Posted 1 year ago
CStorrs86
(9 items)
I love to make little treasure chests right? Well, I was making an old Victorian box, all red and black and decked out... Well, I was looking for an embellishment and found a cameo... Been hooked since..
Since summer, I've accumulated all of these an I continue my hunt. I fell in love with them because you can date them back to older times, and who doesn't love old stuff on this site?!
Lately, I've found my area has some lovers of cameos, but not a soul around can tell you much more than it's a cameo, so I chose to start reading about them and learning as much as I could. I've got a lady wanting my "expert" opinion... I'm not expert, but I'll do my damnedest to try!
Lately, I've been redoing an old suitcase to display them in, but have found that I'm kinda shitty when it comes to fabric (but boy, I can paint something to look like actual wood!). So it's very discouraging. But I wanna display these bad boys, and still be able to touch them and pull them out!!! So they just lay in these displays, just chilling in some cubbies of a bookshelf that we use as an entertainment center. 24 cubbies and only 2 are used to hold electronics, 7 have junk, and the rest hold the pretties (ranging from hubby's occupied Japan and tiny vase collection, to my courting couples and silver displays).
We found a beautiful Amish chero floor cabinet (I don't want it on the floor),full of hubs tea and vases and our tea sets that are breakable, I found an old 3tier display cabinet and redid it, that's holding some animals and brass. Even have a shelf full of animal figurines, candlesticks, and random little odds and ins. It looks and feel like a horrible museum display in my home (someone come help me redo this cuz he sure isnt helping me at all). But I'll post different ones as time goes on.
Back to subject...
I need help dating some of these if it's possible... I know some of the clasps date to early 1800s and it does make me super happy to have something that old, but on the same line, I also have the resin and fakes. I like them all.. I have Avon, I have some my hubby had a friend who's currently rolling around Asia go and find some cameos in Europe for Christmas, he found me a vintage cameo and the beautiful blue cupids (along with Jade, ivory, pearls, and a few other gems they agreed I'd like and trust me, I'm having fun learning about all of this. For my birthday last Sunday, he gave me hardstone pink earrings!!! I'm totally in love. I've got to go, tossed a candy at the teenager and hit a bookshelf, hubby swears I broke something???? I didn't lol.
Wanna help me date?
I found some the other day going up but they were part of a magnificent collection that is prob too pricey right now. These have always intrigued me highly and some of the beautiful ones really make me swoon, I guess is the word for it !~
I agree with the swoon. And yes, there are some highly amazing ones out there. My husband actually called me obsessed today with them because I can get lost looking up cameos. Haha. I'm trying to figure how to replace the silver around "unmounted" ones, where they took all the metal out... Found even MORE out about cameos and I'm just floored. I need to learn a lot more, become an appraiser, and just live my life looking at them hahaha!
The ones I call "Ponytail Girl" & "Headband Girl", which seem to be the 2 most reproduced artificial cameo designs out there, both date from mid-20th century on. Headband Girl turns up in jewelry marked "W. Germany", so post-WWII, & I suspect she originated there, although sold as a component for use by jewelry manufacturers in other places. Ponytail Girl sometimes appears genuinely cut in helmet shell; I have never seen Headband Girl in anything but man made materials.
The one cameo you show well enough to give any idea of age looks to be early 20th: late 1920s - 1930s. Not seeing the back adds difficulty to dating. She's very pretty.
I am curious about clasps that can be placed to early 1800s. The simple C clasp was it until the late 1800s, when jewelers began to experiment with safety clasps. Are you referring to something else? One thing that does sometimes indicate an earlier piece is having the whole pin assembly - clasp, hinge & pin stem - positioned with the pin running vertically instead of horizontally. By itself, not a guarantee of age, but it's a clue.
I will take more photos when I finish clearing some table space my hubby took over haha. I need to update what I have anyway.
There’s a free catalog you can get from Fire Mountain Gems and Beads which might help you discern which are commonly reproduced such as the “Ponytail Girl” previously mentioned.
That company sells all sorts of jewelry findings so you can likely buy something in which to mount your “loose” cameos.
I’ve found the catalog helpful with crafting my own costume jewelry since they sell every jewelry component and tool imaginable, plus offer instructions.
I’m sounding like I work for the company! I don’t!
Hope that’s helpful. :^)