Appraise Your Natural Onyx: Value & Appraisal Options

Question
I have a piece of natural onyx that is uncut and weighs about 2 1/2 lbs. I was wondering if you knew how much it would be worth or where i could take it to be appraised.

Answer
Hello,

As a gemstone cutter I have bought pounds and pounds of dyed agate for onyx.  It is uniform in color and polishes well for jewelry.  The onyx I buy comes slabbed 3 to 6 and even 8mm thick depending on what you are doing with it.  I can buy that for 50.00 per pound.  The natural onyx I have looked at is not uniform in color.  Which is what cutters normally want nice even black with a good polish.  So I am not sure what your stone would be worth.  It depends on if someone wanted it for a different reason.  Say they prefer natural over dyed and wanted it as a collection piece or the wanted to carve it.  You could contact New Era Gems at neweragems.com They may give you an idea.  They buy large amounts of rough.

Good Luck,

Steven D.Covey