Rock Identifier

Rock & Mineral Encyclopedia

Search and identify 1,000+ rocks, minerals, crystals, and gemstones — with properties, formation, colors, hardness, and how to tell them apart.

Tiger's Eye

Tiger's Eye

A golden-brown chatoyant quartz with a shimmering silky band of light, formed when quartz replaces fibrous crocidolite.

gemstone
Hawk's Eye

Hawk's Eye

The blue-grey relative of tiger's eye, a chatoyant quartz showing a shifting band of light like a bird of prey's eye.

gemstone
Cat's Eye Moonstone

Cat's Eye Moonstone

A moonstone variety displaying a moving band of light (chatoyancy) across its surface in addition to the classic moonstone glow.

gemstone
Tiger Iron

Tiger Iron

A banded combination rock of golden tiger's eye, red jasper, and metallic hematite, formed in ancient iron deposits.

metamorphic
Eye Agate

Eye Agate

A chalcedony agate marked by round, concentric ring patterns that resemble eyes when cut and polished.

gemstone
Cat's Eye Opal

Cat's Eye Opal

An opal cut to show chatoyancy, a sharp moving band of light like a cat's eye, usually in honey, green or yellow common opal.

gemstone
Cat's Eye Tourmaline

Cat's Eye Tourmaline

Tourmaline displaying chatoyancy, a moving band of light caused by parallel tube-like inclusions, when cut as a cabochon.

gemstone
Cat's Eye Labradorite

Cat's Eye Labradorite

A labradorite feldspar cut to show a moving band of light (chatoyancy), sometimes combined with labradorescent color flashes.

gemstone
Cat's Eye Morganite

Cat's Eye Morganite

Pink beryl (morganite) that shows chatoyancy, a moving band of light, when cut as a cabochon, thanks to parallel tube inclusions.

gemstone
Cat's Eye Obsidian

Cat's Eye Obsidian

Sheen obsidian cut so that aligned microscopic inclusions produce a single moving band of light, a cat's-eye effect.

igneous
Cat's Eye Aquamarine

Cat's Eye Aquamarine

Aquamarine that shows a bright moving band of light, or cat's eye, caused by parallel needle-like inclusions when cut as a cabochon.

gemstone
Cat's Eye Beryl

Cat's Eye Beryl

Beryl displaying chatoyancy, a bright moving band of light, caused by parallel tube-like inclusions when cut as a cabochon.

gemstone
Bird's Eye Jasper

Bird's Eye Jasper

A microcrystalline quartz jasper marked by small concentric ring or eye patterns that resemble the eyes of birds.

mineral
Cat's Eye Green Tourmaline

Cat's Eye Green Tourmaline

Green tourmaline cut as a cabochon to show a sharp moving band of light (chatoyancy) caused by fine parallel inclusions.

gemstone
Cat's Eye Pink Tourmaline

Cat's Eye Pink Tourmaline

Pink tourmaline cut en cabochon to reveal a moving band of light, a phenomenal gem colored by manganese with parallel inclusions.

gemstone
Pietersite

Pietersite

A brecciated, chatoyant quartz with swirling blue, gold, and brown fibers that shimmer like a stormy sky.

gemstone
Smoky Quartz

Smoky Quartz

The smoky brown to gray variety of quartz, colored by natural irradiation, valued as both a gemstone and crystal specimen.

crystal
Sard

Sard

A brownish-red to deep brown variety of chalcedony, closely related to carnelian but darker, colored by iron oxides.

mineral
Chrysoberyl

Chrysoberyl

An exceptionally hard beryllium aluminum oxide prized for golden hues, sharp cat's-eye effect, and the rare color-change alexandrite variety.

gemstone
Pumpkin Obsidian

Pumpkin Obsidian

An orange-to-rust colored variety of natural volcanic glass whose warm tone comes from iron oxide staining within the obsidian.

igneous
Chocolate Garnet

Chocolate Garnet

A rich brown variety of andradite (or grossular-andradite) garnet, marketed for its warm chocolate color and notable brilliance.

gemstone
Bronze Sheen Obsidian

Bronze Sheen Obsidian

Black volcanic glass with a warm bronze or coppery sheen produced by light reflecting off aligned microscopic inclusions.

igneous
Honey Garnet

Honey Garnet

A warm golden-brown garnet named for its honey color, typically a hessonite grossular variety with a distinctive treacly internal texture.

gemstone
Uvite

Uvite

A calcium-magnesium tourmaline that forms in metamorphosed limestones, typically dark green to brown and often in well-formed crystals.

mineral