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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Bronwen, post: 344526, member: 5833&quot;]This prompted me to look at the several I have mounted in jet.</p><p><br /></p><p>I do not really know anything about the production of the finished pieces, but have come to suspect that the jet frames were made by factories &amp; then bought by jewellers.&nbsp; It would have been possible, as needed &amp; within limits, to either enlarge the opening of the frame or pare down the edges of the cameo to get a better fit.</p><p><br /></p><p>Two of my pieces are helmet shell &amp; one is ivory.&nbsp; I do not have one of the popular pink &amp; black pieces that use a conch shell cameo.&nbsp; Ivory &amp; conch shell can both be flat, or very nearly so, on the back, so they sit well in one of these inflexible jet mounts.</p><p><br /></p><p>Helmet shell is highly variable, from nearly flat to extremely curved.&nbsp; A custom made metal bezel or prong setting can easily accommodate the irregularity.&nbsp; The jet handles the flatter of my 2 pieces well.&nbsp; The other one is deeply concave on the back.&nbsp; Almost impossible to see what&#039;s going on behind, but looks like maybe something like Vulcanite was used to fill in the gap &amp; keep the cameo stuck in place.</p><p><br /></p><p>There is one spot where both the cameo &amp; the bit of jet across from it have fine chips, as though some struggle went on there.&nbsp; Possible this was a retrofit, but more likely, I think, a jeweller who found a beautiful cameo turned out to be unexpectedly challenging to set.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I know, it is amazing how hard it is to find beads that work really well with cameos.&nbsp; I made a strand for a friend who inherited a beautiful cameo brooch from a great-aunt &amp; wanted to be able to wear it more securely.&nbsp; Took her with me to the bead store, where she selected some carnelian beads.&nbsp; I added in pearls &amp; some sparkly rondels (cameo has 5 little diamond accents) to pull it all together.&nbsp; We were lucky to find stones that went well with the color of the cameo.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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