Gem Profile- Onyx

by Judy Ellis

Onyx comes from the Greek word for nail. Nail? Yes! While many of us think of the color black when onyx comes up, onyx is a variety of chalcedony that can be banded like agate, or have white, black, or even green and other colors present! And onyx is named not for its black characteristics, but for the white onyx that looks like a white fingernail! In fact, the Ancient Roman legend is that when Venus was having a manicure, her fingernail clippings fell into the river, sank, and became onyx stones.

Green Onyx Pendant in 14kt gold filled wire by Joan Madouse - featuring a faceted green onyx from India

Onyx is composed of quartz and moganite, members of the silica oxide chalcedony family. Its color comes from the surrounding minerals.

Sardonyx is a variety of onyx that features red-colored bands instead of white or black. The red banding, called sard, was previously discussed alongside carnelian.

Onyx resembles agate but is typically more opaque than the translucent agate varieties.

You can clearly see the white and black onyx in this pillar, which is actually formed alongside quartz crystals! (photo credit: Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com - CC-BY-SA-3.0 via wikipedia)

While black onyx does occur naturally, it is much rarer than sardonyx, colored onyx, and agates.

Black onyx has been imitated since the 1st century AD, when Romans soaked or boiled chalcedony or agate in sugar solutions and treated them with acids to blacken the absorbed sugars. This technique, along with modern dyes, is still used today.

If you encounter black onyx with white bands or stripes, it is most likely completely natural.

This Onyx Wire Pendant by Ruth Soucek shows the white banding characteristic of onyx!

Onyx was valued in ancient Israelite history, as it is mentioned along with other stones and gold in the Bible in Genesis, Exodus, 1 Chronicles, Job, and Ezekiel.

Onyx has been used since ancient times in carvings and jewelry, often serving as the background in old cameos.

The stone gained celebrity status during Queen Victoria's mourning period after the death of Prince Albert in 1861. Her mourning lasted until her death in 1901, making black onyx and jet highly fashionable for decades.

When Edward VII and Queen Alexandra succeeded her, jewelers and fashion designers reintroduced color and sparkle to jewelry and clothing. While onyx is beautiful, it's remarkable that black mourning attire dominated royal fashion for 40 years.

A masculine Black Onyx ring in silver wire by Frances (Fenya) Lediaev

In modern times, onyx has been found in Scotland, Canada, the US, Madagascar, India, Germany, Czech Republic, Russia, China, and Brazil.

Astrologically speaking, onyx, specifically black onyx, is the birthstone for Leo.

Metaphysically, onyx is said to encourage one to take responsibility for self-improvement, as well as self-mastery; it's associated with determination as well as protection.

Black onyx wire pendant created by Frances (Fenya) Lediaev

Gem Profile- Onyx

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