A chalcedony that occurs in bands of different colors and is used as a gemstone, especially in cameos and intaglios.
[Middle English onix, from Old French, from Latin onyx, from Greek onux, nail, onyx.]
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A chalcedony that occurs in bands of different colors and is used as a gemstone, especially in cameos and intaglios.
[Middle English onix, from Old French, from Latin onyx, from Greek onux, nail, onyx.]
Banded chalcedonic quartz, in which the bands are straight and parallel, rather than curved, as in agate. Unfortunately, in the colored-stone trade, gray chalcedony dyed in various solid colors such as black, blue, and green is called onyx, with the color used as a prefix. Because the color is permanent, the fact that it is the result of dyeing is seldom mentioned.
The natural colors of true onyx are usually red or brown with white, although black is occasionally encountered as one of the colors. When the colors are red-brown with white or black, the material is known as sardonyx; this is the only kind commonly used as a gemstone. Its most familiar gem use is in cameos and intaglios. See also Cameo; Chalcedony.
A family of graphics supercomputers from SGI that use the MIPS R10000 CPU and range from single-processor workstations to rack-mounted systems with 128 CPUs. They use SGI's InfiniteReality graphics subsystem which processes geometry, imaging and video data in real time.
adjective
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A banded, varicolored form of quartz, closely related to agate; cut into slabs, polished, and used for decorative building stone.
Onyx Acceptance Corporation
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.
It is usually cut as a cabochon, or into beads, and is also used for intaglios and
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. [1]
| Chemical composition and name | SiO2 - Silicon dioxide |
| Hardness (Mohs scale) | 7 |
| Specific gravity | 2.65 - 2.667 |
| Refractive index (R.I.) | 1.543 - 1.552 to 1.545 - 1.554 |
| Birefringence | 0.009 |
| Optic sign | Positive |
| Optical character | Uniaxial |
The word Shoham in the Hebrew Bible (including in the verse Exodus 28:20), which describes a stone in the Hoshen and two stones on the shoulder straps of the Ephod, means onyx, according to Rebbenu Bachya, and additionally represents the Tribe of Joseph. The Septuagint mostly translates the term as beryl, but in some places translates it as onyx, and in a couple of places translates it as leek-green stone; scholars think (according to sources like the Jewish Encyclopedia) that malachite is the most likely meaning since it is banded like onyx, and green like beryl and leek-green stones, and cloudy as beryl can sometimes appear. There is a wide range of views among traditional sources about which tribe the stone refers to.
The word Yahalom in the Hebrew Bible is also thought to be an Onyx by some. The Septuagint usually translates it as an Onyx, but sometimes as a beryl or as a jasper. English translations usually follow one of the Septuagint's choices, but vary as to which. Onyx only started being mined after the Septuagint was written, so the Septuagint's term Onyx probably doesn't mean Onyx; Onyx is originally an Assyrian word meaning ring, and so could refer to anything used for making rings. Yahalom is similar to a Hebrew word meaning hit hard, so some people think that it means diamond. Scholars think that the word refers to Sardonyx - red Onyx, because the sequence of stones in a wall in the Book of Revelation is similar to the Septuagint's list of stones in the Hoshen, which has Sardonyx where the Yahalom stone would be expected.
In the Dreamlands, a fictional location in the works of the author H. P. Lovecraft, the palaces of Kadath are built of onyx.
The onyx is the stone for the zodiac sign, Leo. It can be many different colors, but the ones with the reddish brown color is the preferred type. Onyx is said to banish grief and bring fortune to the possessor of it. It's said to also bring recognition of personal strengths.
Onyx is not meant to be cleaned with an ultrasonic cleaner or cleaned with abrasive or ammonia based cleaner as using such types can cause discoloration of the stone.
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Nederlands (Dutch)
onyx, steensoort
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ορυκτολ.) όνυχας
Português (Portuguese)
n. - ônix (m)
Español (Spanish)
n. - ónice, ónix
中文(简体) (Chinese (Simplified))
缟玛瑙
中文(繁體) (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 縞瑪瑙
한국어 (Korean)
n. - (줄무늬가 있는)마노, 손,발톱
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 縞瑪瑙, オニキス, 縞大理石
adj. - 漆黒の
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) العقيق اليماني
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - שוהם, קוורץ צבעוני, אנך
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| onyx | Black Onyx |
| Onyx Ring | Onyx 1220 |
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