Onyx is a cryptocrystalline form of quartz. The colors of its bands range from white to almost every color (save some shades, such as purple or blue.) Commonly, specimens of onyx available contain bands of colors of white, tan, and brown. Sardonyx is a variant in which the colored bands are sard (shades of red) rather than black. Pure black Onyx is common, and perhaps the most famous variety, but not as common as Onyx with banded colors.

The name has sometimes been used, incorrectly, to label other banded lapidary materials, such as banded calcite found in Mexico, Pakistan, and other places, and often carved, polished and sold. This material is much softer than true onyx, and much more readily available. The majority of carved items sold as 'Onyx' today are this carbonate material.

Historical usage

Onyx is originally an Assyrian word meaning ring, and so could refer to anything used for making rings. The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University was originally planned to be coated in green onyx. However, there wasn't sufficient green onyx in the world to build such a structure, so that the designers used marble. Onyx was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Use of sardonyx appears in the art of Minoan Crete, notably from the archaeological recoveries at Knossos. Onyx was used in Egypt as early as the Second Dynasty to make bowls and other pottery items. In folk religion, onyx is sometimes used for targets of psychic attacks of all forms, especially those sexual in nature.

Precautions

If onyx is cleaned with an ultrasonic device or cleaned with abrasive or ammonia based chemicals, discoloration of the stone may occur.

See also

• List of minerals