the property of some minerals to exhibit a wavy, luminous band with a silky lustre, reminiscent of the eye of a cat, in the centre of a cabochon-cut ... [1 related articles]
The luminous property that some gemstones have, whereby their inclusions are aligned in such a way that they reflect light in thin bands that make the stone resemble a cat or tiger's eye. This effect is usually only seen in cabochon stones
the effect seen in dramatic wood grain direction changes as seen in flame figured maple.