crocidolite.
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Famous quotes containing the words tiger and/or iron:
“Time is the substance from which I am made. Time is a river which carries me along, but I am the river; it is a tiger that devours me, but I am the tiger; it is a fire that consumes me, but I am the fire.”
—Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)
“Summer involves going down as a steep flight of steps
To a narrow ledge over the water. Is this it, then,
This iron comfort, these reasonable taboos,
Or did you mean it when you stopped? And the face
Resembles yours, the one reflected in the water.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)