Learn About Cameos Wire Sculpted Jewelry Custom Handcrafted

Cameos were first carved from hard stones such as chalcedony,onyx,lava stone,amethyst,lapis and others. Carving was done in "intaglio"(carved into the stone),or"glyptic"(background carved away)styles. Egypt is honored as the actual birthplace of the cameo, thanks to Alexander the Great, in the 4th Century,B.C. Cameos were the jewelry of choice by MEN ONLY, being carved for rings as seals and to adorn helmets, breastplates,sword handles,etc. as good luck charms in battle. Common Grecian themes covered mythological gods and goddesses, military victories, military hereos and emperors(predominantly MALE themes).

By the time of Christianity (4th Century A.C.)cameos had grown in popularity, as the Christians translated Greek mythological figures (which they deemed pagan) to Christian themes such as Christ, St.John and the Madonna.

In the 13th Century, the French passed a law forbidding common folk from wearing ANY jewelry, so cameos went into decline. (This was the "Middle" or "Dark Ages" where creativity was suppressed). During the Renaissance that followed (15th-17th Centuries),personages made their cities centers of art once more. Lorenzo the Great of Florence, Italy was one of these, creating an open climate for artisans to design jewelry for all, then viewed as an art form.

A scarcity of acceptable carving material in Naples during this time caused artisans to cut India beads in half to carve on the cuved side, or to re-carve older cameos. Then a fisherman arrived in Italy, having whittled an African conch shell to while away his idle time. The artisans found shells plentiful, inexpensive and relatively easy to carve. They have since "carved a Niche" for themselves in the jewelry art world with their shell designs, shells being obtained from East Africa and large King Conch shells from Florida.

Meanwhile, large agate deposits were discovered near Idar-Oberstein in germany, causing two-tone agate cameo carvings to gain popularity.

The 19th to the beginning of the 20th century ("Victorian" age of Queen Victoria, 1837-1901) saw a decline of CARVED cameos, as American women preferred less expensive reproduction cameos molded from glass hematite, celluloid, bakelite and in the mid 20th Century, plastic. The feminine portraits of ladies with upturned noses, curly hair styles and flower and bird themes were most sought after during and since this time, dictating the majority of popular styles you see even today.

The last 50 years has marked another return of appreciation for hand-carved hard stone (German), shell (Italian) as well as Japanese-produced abalone, mother-of-pearl, and ultrasonically caved agate cameos.

German cameos of today feature ancient themes to fantasy contemporary portraits with operatic themes, even personalized cameos of women today as keepsakes;

Italian shell cameos sell well with feminine portraits of women; synthetic molded cameos with excellent detail are worn even with denim.