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Message:: [QUOTE="Bronwen, post: 9605467, member: 5833"]Mirana covered it pretty well.  The only way you might gain would be if you found an unsigned but exceptionally good cameo, then managed, in a convincing way, to put on the name of one of the engravers who produced exceptionally good cameos.  In that case the false signature would enhance the market value, as signed always beats out unsigned when pieces are of comparable workmanship. We're talking hardstone cameos here.  When I was making inquiries about the authenticity of my Talani Leda, one argument that was made by experts was that Talani is not a name you would choose to forge for the purpose of boosting value. The vast majority of shell cameos are not signed.  You see them here because we hunt them.  Many exquisite pieces are anonymous.  Some signed pieces, such as those by Schmoll, are far from masterworks.  Because the Saulini name is so well known, and because their portrait cameos are mostly so ordinary, theirs is probably the most profitable name you could add believably to a shell cameo.  One advantage of having an erratic, barely legible signature is that it is hard for someone else to replicate it.  The signatures of cameo engravers vary as much in legibility & fineness of penmanship as do those of other artists.  From this: [ATTACH=full]466753[/ATTACH] to this: [ATTACH=full]466754[/ATTACH] Mirana has pointed out the challenges of inscribing anything on to thin shell.[/QUOTE]