The Myth about Black Onyx

According to the legends, the goddess Venus was sleeping when Cupid came and cut her fingernails! The nail clippings from the hands of the sleeping goddess spread all over the ground. Later, to immortalize the remains of a heavenly body, these nail clippings were converted into stones later renamed as Òonyx,Ó which means fingernails in Greek. From this myth, Onyx has been symbolized as a protective stone against any of its adversaries. 

 

The Facts about Black Onyx

Onyx is geologically regarded as a special kind of Òchalcedony,Ó which was an ornamental stone mined in the port of Calchedon around Asia Minor. The chalcedony or Onyx stones were heavily mined and used as accessories for gold items and as stone inlays. Onyx seals were commonly used in the Roman society. With a 6.5 rating on the standardized measure of hardness, Onyx is frequently used in stone carvings.Because of its formation as silica deposits from volcanic eruptions, Onyx will frequently display colored stripes on its outer surface. The stripes may be red, brown, or even white. In the ancient Egyptian society, onyx was artificially stained to provide special coloring effects. This only increased their usage and beauty. Of course some people prefer them to be untainted and to remain the color and look Mother Nature bestowed onto them. Natural black onyx is rare; so the black Onyx available for jewelry purposes today is usually produced by sugar-sulphuric acid treatment for the black coloring effect. Natural Onyx can be found in the high amounts in Brazil, Madagascar, Peru, Afghanistan, India, and the Western U.S. 

 

Onyx Basics

Black Onyx, with its fascinating translucent black surface and many available shapes, has become a popular choice of stones for modern jewelry.  As Onyx is considered the birth stone for the Zodiac sign of Leo, you can think of gifting a Leo-born friend some Onyx jewelry  and giving as gifts on any 7th and 10th wedding anniversaries.