Vintage tigereye beads - superb vintage AA grade 10mm tigereye beads that were acquired in Hong Kong on one of our first buying trips. They are EXTREMELY well cut, perfectly round and with a very high polish as you can see in the photographs! Back in the 1970's - 1980's, the cutting standards in Asia were of the highest quality - most of the beads nowadays are cut in India and are in many cases inferior to the Asian cutting of over 30 years ago.
We traveled to Hong Kong on this buying trip back in the early 1980's for a necklace I had designed for the Smithsonian's mail order catalog and museum shops. We purchased a small number of these 10mm strands of AA grade tigereye and we have decided to part with a few now.
***PLEASE NOTE: Tigereye comes in many grades. Most people are not aware of the wide variability in appearance and polish. Top grade is solid and dense with the mineral fibers intact (no voids), uniform color and hard. In fact,this AA grade of material is used to produce the very rare catseye cabochons, and many AA beads show this unique effect.*****
Lower tigereye grades show variable color (irregular patches of blue and red) and the material varies in hardness, so polished beads have long pits where fibers have actually pulled out.
Supply problems in South Africa have created a shortage of top grade tigereye. Most of what you see sold online is B and C grade material which is far less valuable. The price of such material may seem attractive but " you get what you pay for" so be sure of what you are buying!
We guarantee these tigereye beads to be AA grade and vintage from the late 1970's. Price is for one 16" strand which contains 40-42 beads. We also have these beads in 6mm (AAA grade) and 8 mm size.
The luster on these beads is stunning as you can see in all the photographs although these beads are over 25 years old.
**One of the photographs shows one of many of the books Joel has written. The Color Encyclopedia of Gemstones has for the past 40 years been the world's most authoritative source of information on (and pictures of) gemstones, including many of the rare gems, such as andalusite. (book not included in purchase!) So be assured that you can purchase with confidence from our shop!
I sold many of these gem quality tigereye beads through the Smithsonian Institution's museum shop and mail order catalog during the 1980's and they were also featured in trunk shows at Bloomingdales and Saks Fifth Avenue during this same time period. You can read more about my career as a jewelry designer in my profile page!