How old is my cameo ring

This is true for all naturally carved cameos. Carve marks will usually follow the lines and curves of the design. Scratches that do not appear to follow these lines are usually just scratches and should not be perceived as an indication of authenticity. Feel the temperature. Hold the cameo in your hand for 30 seconds or so. A real stone or shell cameo will feel fairly cool, but a plastic piece will quickly warm up due to the temperature of the room and the heat of your skin.

You could also hold the cameo to your wrist or chin. These areas are generally a little cooler than the palm of your hand and may give you a more accurate indication. Test the hardness. Gently hit the cameo against your tooth and listen for the sound it produces. It it sounds dull or hollow, it is likely made from plastic. In contrast, a cameo that sounds fairly solid is likely made of stone or another natural material.

Be careful when performing this test. Do not strike the piece against your teeth too hard since doing so could damage your tooth or the cameo. Poke the cameo with a hot needle. Heat a sewing needle over a small flame or under running water, then poke the needle into the cameo. It will easily melt soft plastic but should not damage shell or stone.

Note that many modern resins are too hard and will not be melted that easily, though, so the test may not work. Work carefully to prevent an accidental burn while handling the hot needle.

Wear heat-proof gloves or hold the needle with plastic tweezers. Method 3. Examine the cameo for surface paint or enamel chips. Examine the paint or enamel on the decorated front surface of the piece. The number deep scratches and chips should be few, if any.

The quality of paint and enamel used by vintage artisans is usually more durable than that used by counterfeit manufacturers nowadays. Real cameos were made to last, so the design should be fairly intact. This is also an indication of value. Scratched designs cause the value of the cameo to decrease.

Ask yourself how new it looks. Even though the damage to the cameo should be minimal, an authentic piece will not look new. Expect to see faded colors, a few light scratches in the paint, and other signs of wear.

As a general rule of thumb, if the painting and the piece itself looks sparkling new, it probably is. Check the cameo under magnification. Use a magnifying glass or jeweler's loupe to examine the front and back of the piece for signs of lighter, less obvious wear.

Even though there should be few scratches that are obvious with the naked eye, you should be able to see some faint scratches all along the surface under this sort of magnification. Not Helpful 3 Helpful Look for jewelry appraisers at city antique shows, especially those who carry cameos for sale. Not Helpful 4 Helpful My cameo is at least to yrs old.

How do I know if the material is conch or ivory? If it is ivory, it will have become yellow by now; the darker the colour, the older the ivory be careful some people purposefully colour it.

Not Helpful 10 Helpful Where do I go to get a fair price when selling my antique cameo ring? It's made of old miners rose gold and has ornate details on each side.

Do your homework and research what similar rings are selling for on online sites, at estate sales, and in antique jewelry booths at antique shows.

Once you know what fair market value is, then choose a venue to sell it. Realize that unless you have a retail setting of your own, you will not sell at full retail price. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 8. It shouldn't matter as much as other factors like, condition, age, rarity, material used. Since they are not a massed produced item, each one is unique. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 6.

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. When buying a cameo, go through a reputable dealer. In particular, look for a dealer who accepts some level of accountability for the authenticity and value of the merchandise. These sources are more likely to inspect pieces beforehand and only sell real, high quality work. Helpful 3 Not Helpful 0.

Consider taking the cameo to a professional jeweler for appraisal. It is nearly impossible for an amateur to determine the real market value of a cameo, so if you want to know how much the piece is worth, you should ask a professional. Do so after you are fairly certain of the cameo's authenticity to save yourself time and money. Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0. The tridimensional effect must be impressive 2 The care for the details is extraordinary but not redundant, the cameo itself has more 3D effect looking like a sculpture rather than a over-curly woman Just think about to a roman or a greek sculpture, think about Renaissance, think about Michelangelo's David, think about Canova's masterpieces.

The nose of the woman should be "a greek nose" 3 The woman represented is usually more real, not idealized and shows sometimes a greek profile look at the nose This happen often but not always, so a "not greek nose" doesn't mean the cameo is new! How much is old cameo jewelry worth? Let's point out that "Antique doesn't mean beautiful": there are only good cameos or bad cameos. How to give an age to a cameo? I've answered to this question describing how you can tell if a cameo is new or antique.

About the styles that identify the age of a cameo I suggest you this post on our blog For getting even more in depth with this, I suggest you to read my ebook on cameos, you can download it for FREE Just write your email and you'll find the free download link in your email box if you appreciate my contents please share with your friends Hugs Marco Jovon Related posts: do you want to know more about Contact us Find us Choose us.

Related products. Rarity - antique "Love Embraces Moon" , cameo completely handmade in cornelian shell representing "Amore" that wants the night to be longer, set in a simple yellow Gold frame, to wear as pendant. Antique piece with extraordinary details, proudly made in Italy years ago Cameos Antique Victorian Vintage. Rarity - antique "Love Embraces Moon", cameo completely handmade in cornelian shell representing "Amore" that wants the night to be longer, set in a simple yellow Gold frame, to wear as pendant.

Antique piece with extraordinary details, proudly made in Italy years ago. Add to cart. Rarity- antique Love and Psyche , cameo completely handmade in sardonica shell representing the famous myth, set in a simple yellow Gold frame 18 kt, possible to wear as brooch, as pendant or clasp for a necklace. Antique piece with extraordinary details, proudly made in Italy and signed! Cameos Antique Victorian Vintage.

Rarity- antique Love and Psyche, cameo completely handmade in sardonica shell representing the famous myth, set in a simple yellow Gold frame 18 kt, possible to wear as brooch, as pendant or clasp for a necklace. One of the kind antique Venus Bath , cameo completely handmade in sardonic shell representing Venus surrounded by cupids, set in 18 Kt. Around the edging is a small rope design, and in one spot you can see the where it's been soldered. The pin is long from side to side with the cameo set in the middle.

The pin on the back is not the modern lobster kind of clasp. I don't know if this description makes any sense, but I would love to know something about it. It seems very old. Thank you so much! I don't have a picture right now. I have had this for over twenty years. It belonged to my aunt. Would you be able to tell me the year it was made and what it is worth? How can I clean it? There is a signature on the back but I need to clean it.

Thank you! I am posting this again because I didn't really get any info on it the first time around. This is a piece i know very little about. I have no clue what kind of setting it was in but it looks like the face is made out of abalone or mother of pearl, definitely shell of some kind and the back feels like stone.

It came from my great grandmother's things that was handed down after she passed on. Any info I could get that would help me date it and find out the value would be greatly appreciated very much. I have 2 cameos that I don't know much about. The first is what I believe to be a carved shell cameo and the other I am not sure of the composition.

I was also wondering about their approximate age. There are no markings on either one. Thanks so much for your help. I bought this cameo ring at an estate sale and was curious as to it's age, origin and perhaps worth. I was going to list it and haven't a clue as to what to even write.

Any help would be appreciated. I was also curious as to if you happen to know when they actually started stamping gold jewelry as it is stamped 10K. Regards, Sheree' Thomas. I was given this cameo by my mother in the 's. I can't remember if she Said it belonged to her mother or grandmother The chain is orginal and is a triple rolo with sturdy "c" clasp.

It is in excellent condition. Hi, Is there a way to estimate the age of a cameo by the shape of the nose? I was told that the straighter the nose, the older the piece I am also wondering if they may be of Greek mythology?

Is there an estimate of value? Both are 14k gold. Any advice would be helpful! If you could just tell me how much each of them are worth, where they were made, and how old they are. Also could you maybe point me in the right direction of an online place to sell them. My cameo is on a silver pendant with no hallmarks. It's a cameo locket with 3 lady's. The lady in the middle has her back turned and has her arm's round the other two girls.

I've seen the design on a black cameo but not seen one like mine, could you please tell me what you think as i have no clue. Hello, This cameo belonged to my grandmother. It had matching earrings, but I lost one. It is made of some engraved metal which I cannot identify and what would probably be ivory but seems more porous than ivory. The style of the portrait seems to precede the 19th century, but perhaps this is not true.

Can you help me out? Thank you, Barbara. I would love to know the valued amount of my 2 Cameos. But most important I would love to know the age of them. One I know is made out of some kind of shell but the other which I am attaching front and back picture of it to you I do not know what type of material it is made out of..

If you could please help me that would be wonderful. Thank you very much for your time. It was my Grandmothers.

Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.