sardonyx

mineral

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July 13, 2026

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Sardonyx is a translucent variety of chalcedony, a silica mineral, known for its light to dark-brown hues. It has been a popular semiprecious stone for centuries, particularly for engraved jewelry.1

Sardonyx is characterized by parallel bands of sard (a brown variety of chalcedony) and white chalcedony. Historically, it was highly valued, even more so than gold or silver. This stone has been widely used in the creation of cameos and intaglios.12

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sard and sardonyx
sardonyx, translucent, light- to dark-brown varieties of the silica mineral chalcedony, historically two of the most widely used semiprecious stones. Sard and its close relative carnelian have been used in engraved jewelry for centuries. Sard (from Sardis, the ancient capital of Lydia) was originally called…
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sardonyx, translucent, light- to dark-brown varieties of the silica mineral chalcedony, historically two of the most widely used semiprecious stones. Sard and its close relative carnelian have been used in engraved jewelry for centuries. Sard (from Sardis, the ancient capital of Lydia) was originally called…
Read More

Western sculpture
Sculpture in the applied arts
…Jupiter; the Gemma Augustea, a sardonyx (an onyx with parallel layers of sard) in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, and the Grand Camée de France, a sardonyx in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, which were probably carved under Caligula and present, respectively, the apotheosis of Augustus and of Tiberius, the latter with…
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…Jupiter; the Gemma Augustea, a sardonyx (an onyx with parallel layers of sard) in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, and the Grand Camée de France, a sardonyx in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, which were probably carved under Caligula and present, respectively, the apotheosis of Augustus and of Tiberius, the latter with…
Read More