Onyx from Russia, Kola Peninsula

Onyx

en.wikipedia.org
Onyx is a banded variety of chalcedony, a cryptocrystalline form of quartz. The colors of its bands are white and black.
Sardonyx is a variant in which the colored bands are sard (shades of red) rather than black.
The agate-like sardonyx (banded agate). The specimen is one inch (2.5 cm) wide.It is usually cut as a cabochon, or into
beads, and is also used for intaglios and cameos, where the bands make the image contrast with the ground. Some onyx is
natural but much is produced by the staining of agate.

http://www.bernardine.com
Onyx is the Mystical birthstone for the month of December. It is also the birth stone for the Zodiac sign of Leo. The following
list shows all the other birthstone tables in which onyx appears as either a birth/natal stone or as the stone for a given
zodiac or astrological sign. See other December birthstones.

Mystical - December
Zodiac - Leo
Talismanic - Capricorn
Sun Sign (Star Sign) - Leo
Hebrew - July
Roman - July

Onyx is a chalcedony quartz found in Brazil, India, California and Uruguay. It has a fine texture and black color. Some onyx
also displays white bands or ribbons against a black or brown background and this variety is known as sardonyx.

http://www.gemstone.org
Onyx was very popular with the ancient Greeks and Romans. The name comes from the Greek word onux, which means
fingernail. The story is that one day frisky Cupid cut the divine fingernails of Venus with an arrowhead while she was
sleeping. He left the clippings scattered on the sand and the fates turned them into stone so that no part of the heavenly
body would ever perish. True, black isn't normally the color one associates with fingernails. (Did Venus wear Vamp?) But in
Greek times, almost all colors of chalcedony from fingernail white to dark brown and black were called onyx. Later, the
Romans narrowed the term to refer to black and dark brown colors only.