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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Bronwen, post: 376631, member: 5833&quot;]Intaglio locket fob, Mercury/Hermes with caduceus.</p><p><br /></p><p>It is just so hard to tell, especially when the back is covered over, whether an intaglio like this is glass or stone.</p><p><br /></p><p>If the photos are capturing the color accurately, I see a reddish tinge in places where material is thinner &amp; light gets through.&nbsp; The correct term for stone this color is &#039;sard&#039;, essentially the dark end of the color spectrum for chalcedony that has carnelian/cornelian at the other end.&nbsp; &#039;Sardonyx&#039; properly applies only to stone with layers of sard &amp; white.&nbsp; Chalcedony that has been dyed black should be called black onyx, since &#039;onyx&#039; comes from the Greek for &#039;fingernail&#039;.&nbsp; From the seller&#039;s photos, I thought this little Zeus was black onyx.&nbsp; Knew it was likely to be stone because an initial is scratched onto the back.&nbsp; It is sard:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]129827[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>A feature that is by no means a rule but can be a clue is whether the edges where the faces meet the sides are rounded or somewhat sharp.&nbsp; Molded glass tends to be rounded.</p><p><br /></p><p>The color &amp; cut of your intaglio do not rule out natural stone.</p><p><br /></p><p>To have a better idea of the value of the piece you will need to know the quality of the metal.&nbsp; A good stone is less likely to turn up in a costume quality setting, but I always caution that quality of setting alone can not be relied on in determining quality of the cameo/intaglio.</p><p><br /></p><p>Another caution I issue is that patent dates put a floor under estimates of age, not a ceiling on them.&nbsp; Still, would guess the locket was made in the 10-20 years after.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>That is certainly the feature that differentiates it from many others.&nbsp; Looks spring loaded?&nbsp; Does it pop up any time the locket is opened or does it have to be released in some way?&nbsp; Is there glass or a lens in it now?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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