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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Bronwen, post: 635665, member: 5833&quot;]It&#039;s an unusually good appraisal for a jeweller; at least this one correctly IDed the cameo as shell.&nbsp; (You laugh only because you haven&#039;t seen the things I have seen.)&nbsp; Typical in that it is mostly descriptive and focussed on the setting.&nbsp; It does not say how the fineness of the gold was confirmed.</p><p><br /></p><p>The cameo is cut in helmet shell &amp; would have been made in Italy, probably in the area of Naples.&nbsp; The figure derives from classically draped females wearing a diadem, generally seen as being Hera/Juno:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]182756[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The hinge &amp; type of safety clasp (clutch) are typical of the period, which seems routinely to be referred to as Edwardian, but comprises mainly the reign of George V.&nbsp; Guess they couldn&#039;t call it after him since &#039;Georgian&#039; was already in use for the earlier string of Georges.&nbsp; The cameo can be worn as a brooch or as a pendant suspended from the hinged bail, which also swivels, so it can be hidden flat or raised for use &amp; turned into the right orientation to accommodate a chain.&nbsp; It&#039;s a good thing it came with a guard chain, as these fiddly little clasps have a way of opening on their own.&nbsp; It is safer to wear it as a pendant.</p><p><br /></p><p>The filigree-look frame was popular in the first half of the 1920s.&nbsp; This is a page from an American catalogue from 1920; the items are shown in descending order of price.&nbsp; One like yours was selling for about $27.&nbsp; (I&#039;m not sure if this is a wholesale or retail catalogue; suspect the former.)&nbsp; Gold filled versions were also available.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]182758[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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