Cat's Eye Labradorite Identification Guide
Identify cat's eye labradorite by its feldspar body, chatoyant band, and cleavage, and separate it from quartz and chrysoberyl cat's eyes.
Read the full Cat's Eye Labradorite encyclopedia entry →
What Cat's Eye Labradorite Looks Like
Cat's eye labradorite is labradorite feldspar cut to show chatoyancy — a band of light from parallel inclusions — sometimes alongside the labradorescence (schiller) labradorite is famous for. It is uncommon and a curiosity among feldspar cabochons.
- Color: gray, smoky, golden, or champagne body; may show flashes of blue/gold schiller.
- Luster: vitreous, sometimes pearly on cleavage.
- Transparency: translucent to semi-transparent.
- Effect: a single soft light band on the cabochon.
Step-by-Step Field-ID Checklist
- Confirm the eye: rotate under one light source for a moving band.
- Look for feldspar cleavage: labradorite has two good cleavage directions meeting near 90° — visible as flat reflective planes.
- Hardness test: ~6–6.5; will be scratched by quartz, and only barely scratches glass.
- Check for schiller: any blue/gold flash points to plagioclase feldspar, not quartz or chrysoberyl.
- Note lower density and luster consistent with feldspar.
Key Diagnostic Tests
- Mohs hardness: 6–6.5 (softer than most cat's eye gems — a key clue).
- Streak: white.
- Cleavage: two good cleavages (~86–90°), distinctive among cat's eye stones (quartz, beryl, chrysoberyl lack good cleavage).
- Density: ~2.68–2.72 g/cm³.
- Refractive index: ~1.56–1.57.
Common Look-Alikes
- Cat's eye quartz: harder (7), no cleavage; a hardness and cleavage test separates them.
- Chrysoberyl cat's eye: much harder (8.5), denser (~3.7), sharper eye, no cleavage.
- Cat's eye beryl: harder (7.5–8), no good cleavage.
- Moonstone/other feldspar: related feldspars can show sheen; moonstone shows adularescence (a floating blue glow) rather than a single chatoyant line.
Where Cat's Eye Labradorite Is Found
Labradorite occurs in mafic igneous rocks (gabbro, anorthosite, basalt). Gem and chatoyant material comes mainly from Madagascar, Finland (spectrolite), Canada (Labrador), and India. Cat's eye examples are a small subset selected for their parallel inclusions and cut en cabochon.
Frequently asked questions
What is cat's eye labradorite?
It is labradorite feldspar cut as a cabochon to display chatoyancy — a single moving band of light caused by parallel inclusions — sometimes together with its characteristic blue-gold schiller.
How do you tell cat's eye labradorite from cat's eye quartz?
Labradorite is softer (6–6.5 vs 7) and has two good cleavage planes meeting near 90°, while quartz has no cleavage and conchoidal fracture. Any blue-gold schiller also points to feldspar.
Does cat's eye labradorite show labradorescence?
It can. Some stones display both the cat's eye band and the blue-to-gold schiller (labradorescence) that makes labradorite famous, though the two effects are produced by different optical structures.
Is cat's eye labradorite rare?
Yes. Labradorite with enough parallel inclusions to form a clean eye is unusual, making it a collector curiosity rather than a mainstream gem.
Cat's Eye Labradorite identified by the community
Recent Cat's Eye Labradorite specimens identified with Rock Identifier.
