What Is the Process for Cutting Onyx?

What is the process for cutting onyx is an important question.  Onyx is considered to be a member of the marble family, so since marble can be a softer stone, you would think that it’s easily cut. However, this stone used for ring stones and jewelry accents to wall and even floor tiles, is actually a bit more difficult to work with because of how fragile it can be.

The process for cutting onyx varies depending on what you are cutting, but in every case, great care has to be taken because of the fragile nature of the stone. This is especially true in jewelry applications, where smaller pieces mean more definite cuts, but it’s still quite easy to break an onyx wall tile if you drop it. The problem is, with onyx wall tiles and jewelry stones being as fragile as they are (and even though they are softer than something like granite) they are still relatively hard, so they can’t be cut by traditional methods. 

• For instance, if you’re cutting onyx tiles, you won’t be able to just score-and-snap the tiles like you may some others.
• You’ll have to line the cuts you’re making using a pencil and then follow them on a tile-cutting wet saw, making sure your speed doesn’t cause a break in the tile.
• For cutting jewelry stones, you’ll need the expert hands and the high-performance jewel cutting equipment that diamond designers use in order to cut their stones, along with the polishing equipment to give the onyx its remarkable luster. 

So, now you know more about the process of cutting onyx for a few different applications and also about why cutting onyx is difficult.