There is a lot to consider when choosing a piece of cameo jewelry, including the style, type, and material. A little information about the choices you have should help you decide what is right for you.
Decide What Type of Cameo
The first thing you need to do is decide what type of cameo jewelry you desire, as there are many types to choose from. You can find pendants, rings, bracelets, and earrings in the cameo style, just to name a few.
Cameo Pendants
Cameo pendants come in many options, making them more versatile than other choices as there is such a wide range of sizes. If you want a large cameo displaying a battle scene from a classic conflict, pedants serve as a great option.
Also, because they can be larger than some of the other options, there is often more visible detail. Of course, they also come in small pieces if you prefer something more subtle.
Cameo Rings
Like pendants, cameo rings can be a classic carved scene in relief, or a hand-carved stone without a scene. The styling around the ring is typically very distinctive as well.
Therefore, the material the cameo is set in becomes a larger part of the piece.
Cameo Bracelets
Somewhere between the ring and the pendant, cameo bracelets offer a middle ground. Although they are often less subtle than a ring, the setting around the cameo becomes a larger part of the beauty of the overall piece, as is the case with the ring.
You can find bracelets with one very large cameo in the middle, or several smaller cameos linked together that wrap around the arm.
Cameo Earrings
Cameo earrings tend to be quite small. Generally, they consist of either a small relief carving that dangles from the ear in the material setting, or just a stone that rests below the ear.
Though these are perhaps more elegant as an addition to other cameo pieces, they certainly have plenty of appeal.
Cameo Lot
Because they can include any and all of the above choices, Cameo lots are a wide-ranging option if you do not know what piece or few pieces you want to purchase. In the lot, you receive a collected group of cameos for one price. Like any other piece of cameo jewelry, they vary in price, but the ability to gain a group of cameos instead of just one or two specific pieces is an appealing option to collectors or first-time buyers.
Vintage and Antique Cameos
If you desire vintage or antique cameo jewelry from Italy, there are some important facts to consider. When choosing a vintage cameo, many times collectors opt for an original carving specifically from a master craftsman in Italy. Depending on size, type, age, and origin, the value of vintage cameo or antique cameo pieces can come within any price range. It is also important to differentiate between actual vintage and antique pieces, and pieces that are just styled as such.
Choose the Right Material
Although many people believe that cameo jewelry is always a relief carving with a shell backing, that is not the case. Manufacturers carve them out of various materials, including stone, shell, ivory, coral, lava, mother of pearl, and others.
Each of these has a different look, so buyers can find one that suits their style. In addition to the material in the actual carving, the composition of the background is something else you can choose. Like most jewelry, you can purchase cameos in gold, sterling silver, and numerous other materials, each of which brings a slightly different look to the piece.
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