Cameo brooch - age, material, value?

Adrian-Alexandru Cocea

Adrian-Alexandru Cocea

Registered Guest
Hi!
I bought a lot at an auction and it contained a cameo brooch.

It seems to be old. The support appears to be brass. The four little balls are not made by brass, because two of them have a pink color, I think they look like this, because of usage.

The brooch has a relief image. The brooch has some irregular marks when you look it at light, like it was carved, beside the marks from image.

The brooch has a rectangular shape at top (photo number 5), like a crack, but it does not affect the structure, because it does not appear on the back of the brooch.

Can you help me with information about this cameo brooch? An estimate value?

I uploaded five photos with the brooch.





Anyone can help me with some information? I shall appreciate.

I am expecting an answer. Thank you. Good luck for you to find the desired items. Have a nice day.
 
We cannot help with value, but once you have more info it is easy enough to look at current market prices and solds on ebay/auctions etc.
The pinkish metal looks like copper to me, but it is possbily only the balls, the rest looks like a different plated metal. Particularly the side view gives a very arts and crafts style to the design for me.
 
welcome, Adrian ~

that is a beautiful cameo, one that I would take to a jeweler to appraise. Cameos have an enormous appeal, and yours appears to be of excellent manufacture, imo.

we have always referred to the reddish-toned gold as rose gold; it was particularly popular at the turn of the century.

what a wonderful acquisition!
 
Mary I didn't think of rose gold because the left ball appeared to be made of the pink metal with some tarnished plating remaining on top (appearing as black). What do you think that is then?
 
The mount could be two colors of gold - rose and yellow - which is fairly common. Though it doesn't under normal circumstances tarnish to black like silver will, gold will tarnish in the way it appears this brooch has. The c-clasp is a Victorian style, but I can't tell what the hinge is like. I think this is 1890 - 1910, maybe gold, maybe gold-filled, but should be tested. The cameo itself is not very good quality, though it has classic Greco-Roman features which indicates a Victorian or possibly Edwardian manufacture, and the little crimps or pry-marks around the frame are indications, perhaps, that it is a replacement of the original.
 
Possibly gilt over brass. I don't think it looks like gold, either. Rose gold plating was used, too, which could be the reason some areas look a bit "rosy". Rose gold has more copper alloy, thus the pink color. And, I think that Lynne is correct on the date. It definitely is a genuine carved shell cameo and the little mark at the top could be a little chip out of the shell and could be a result of the "crimp" marks around the bezel. The cameo doesn't look like it fits the mounting quite right which could be indicative of a replacement.
 
Hi!

Thank you all for the information.

@Pinkcoke: I think it is not copper, because I can see that the rose color is only a layer. The balls have multilayer plated (first photo has two layers: rose and silver, the yellow layer is erased).

@vintagemerchant: I think it is not rose-gold. If it is, the balls appear to be plated with rose-gold, but I don't know if the rose-gold is used for plated.
I am from Romania and here are few jewelers who know about antique items and they are not in my town. Here the old craft, like jeweler and watchmaker, are disappearing. I shall try to find a jeweler to appraise it.
I found on a local website (similar to eBay) a user who sells many cameo brooches and I shall ask him.

@Marzilli_Vintage: Thank you for the information regarding age.
The balls have multilayer plated: yellow layer, then rose layer, then silver layer, from what I can see (first photo has two layers: rose and silver, the gold layer is erased and the third photo has two layers: yellow layer and rose layer, the silver layer is not visible, because it isbelow rose).
I upload two photoes with the hinge (photo 2 and 4).

@Pin-A-GoGo: I understand. The support of the broch appears to be gold plated, from I can see from photo 2 and 3.

@BonniesVintageClothesLine: And I thought the same thing as you the first time. I think it is not brass. The support of the brooch appears to be made by a tin.

I uploaded six photos with the details of the brooch (click on them to see the entire photos).





In conclusion, I think the brooch's support appears to be gold plated. I don't know what to think about the balls.

I don't know if it is strange or not, but near the ball from top, is a hanger (photo 6). This is common to these type of brooches?

If you can help me with other information, after you have seen the new photos, I wait your opinions. Thank you. Have a nice day.
 
Not brass, but gilded or gold plated over brass which was a popular thing to do at the time. Their are other types of things that were used such as "rolled gold".....a very think layer of gold over another metal which is different than "gold-filled". It is definitely some type of plating over a base metal all over, including the ball ornamentation. Without seeing it in hand and being able to examine the "wear" areas it's hard to be precise. And, often you have to "smell" the piece to see what metals it's made of. By the way, most likely there is no "tin" in your brooch....don't think it would be strong enough. Could be some nickel in it, though.
 
Hi!

I understand what you tell me.
From what I see at the "wear" areas, the metal is not brass (like you can see in photo 2, near the hinge). Under the plated area is a "normal metal", it has not a special color.
When I wrote "tin", I wanted to say "metal sheet", my mistake.

Thank you BonniesVintageClothesLine. Good luck with your shop, many buyers for your items. Have a nice day.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top