Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

That really jarred me too, when I saw it. Conceivable it is over 40 years old, so may qualify as vintage. The hinge & clasp & attachment point for a safety chain make me think it was not made yesterday. I'll have to see if I can find anything about when hardstone cameos began to be ultrasonically cut; that's what I think this is.

 

The last post on this page was made in 2006 & poster says saw process 20 years before, so that's some clue.

https://www.gemologyonline.com/Forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=925

 

Going from the style of the mark alone (and recognizing there are often exceptions in the world of design), I have a real problem with seeing this before the late 1990s. My first guess would've put it post-2000.

 

GIA info dated 1983 page 200 states ultrasonic carving of cameos a recent development..................... https://www.gia.edu/doc/Engraved-Gems-A-Historical-Perspective.pdf

 

Thank you - very helpful!

 

She stamped out mostly pretty!!!!!

 

Laser carving for me
Modern, because of the uplifted horse's nose
Nice scene!

Edit: I wrote this before reading comments on the last page
So Ultrasonic/laser as Bronwen think

 

Bigfoot looks like it has resin bubbles and holes,or maybe just a lot of dirt.

 

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/14-kt-gold-signed-jw-cameo-brooch-538207987

 

Good find. Probably made in Germany, so I'm thinking the order of the initials is more likely to be WJ. Definitely contemporary ultrasonically cut.

 

Dirt caught in tiny irregularities in the surface. Here's the back:



A resin one would probably have been done better.

 

Listed for $225 as Angel Skin Coral.

Fortunately for the eager buyer, multiple cameos of PINK GLASS -- identical figure -- available for much less

In fact, before finding this listing, I had already started referring to this woman as "Pink Glass Lady".

 

Yeah, I searched both ways, this was the only one I found.

Between the two pieces, dependent on which is earlier, either quality has taken a significant hit or they've gotten way better.

 

This one, judging by what I see on eBay. Had not seen one like the hunting scene before. As I said, my first reaction was that it had to be Incolay.

 

She's similar to 'Czech glass Psyche':

https://www.antiquers.com/threads/cameos-show-tell-or-ask-answer.23493/page-67#post-562020

Will have to see if she appears in colors other than pink. Suspect she does. I'd be on the lookout for her in black.

 

Thank you! I was just paging through this thread trying to find 'Czech Glass Psyche' so I could mention the similarities -- but I couldn't remember her name, just what she looked like, lol!

 

While I know it's not the main point, the once well-crafted logo/mark is just so sad on the piece I found ... maybe just a weak photo (I don't think so).

Honestly? I have never understood the popularity of Incolay.

 

I have one or two bitty pieces around, but ... me either. Mine was a gift from someone or other, otherwise I wouldn't have any either.

 

While I think Incolay, the original company's products, is underappreciated. As someone who loves cameos/engraved gems, I'm pleased to have a jewelry box similar to this one:



In their early years they used both designs taken from 18th century engraved gems & original ones created by a staff of artists working in the neoclassical style. The company changed hands a couple of times & got to where their big sellers seem to have been trinket boxes in pink & blue, with birds & flowers, suitable for little girls' bedrooms, as well as decorative plates.

The cameos in the men's jeweler Dante's Museum Masterpiece cufflink line are Incolay, copied from some of the Poniatowski gems. You can see some of them here:

http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/FFE39D3C-2DB6-401C-8126-6AAF3832CDC7

 

I didn't even know they did jewelry -- it's only the trinket boxes I've seen... and always in a home with tastes that did not match my own.

And speaking of teeth in cameos (weren't we just?):