What is Cameo Jewelry? from Harris Michael Jewelry

The Beauty of Cameos.Cameos
are beautifully hand-carved scenes or portraits of people or animals in
three-dimensional relief. Cameos are made from multi-colored conch
shells or banded agate, which is a semi-precious stone. Cameos made
from either material are hard and durable and very beautiful works of
art. The beauty of a cameo is certainly in its carving, but also
in the selection of the material. The carver selects a section of the
conch shell or agate and determines where the layers of color are. Then
the carver creates a design just for that section of shell or agate
that will reveal colored layers as it is carved, making the finished
cameo more three-dimensional. After the cameo is carved, it is polished
by hand creating a wonderful luster and depth to the finished piece.
Typically, the darker color will be in the background of the cameo and
the lighter color in the foreground. Most of Harris Michael Jewelry's
beautifully hand-carved conch shell cameos will have a rich coral color
in the background becoming almost a creamy white at its upper surface.
Our agate cameos will have a rich blue background and a milky white
image. Since every cameo is a handmade work of art, colors will vary.Cameo
History. The art of cameo engraving can be traced as far back as the
second and first centuries B.C., to the ancient Greco-Roman empires,
where cameos enjoyed a golden age. The decline of the Roman Empire,
however, brought with it a period of dormancy for cameo development. It
was not until the Fifteenth Century, during the Renaissance, that
cameos resurfaced as an art form and medium for jewelry. The Medici
family of Florence, great patrons of the arts, is credited with
restoring cameos as jewelry. At about the same time, a very high
quality agate mine was discovered in southern Germany. This region soon
became the center of cameo technology and by by the beginning of the
19th century possessed the most important agate deposits in the world.
Over the past one hundred years, this area pioneered, and is largely
responsible for developing and refining, the techniques used to carve
and color today's cameos. The once rich deposits of these mines have
been exhausted and the world is now dependent on South America for its
supply of high quality layered agate material for cameo carving.Blue Agate Cameos
. The layered agate material that is used in producing agate cameo gem
carvings is usually cut from agates with even parallel layers, a
lighter layer above a darker one. The Brazilian agate used in today's
cameos is naturally multiple shades of gray in color, ranging from a
milky white translucent to dark gray. The lower and softer layer is
dyed to produce the highly desirable rich blue chalcedony color while
the lighter colored upper layer, which is harder, does not accept dying
and remains white or milky in appearance. Only 2% of all agate material
mined is of quality suitable for detailed cameo cutting. It is
important to note that of this small percentage an even smaller
percentage can be dyed blue, making the enclosed cameos precious and
rare. the exquisite motifs and silhouettes featured in Harris Michael
cameos have been carved in relief, employing the use of a highly
sophisticated ultrasonic etching process and elegantly framed in karat
gold.Shell
or Coral Cameo Carving. Shell carvers are very particular about the
kind of shell used for hand carving cameos. The shell is broad and well
colored horizontally with light colors on top of darker colors. Most
shells originate in the Bahamas, West Indies, and Madagascar.
The master carver will select the shell to be used, outline in pencil
the shapes of the cameos that will be formed from the shell, and then
supervise the entire carving process. Because each shell is different,
each cameo will be original and unique. The methods used to carve shell
cameos haven't changed in thousands of years: the carvers use very
sharp steel gravers with handles that fit the hand of the carver. With
these incredibly sharp, precise tools, the most intricate details can
be obtained.Cameos are Desirable Heirlooms. Whether the cameo is a pendant, ring, bracelet or cameo pin,Harris Michael Jewelry's cameos are genuine works of art and are considered an investment that will be cherished for generations to come.