A
mineral group containing at least three different
gemstones:
Alexandrite,
Cat's eye chrysoberyl, and yellow chrysoberyl. All chrysoberyls are rare, although yellow chrysoberyl (which can be yellow or yellowish-green) is more common than the others (and is sometimes confused with
peridot; both were once known as "
chrysolite").
The family tends to display gem phenomena such as chatoyancy and color change; some people say that the only real "cat's eye" is a chatoyant chrysoberyl and anything else has to be identified as a "cat's eye quartz" or whatever type of gem it is..