Onyx bracelet buying guide

by Madhubanti Rudra

Catching up with the international fashion trend, onyx jewelleries have become quite popular nowadays. The prolific use of onyx in rings, necklaces, earrings and bracelets are simply meant for those women who have minds of their own. Because onyx is among those few gemstones which are cost effective and aesthetically pleasing.

The changing moods of fashion

With the development of civilization history is being written a new every day. Everyday a new world is born, which is the messenger of fresh ideas of, a world that is the harbinger of new philosophy, a world, which is the mother of new innovations. All these conjure up silent revolutions that can even change the overall cultural topography of a nation affecting the psychological sides of its citizens. They are reflected through the transformed esthetic sensibilities of men. Fashion is an area where like any other forms of art, these transformations are most conspicuously felt. This is a world where the terms, experimentation and innovation are used in the highest pragmatic sense. Introduction and mingling of new kinds of metals and gem stones by the jewellery designers add altogether a new meaning to the philosophy of dressing and styling. The guiding force behind the twenty first century styling is the passion for right accessories and as such sporting right kinds of jewllery with right kinds of attire has become an important criteria for looking fashionable. Then, all the jewlleries and other accessories should be in right tune with each other. As such, side by side of colourful items the basic appeal of black and white seems to remain a constant factor with every wardrobe.

The arrival of onyx

Catching up with the international fashion trend, onyx jewelleries have become quite popular nowadays. The prolific use of onyx in rings, necklaces, earrings and bracelets are simply meant for those women who have minds of their own. Because onyx is among those few gemstones which are cost effective and aesthetically pleasing. Then, because of the quality of colour of this gem, both vintage and contemporary designs look beautiful in onyx jewlleries. And most importantly, you can match your onyx jewellery with dresses of almost every colour. Hence, onyx jewelleries are just ideal for multi-cultural multi-faceted life style of today’s women, for whom jewelleries translate into wearability, not showing off with wealth.

Essentials of onyx

While the jewelleries are made to complement the physical beauty in a woman, some of them are meant to accentuate those interior elements, which are essentially feminine and bracelets are most expressive among them all. With every movement of your hands, the combined glitter of metal and gemstones in your bracelet can create quite a romantic impact. But the choice of an onyx bracelet definitely reflects the thoughtful side of your personality. It speaks of an intelligent mind that can rightly combine the aesthetics with affordability.

Before buying any stone jewellery, one should know a little bit about the grammar of the stone. One should check out for the rules of 4Cs that are applicable for all gemstones. These 4Cs are colour, cut, clarity, and carat weight and all these 4 factors together are responsible for creating the value of the stone.

As long as onyx is concerned, much of its value is attributed to its fine opaque colour. In the ancient age, when Greeks and Romans used to craft wonderful seals out of onyx, all the varieties of stones went under the same level as onyx regardless of their colour variations. But today the name onyx is reserved for the black variety of chalcedony quartz.

However, onyx being a multi-coloured liked agate is found with different coloured bases like brown or red. While white or light reddish ribbons or bands appear against a brown background, it is called sard-onyx. When the base displays a reddish tone, it is called cornelian-onyx. When onyx is used for creating a bracelet, it is important to mount it in a way that its lustrous black colour is displayed in its fullest effect. An ideal stone for curving, onyx is often given cushion and cabochon cuts to bring out the stark black impact.

However the stones that are found nature are in the form of grey chalcedony. They are given a through heating and chemical; treatment to attain such bright black colour. These treatments give the stone uniformity and permanence of colour. Synthetic agates are often confused as onyx. An easy way of distinguishing one from the other is by looking at the types of the ribbons on the stones. While onyx has straight bands of brown and white, agate has curved lines of many colours. So, for making an onyx bracelet, buy some loose onyx stones from a reliable jewellery shop and then set them on a piece according to the design of your choice.

Facts about bracelets

The most important criteria for choosing a bracelet are its fitting. A well-fitted is supposed to drape your wrist in a soft coil neither too snug to put pressure on your skin, nor too lose to be slit down on to your hands. For onyx bracelets, a simple display of the stones in a circular row will be the best design option. For making a major statement and as an accompaniment with evening wear choose a bracelet set with larger stones. For a casual look, small stones are appropriate. Then to make it more eye catching, team it with a gem stone of other light colour. Using white is a good idea for bringing out a superb contrasting effect. As such using mother of pearl with onyx has become a common practice. But a dash of diamond will be a signature of class and elegance. Next important aspect of choosing an onyx bracelet is looking carefully for the devices that help to wear it or take it off. Onyx is a gem stone that does not have a great hardness that easily get chipped and scratched. However a clasp or a spring ring can be good idea for holding an onyx bracelet, as these devices allow no obstruction at the time of putting on or taking off the bracelet.

Onyx Bracelet Care

The right kind of care and treatment is very important for onyx bracelets, because with every movement of your hands they are exposed to the risk of bumping on something or the other. So get the stones of your bracelet guarded by heavy prongs. It ensured that stones do not come out as a result of pressure or knocks. At a regular interval taking out the bracelets and washing the stones with soft brush and warm jewellery cleaners will give them extra shine and greater longivity.