My grandmothers cameo

[dberg]

I recently inherited my mothers jewelry, of which includes my grandmothers cameo. I''m taking it next week to have an appraiser look at it, but in the meantime, thought one of you might be able to tell me something. I''ll let the pictures do the talking, as I know nothing of cameos.

 

[dberg]

A close up shot

 

[dberg]

And the blue stones. Aqua, topaz, glass, or plastic?

 

[dberg]

I also recieved this cameo pin, I believe the back states it is gold filled, but I will need to double check. The pin, sadly, is broken.

 

[dbgaap]

I have no expertise to share, but I think your cameo is lovely.


]Let us know what you learn!

 

[glitterata]

What a lovely necklace! They both look like 20th century shell cameos to me--but you probably knew that already. Do let us know what you find out.

Edited to add: If inheriting your mother's jewelry means you lost your mother, deepest condolences in this difficult time.

 

[dberg]

No long ago, my mother was lamenting that she had never worn these cameos. There was never a special enough occassion. She made me promise that I would consider each day a gift enough to wear them if I was in the mood to do so.

Since I've always admired them in her jewerly box, and thought they were fantastic items, I will be sure to do this. I'm fairly certain that they are shell cameos - and the detail on the women isn't fine enough for me to think that they are worth any great sum - but I believe them to be beautiful nonetheless. Thank you Glitterata for your condolences. My mother passed away at the beginning of the month.

Because we lived on opposite sides of the country, we would often call each other up and have internet jewelry viewing dates. I would give her a WWW. address and we would browse the site together - and then she would do the same. We shared the same love of gemstones and jewelry. My husband, bless his heart, tries his best to understand this particular passion of mine, but it is a bit like me trying to get overly excited about computer operating systems. That will be, I think, the hardest part of having mom gone - strange as it may seem.

 

[glitterata]

Oh, I understand completely! That doesn't seem strange at all to me.

I hope you follow your mother's advice & wear those pretty pieces.

(As you can probably tell from my avatar, I love cameos!)

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:




This piece is impossibly beautiful! You are very fortunate in your treasure--I am all envy!


Wear it in good health

cheers




Sharon

 

[Kamuelamom]

Dberg, I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your mother. From what I have read you have shared some very special moments with her when it counted most.

Take care.

 

[Rowan]

Can you see through the cameos? If so, they are likely genuine and probably valuable. I couldn't tell you about the stones. Also, a lot of cameos were done with gold-filled settings in the past. Hope this helps.

 

[dberg]

Rowan,

I can see through the cameos - they are very translucent in spots. The necklace looks as though it has some fracture lines in the cameo.

I've been doing research on cameos the past few days and have decided that they are my new favorite jewelry item. I stumbled across a website that has some stunning pieces, including a piece that has filagree work similar to mine.

I had emailed them about the piece hoping to learn a little bit more about mine and what I heard back was it was probably a late 19th century (which I suspected) shell cameo that most likely came from Italy. So...I guess I'll just have to wait until Saturday when I can take it into the jeweler for more information.

 

[dberg]

pictures of the cameos that are similar to mine. Amazing the things you can find on the web when bored.

 

[dberg]

close up of the filagree

 

[dberg]

Last one...although I think I like the over all design of my grandmothers cameo more. I never thought I would consider purchasing "used" jewelry. I had this perception that one shouldn't wear anothers jewels. Maybe this was a remnant of the diamond engagment ring concept that I at one time bought into. YOu know....don't purchase your engagement ring from a pawn shop or jewelry consignment store because of the bad vibes that might be attached to the ring. It could have come from a broken engagement, or marriage, or something like that.

Now I'm finding that I like the idea of wearing jewelry that has a history. Finding a piece that someone else loved and cherished - that was a treasured heirloom or birthday gift, or just whatever.

 

[dberg]

picture won't attach

 

[KngArthrs Jenn]

beautiful cameos. Smart Mom! It is so nice that she is sharing it with you instead of letting it sit collecting dust. What a legacy you are very lucky.

Jenn

 

[Jennifer5973]

Wow--such exquisite and meaningful pieces.

Thanks for sharing.