SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS CHRYSOBERYL CAT’S EYE

CHRYSOBERYL CAT’S EYE FROM SRI LANKA bunpeiris

Ratnapura, Sri Lanka
The name chrysoberyl is from the Greek Chrysos , meaning golden, and beryllos, which refers to beryllium content. Chrysoberyl Cat's eys is found in the company of sapphires in the gem gravels of Ratnapura (City of Gems) of Sri Lanka.

The record for the size
The cat's-eye record for size was long held by Sri Lankan (Ceylonese) specimen. Until the year 1815, the year of capitulation to the British in Kandy, Chrysoberyl was a Jewel in the Crown of the King of Sri Lanka. The weight of the Sri Lanka’s stones ranges from one to one hundred carats

Legendary qualities
Since ancient times, chrysoberyl has been regarded as a gemstone which protects its wearer and keeps disaster at bay. The cat's eye most of all is seen as a particularly effective protective stone and talisman. On account of its golden tones, chrysoberyl is often also associated with wealth. In modern gem therapy, discipline and self-control are the qualities mainly associated with chrysoberyl. Chrysoberyls are also said to promote concentration, far sighted thinking & and the ability to learn.

Chatoyancy.
Chrysoberyl cat’s eye perfectly mimics the ghostly appearance of the eye of a cat caught in a pair of headlights of a car at night. This eerie yet scintillating effect is caused by tiny, hair-like inclusions reflecting in the light. It is called chatoyancy in Gemology. While this characteristic appears in other gems, none has the clarity & beauty of Chrysoberyl cat’s eye.

Two most popular colours
The stone comes in two colors; translucent honey brown or apple green, & is cut into high-domed cabochons. A slit of silken-sheen of silvery white glide across the face of the dome whenever the gem is tilted slightly, widening & narrowing like the iris of a cat’s eye: the gem winks all the time.

Milk & Honey Effect
Chrysoberyl cat’s eye exhibit a quality called Milk & Honey Effect. When a pen light is aimed at the side of the stone, one half will appear milky white, while the other half remains gold.

Following is a description of a rare specimen of exceedingly high quality, large, uncut yet polished Chrisoberyl Cat’s eye in Sri Lanka by Captain Joao Ribeiro (Portuguese) in the year 1685

The stone which is most sought after in Ceilo (1)& held in the highest esteem for its great value is the catseye;most people do not know of this stone nor have they seen it, for it is not used among us, but the Moors & Gentiles (2) value it above all others. I have seen one of the size of a pigeon’s egg & bored through, which the Prince of Uva (3) wore on his arm when he fled to us.
In shape they are spherical like musket balls some large & some small, & in weight they exceed every kind of precious stone. They are not cut but polished; & they show a colour composed of every colour which God has crated. No one colour is seen separated by itself, but they all make a wonderful mixture & appear to be struggling in their anxiety to get first in the race. At a distance the entire stone seems cut across by a straight line such as cat shows in the middle of its eye at a certain hour of the day. This is styled the beta (4) & from its appearance they name the stone the cat’s eye.
When the stone is moved one beta disappears & another & another takes it space & others still follow, so that the sight is doubtful as to which it saw first; for by this movement in the midst of its glitter one line appears & the others disappear. The stones of the greatest value & most prized are these which have most lines; they are found with three, five, sometimes never with an even number.
Above text in italics is extracted from

Chapter XXI : The great abundance of precious stones & other commodities found in the island of the book "The Historic Tragedy of the Island of Ceilao"
Dedicated to His Most Serene Majesty Dom Pedro The Second
Written by Captain Joao Ribeiro
Dedication on 8^th January 1685 at Lisbon, Portugal by Captain Joao Ribeiro
Translated by P. E. Pieres in the year 1909 at Colombo, Sri Lanka
AES Reprint ISBN:81-206-1334-1

1. Ceilo ( Portuguese) , Zeilan (Dutch), Ceylon (British) Sri Lanka (since 1972)
2. Natives of the Island, i.e. Sinhalese
3. Prince Vijayapala, the Prince of Matale, Sri Lanka, brother of King Rajasinha
4. A vein of gold in rock