Large Religious Antique Cameo

This possibly belonged to my Great Grandmother. Measures 2 1/4" x 1 3/4". Biggest cameo I have seen. The mark looks mis-formed? Does it look familiar to anyone?

 

I should say there is no tarnish but it looks silver. No polish residue. Could this me white gold maybe? Mark might be upside down..

 

Flipped.

 

Saint Anne?

 

No clue on the markings. If the setting is American it might not have a gold mark; makers have never been required to use one, and often older manufacturers didn't bother. The shell cameo itself is most likely Italian; most of them still are. The setting looks like something out of the 50s, as does the Madonna image. Does that fit with something great-grandma could have owned?

 

They were German so I am wondering, maybe this is German related or maybe could be American..

 

Could be. On the other hand, the Italians exported carved cameos all over the place. It may well have been purchased there, and the case could have been made there too; it would explain the lack of Italian hallmarks.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions...gonna take my time with this one.

 

The cameo was almost certainly carved in or around Naples. Tens or hundreds of thousands were exported all over Europe, so the frames came from all over. That mark is annoyingly familiar. Feh.

 

Owned, my mother says she took it to a jeweler years ago, told her it was worth $500. Going to take it to a jeweler myself to see what the metal actually is. Even in the little groves around the edge there is no tarnish at all.

 

Kraftblue, please update this thread on what you find. I love cameos.

 

I took this to a jeweler. He said maybe it dates to the 30's. Cameo is Italian and was carved by a Master. (he explained apprentices and masters) Said It is most likely white gold with some silver so it could be workable. A bench piece could have a few different metals in it. Just wish the mark wasn't blurred.

 

I think he's a little early on the date, not that it matters. The only place it's going is around your neck.

 

Said It is most likely white gold with some silver so it could be workable.

To me it sounds as if he was making it up as he went along. This phrase is nonsense.

 

I'm with af. White gold and silver as a mix is sheer fantasy. I don't credit the master carer thing either - the carvers I saw in Naples were simply talented craftspeople.

 

They do sometimes mix a little silver into gold alloys, but it's generally copper or something else. White gold generally doesn't from what I remember, but you never know what some random bench jeweler will do.

 

THe colour of gold is immutably fixed by what it is alloyed with, and how much.

http://chemistry.about.com/od/jewelrychemistry/a/goldalloys.htm

 

Interesting link afantiques. Going to get a 2nd opinion on it.

 

Did the jewelers actually test it?

 

Mill Cove, no.