cameo ring id

my mom found this cameo ring years ago in a parking lot, of all places!
I believe it's real gold, however it is unmarked inside. I'm guessing it's black onyx. It appears to be in good condition. Who can help me identify how old it is? Is gold sometimes unmarked? She wants to sell it and I have no idea how much she should ask for it.
Thanks in advance friends!

 

It's hard to be sure what the metal is from here. Are there any marks inside, even some you can't read? The cameo itself looks like a white bit epoxied to a black background. Some hardstone cameos are black and white, but I don't think this is one of those.

 

I think your ring is 1870s-80s.
Probably in gold. Not all antique gold was marked.
Not sure about the stone.

 

Probably should have the ring looked at by a jeweler,looks like the stone has 3 flakes on the edges,prongs look "off" in the photos and it may have had a 3/4 shank replacement.

 

With that Roman nose dates it to at least the mid 1800s. The low bun hairstyle was popular in the 1840s to possibly the 1860s. Do get the gold checked. In one of your pics the gold almost has a rose gold look, but that could easily be caused by the lighting. I'm not sure what the black base is. Jet is a possibility. Many cameos were set on black jet. Jet is either black or dark brown. Then again it could be black onyx, but I can't see any of the parallel banding that is in most onyx.

--- Susan

 

Good pictures, which is high praise from the board's most cranky picture critic.

I thinnk it is antique, has worn thin, so thin in the lower part of the shank that it has been repaired, eliminating the marks.

 

Yes, have it looked at by a jeweler who sells estate pieces, do not go to a mall jeweler! You can't decide on what to ask for it until you know if it's gold, if it is what the karat is and what material the cameo is.

Let us know what you find out, she's sweet!

 

Mid-late Victorian, could very well be gold, not unusual to have no marks or as others have said, the shank could have been modified or replaced.
Might be banded onyx where the white and black are all one piece but the white has been carved away to to form the black frame, or it could be layered.
Does the cameo portion look like it's been applied to the black surface or does it look like it's all one piece ?
You really need to take it to a jeweler who knows antique and estate jewelry and can test both the metal and the stone.

 

From the look of it I was wondering if the cameo was a replacement too, for something else. The prongs didn't look right. This piece seems to have had a rough life, or been loved to death.

 

indeed the prongs make it look like a large stone may have been original to the ring...