Pietersite is a Variety of the semi-precious gemstone, Tiger Eye. 

Pietersite and Tiger Eye are NOT the same stone.

I have observed numerous items on eBay being called Pietersite that (I feel) are not.  So far, this error has not been intentional as far as I can tell.  However, it happens enough that some type of explanation/reference is needed.

Currently (June, 2007), there are only two known sources of Pietersite: Namibia, Africa and the Hunan and Henan Provinces of China. (Pietersite was initially discovered by Sid Pieters in the early 1960's, and the Chinese form has generally been said to have been discovered as early as the 1950's, but did not come to market until 1997.)

China Pietersite:    Africa Pietersite: 

The two sources produce very similarly structured Pietersite, but the colors and hues tend to be somewhat different. The African Pietersite most often has very deep/midnight blues with some gold and less often red.  The China variety has multiple golds and reds with a blue that is lighter when present. However, both varieties always have a high level of CHATOYANCY, regardless of the colors present. Chatoyancy is the appearance of a bright glimmering, subtly changing color effect in the various color segments, as the gemstone is viewed from various angles. As the stone is rotated the glimmering color variations often fade to a much darker version of the color and/or even a dark brown or black color.

The most obvious difference between Pietersite and Tiger Eye (also written as Tiger's Eye or TigerEye) is the fiberous structure of each. While the fibers in Tiger Eye produce long continuous bands of color (usually gold/gold-brown/deep brown colored bands), Pietersite always has a Brecciated fiberous structure. This means that the fiber bands of color in Pietersite are short segments of color, and/or even swirls and short linear segments of fibers existing in many directions/colors at once and side by side. This structure is produced by various of the earth's geological processes breaking-up/forming/re-forming the fibers making up Pietersite.

Below I've chosen close-up pictures of: Left, Africa Pietersite; Middle, Tiger Eye (South Africa); and Right, China Pietersite to illustrate the visual differences between Pietersite and Tiger Eye, and also you can see the general coloration differences between the two types of Pietersite.

 See my ebay guide on Tiger Eye for a general discussion of various varieties of Tiger Eye.

For a very interesting Q&A article on Tiger-Eye (Tigereye-Tigers Eye etc.), please browse to lapidaryjournal.com and see the the Site Index box: Feature Article selection and then: "Eye on Tigereye" article. 

Please Note that even though I have done extensive research on Pietersite, and have made every effort to be correct and accurate, I must be considered a layperson.  I welcome feedback, so if anyone reading this Guide has any comment and/or questions, please do not hesitate to email me.  r12347  :-)  

--- 08/01/07-I'll update based on feedback from readers, if needed, :-)  ---