ot so long ago there was a clue in a daily newspaper's crossword: Gemstone (4,3). The answer to the clue was cat's eye.
The belief that cats eye is a variety of gemstone is not an uncommon mistake. The mistake is probably compounded by the existence of de facto gemstones tigers eye and hawks eye. Actually, cats eye - or chatoyancy - is an optical effect produced by certain gemstones. It is usually found in fibrous gemstones such as quartz, beryl and moonstone. The effect is like a narrow eliptical band of light which moves as the gemstone is oriented.
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