Antique Onyx Jewellery

Onyx is either a jet-black stone with bright white bands or a deep red variant sometimes known as sardonyx. Both gleam wonderfully when professionally polished and have been used to create some truly remarkable items of antique jewellery.

During the Victorian era, antique onyx jewellery pieces featured onyx prominently in mourning jewellery, often accompanied by sombre motifs like weeping willows and urns.  However, onyx's beauty extended beyond mourning. Artisans used banded onyx to create cameos with contrasting white figures, while its solid black variety provided the perfect canvas for engraving family crests on signet rings. The Art Deco era saw onyx paired with diamonds and other gemstones to create bold, geometric pieces. Finally, black onyx beads were strung into long necklaces which remained popular throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries.

View our collection of antique onyx jewellery below.