Cameos are classic antique jewellery pieces which include a lot of decorative pieces under it. The most popular cameos are brooches, bracelets, rings and lockets. A cameo brooch is used to beautify and make elegant styles of scarf, blouse or purse.
Cameo Jewellery
Cameo jewellery is miniature art pieces with the deception of intricately carved elegant women. They are made from an assortment of materials and come n various sizes and styles.
The cameo is an eminent engraving done on stone, glass, coral and other gem material. The top section of the base material is carved and then the background is made by removing more material from the back.
How Cameos Are Made By Artisans
The carvers create a classic cameo piece with the help of sharp steel gravel that has a custom handle tool. The tool is used for precise and accurate carvings. The process of making the cameo starts by removing the initial layer and then the surface is sand to find the proper place to form the design. The next step is to engrave the intricate figure on the stone and then finally polishing the cameo with oil. The piece has to be made with utmost care or else the carving can get disfigured or the piece can get damaged during its creation.
Types of Cameos
The common materials on which cameo pieces are made are glass, stone and lava. The designs are varied and unique but they range from depictions of soldiers, animals, women, flowers, landscapes and gods.
Metamorphic Adornments
Rare and valuable cameo pieces are engraved with many different images like that of a divine women and an intricate flower arrangement. These are very expensive and very rare.
Cameos Habille
Habille cameo are very rare and historic pieces of jewellery which portrays a figure of a woman adorned and accessorised with her own jewellery. The jewellery she wears may include precious metals and also tiny diamonds to give them a realistic look. Cameo Habille began to be made in the Victorian era and were made until the Edward era.
Banded Agate
Banded agate is a hard stone, also known as sardonyx whose cameos are the rarest of all. They are very rare and most expensive because they were made by very skilled artisans who carved on two or three layers with different colours. The scenes on the cameo are very detailed.
The artisans made the hair of the figure in a darker shade than the layer they used for the face of the figure. Also, they featured a fancy collar on the figure in a stark white colour in contrast to a brown background.
Lava Cameos
The lava cameos were made from the hardened lava extracted from Vesuvius volcano. They made as early as in 17th century. The lava is soft material and easy to carve as compared to stone and shell. Earlier they become popular during the Victorian era and were less expensive during those times, but today they are very expensive and rare since lava is easily damaged and it is hard to find a classic lava cameo.
Cameos are considered the queen of antique jewellery Perth and can be purchased only at reputed jewellers on in the online market.