Sardonyx cab

I made one for my sister out of the same slab as I have at home - this is it wrapped in gold-filled. The one I have available would look a lot like this.

Do you care to elaborate or should I dig my super-secret decoder ring out of a box in the garage? :-)

it did seem more carnelian than sard, even though that term is used broadly. Red or redish-orange stripes fairly sharp and flat (i.e. onyx) and not curved (i.e., agate) often with alternating white/clear stripes.


sar·don·yx, noun - a chalcedony that is used for jewelry/cameos and has sard (reddish brown chalcedony) and chalcedony of another color, usually white, arranged in straight parallel bands. ("chalcedony" would denote the agate/Sio2 form of onyx and not the softer carbonate forms given the same name)

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Karen I see more red sard looking stones on ebay as beads (e.g., www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-Orange-SARDONYX-Diagonal-Square-Bead-STRAND106817-/360696758824?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53fb33c228 ) or rings (e.g., www.ebay.com/itm/Wire-Wrap-Berry-Wire-Red-White-Sardonyx-Sterling-Silver-Gemstone-Ring-/120736770367?pt=Gemstone_Rings&var=&hash=item1c1c78e93f , or www.ebay.com/itm/18mm-x-13mm-OVAL-CABACHON-RED-SARDONYX-in-SILVER-RING-Size-O-7-/251255848771?pt=UK_Jewellery_Watches_FineJewellery_CA&hash=item3a8003ff43 )  - I like that 1st ring, but other sardonyx stones by the same seller are not as nice, or are banded agate. The 2nd ring is not a bad price.

With ebay there is always the question of if the material is natural.

I did see two necklace/pendants I likes although 1st one is a bit pricey. You could make an offer.

www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Goldtone-Venetian-Glass-and-Large-Red-Banded-Sardonyx-Agate-Necklace-/370869925980?pt=Vintage_Costume_Jewelry&hash=item565991f85c

www.ebay.com/itm/271248036202?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Tommy, I don't recall that fancy jasper discussion, so it must have been a thread I commented in but did not follow. I do know a lot about fancy jasper and bloodstone, but can believe I might have said something wrong. Not so sure about "dead wrong", but without looking into the matter further I might wonder if you misunderstood something. I don't know. Sorry if my not following up disturbed you. I'm particularly saddened that you seem to have been harboring some ill feeling. As a practical matter, questioning everything I have to say, based on one experience is kind of silly. Even if your knowledge is limited, it should be easy to form a more balanced opinion based on the broader body of statements and identifications I post. You intent though seems more to be insulting, rather than to explain the basis of your question. It is moot to say "with all due respect" if you apparently think no respect is due. LOL.

For what it is worth, what some "club member" IDs as agate vs onyx interests me very little unless I know something about their scientific and historical knowledge of onyx. Holding something does not make one more educated. Conducting tests would be a different matter, but most "club members" do not do this. More geologic/mineralogical information is found in books and by talking to geologists. Case in point, if that stone is "softer" as you stated, and some club member identified it as sardonyx, they were full of shit. In person or not.

The terms onyx, sard, and sardonyx have been misused a lot, and many rockhounds have very little actual geological insight, despite holding something in their hand. I happen to have researched "onyx" extensively in connection with my interest in making tuxedo agate. I also have been an avid student of agate/jasper formation for more than a decade. In addition to reading Dr. Roger Pabian's book on agate formation (www.amazon.com/Agates-Treasures-Earth-Roger-Pabian/dp/1554070988/, I had several in-person discussions with Dr. Peter Heaney (news.psu.edu/story/140648/2001/09/01/research/how-do-agates-form) when I was in the Nittany Valley Mineral club. I also read Terry Moxon's book (www.amazon.com/Studies-on-Agate-ebook/dp/B0084FH8YO/) and corresponded with him in several emails. I've also read a lot of web sites, journal articles (especially on thunderegg formation), non-academic pieces in Rock & Gem type magazines. In addition, I attended several scholarly talks on the genesis of agate at both the 2008 Wonderful World of Agates conference, and and the 2012 A Celebration of Agates conference. I carefully read the sections on agate and jasper formation in Ron Gibbs' book, and I'm currently reading Marco Campos-Venuti's new book, Genesis and Classification of Agates and Jaspers: a New Theory.


There is a lot of calcite/carbonate material sold as onyx, although the classification Mexican Onyx (noun, Mineralogy, a translucent, banded variety of calcite, used for ornamental and decorative pieces) would be more accurate. Unfortunately much of this material (e.g., honey onyx, banded calcite) has parallel banding, so confusion abounds. The situation is a mess. Some usage of terms has been descriptive (or marketing) and some has been scientific. They do not always line up.

Agate does not have to have fortification bands, but historically (since Roman times) that was the distinction. If chalcedony has curved bands it is agate and if parallel bands it is onyx. The actual term "fortification" did not come along until a visual connection was made between medieval fortress walls and concentric banding. "Sard" is a term of French origin and refers to a clear or translucent, deep orange-red to brownish-red variety of chalcedony (this would include carnelian, but most folks just say "carnelian"). When there are bands it is called "sardonyx". It seems sardonyx gets used whether the bands are parallel or not. Like I said a bit messy.

Your remark about "softer" immediately suggested this was not true onyx which has to be Sio2 (i.e., chalcedony, MOHS 7). So it was not suitable as a sardonyx birthstone. I also though the banding in your material was not very distinct. My initial post was just an opinion that more vibrant colors and more distinct bands would make a better present.

In my followup, it was easier to link information on websites, and to show pictures on the web - pesky books are so hard to insert into postings. Only a fool would dismiss sound and logically consistent definitions/information because it looked "googled" or utilized a picture from ebay. When taking to someone who might want to purchase something specific and nice for a present, it is only a courtesy to include some links to attractive things I saw for sale - even though it did take extra effort to do that.

In terms of possessions, I have focused my collecting efforts on black onyx and black agate, but I do have a few bits of both sard and sardonyx in one bucket or another. I also have a fair amount of orange calcite with bold white banding. But owning something is besides the point. Being a student of agate is besides the point. Accurate information can be dismissed because it is googled. Attractive pictures of well banded material are somehow unattractive because they are on ebay. The only thing that seems to matter is your random "club member's" identification, and your harbored ill-will.

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"Carnelian (also spelled cornelian) is a brownish-red mineral which is commonly used as a semi-precious gemstone. Similar to carnelian is sard, which is generally harder and darker (the difference is not rigidly defined, and the two names are often used interchangeably). Both carnelian and sard are varieties of the silica mineral chalcedony colored by impurities of iron oxide. The color can vary greatly, ranging from pale orange to an intense almost-black coloration." - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnelian


"Onyx is formed of bands of chalcedony in alternating colors. It is cryptocrystalline, consisting of fine intergrowths of the silica minerals quartz and moganite. Its bands are parallel to one another, as opposed to the more chaotic banding that often occurs in agates. Sardonyx is a variant in which the colored bands are sard (shades of red) rather than black. Black onyx is perhaps the most famous variety, but is not as common as onyx with colored bands. Artificial treatments have been used since ancient times to produce both the black color in "black onyx" and the reds and yellows in sardonyx. Most 'black onyx' on the market is artificially colored." - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onyx

Sorry Karen, I promise this is my final post in YOUR thread.

Hahaha deb193redux I'm not harboring any "ill feeling." I was mostly pushing your buttons in the one place I know you cannot handle which is for someone to question your vast knowledge. The thought of someone accusing you of being a serial googler makes me giggle.

My POINT is... you have a lot to learn about how to treat people Daniel. I co-owned and administered several tropical fish hobby forums for years and I can tell you that your responses border on troll-like. Your first response in this thread was addressed to ME not KAREN - do you not see the problem in that? It's your wet-blanket approach that you can't keep up and not expect a negative reaction to. My offer to help Karen was innocent (and yes I probably would have just given her the stone and wrapped for free because this is FUN to me) and didn't deserve to be nit-picked by you.

Good luck Karen and again SOOOORRRRYYYY!! hahaha

I find it interesting to read peoples responses to others in certain threads. I see how peoples comments could very well be mis-read by other's. It can be hard to convey what one is trying to say on-line.

The problem I see here is I think Daniel commented because what was being posted as a particular Mineral/rock might have been mis-identified and he was letting other's know, as well as the person posting the material, that the material that was being asked for would have had different colors and more banding. These were his exact word's "more red and more lines". I know it can be easy to read into thing at times but I dont know if this was one of them. It's hard enough trying to figure out what everything is when you are new but even harder when materials are mis-labled or mis-identifed.

Calling Daniel out did bring out a lot of great info. on the subject that normally would not be brought up in certain threads and thats the sort of thing everyone can benefit from.

There are lots of members here who have seen lots of different materials in their time and are wealth of knowledege for everyone to benefit from.

Yep, what he said.
I have had a little in person time with Daniel and found him to be informative, pleasant and generous.
Nuff said, sorry for the thread jack.

Lee

Karen,

Are you still looking for something? I know it's the 18th but I happen to be in Lincoln, NE at my parents right now, I have all of my cabs and my wire wrapping stuff, here is the cabochon I have, I'm sorry I didn't see your post earlier. Also, this cabochon is in my personal collection of things I really don't want to sell but since we're both in Nebraska I kind of think it's meant to be... I'll be sad to wrap and give this baby away but if you're still looking I'm willing. Here's my amazingly beautiful Sardonyx cabochon:



Please message me soon if you want this, I will be leaving Lincoln early morning on the 20th. I'll pm you the price and my phone number in case you do want it a text or call is quicker than checking the forums.

Krista

Oops, sorry, didn't see the second page of posts, hope your perfect ebay stone turned out amazing!

Krista