Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

Know there are some saphiret lovers out there:



http://www.ebay.com/itm/113601707966

 

Ha, Bronwen, you are going to make some joolies drool!
Nice and neat piece!
I remember when I haunted flea markets and antique/brocante fairs 20 years ago, saphirets were fairly often encountered for cheap ...
At this time, of course, I had no idea of what it was, and as is was cheap costume, I didn't buy any
I'm sure they are rare to find now

 

This is the first time I have seen one like this. I expect it will do well despite the crack. It can be fun to watch the horse race, even when you're not betting.

 

I'd lay odds on this going through the roof, crack or no crack. I sold a broken sapphiret rosary on Ebay a few months ago that went for a good $200. They were only 4mm beads too. Vintage sapphiret can go nuts sometimes.

 

Pinterest found another one. If someone wants to get me a birthday present this month, this'll do.

 

You'd be ready for the Embassy Ball (think My Fair Lady) in that set. The tiara looks like it has alternating intaglios of Venus & Mars. The necklace is more eclectic, and I do not recognize the scene on the central intaglio from the photo. The stones are all what is called 'nicolo': banded agate in black & white, with just a breath of white left, so the black shows through & creates that blue effect.

 

I'll take the ball invite too.(LOL) These are the real "blue" cameos instead of those dyed agate things.

 

@evelyb30

What material is real"blue"?

 

Bronwyn just told me what it is - agate with the white layer carved down to translucence. The modern ones claim to be carved stone, but they don't even look real.

 

I see,she's trying to confuse us by calling onyx, 'nicolo'.

 

The new ones are dyed within an inch of their lives and ultrasonically cut. I agree, they might as well be ceramic.

I didn't think I was confusing you, I thought I was using a great example to illustrate what a nicolo intaglio is. If you wanted to search for engraved gems with this particular appearance, that is the term to use. Stones prepared in this way are mainly used for intaglios, but the effect can also be seen in some cameos:



The word 'onyx' comes from the Greek for fingernail, so really only applies to the white layer. Most nicolo pieces are sardonyx with the sard layer darkened to black. It's a very old technique.

 

OK, New guy.

Before:


After:


Did not want to soak him because of unknown nature of repair at top, so this is what toothpaste could do.

Anyone care to take a crack at the signature? So far it's defeating me. The stray scratches & dealer's mark complicating things:

 

Incredible what a little toothpaste can do to a filthy guy

I think the first letters are Cus if that makes sense...

 

It's hard to disentangle the meaningful marks from the scratches. The blue outlines strokes I think are part of the signature; the green upstroke I am less certain about; the end is just so jumbled.


There is a contemporary cutter named Cirillo & the art is sometimes passed down in families. There are just so many artisans who only worked in shell that were never documented. I think this piece is just as good as the majority of shell portraits cut by the Saulinis, whose main claim to fame seems to be that they signed legibly & on the obverse, in the manner of hardstone engravers.

 

The pink I believe to be a dealer's mark:

 

Yoohoo! Saphiret lovers @kyratango @evelyb30

https://www.pinterest.com/ostrvsk/сапфирит-сапфирин/

 

I'm more of a fan of selling sapphiret, but ...one of each please.

 

In case this helps...

 

Hello, All,
I'm new to this site and am very happy to have found fellow cameo aficionados! I'm hoping someone can provide some guidance; I'm looking at this cameo and have a few questions.

1) This is being sold as a c. 1870 piece, but it has a newer rollover safety clasp. If the original pin/clasp has been replaced, how does that affect the value?

2) Any impressions on the authenticity of the garnets?

3) I'm noticing some darkened areas at the nape of the neck and in the hair (above and below the diadem). Do you think this is dirt, or stains that would be difficult to remove?

I'd be so grateful for any assistance!

Thank you,
LucidaBlackletter

 

@LucidaBlackletter

2) Any impressions on the authenticity of the garnets?

Garnets are just garnets there's millions of them in many countries,I think I have a couple pounds of them in my basement.
The photo of the stones is too small to see any detail,need a better lite closeup.