Buying The "Real" Antique Cameos

By Jon Kreps

The classic cameo is a design that literally goes back thousands of years. After the fall of Rome, the design disappeared until being rediscovered during the Renaissance. When Napoleon wore a coronation crown studded with ornately carved cameos, the popularity for the jewelry skyrocketed throughout Europe. In the middle of the 19th century, popularity reached its peak with Queen Victoria.

Identifying a cameo is simple enough because of the centrally featured portrait adorning each and every piece. Buying valuable pieces that will appreciate in value boils down to knowing how to spot the hidden gems in flea markets and online auctions. It is common to find many of the cheaper pieces featuring plastic or glass portraits while the better cameos will be made from rarer materials like coral or even bone. You certainly won't make any money collecting those made from plastic or glass, but you might come across valuable pieces made from materials like:

Wood

Ivory

Agate

Coral

Shells

Bone

Stone

The truth is, however, that plastic can be made to replicate just about any natural material. More valuable pieces will typically feature a carved portrait while the knock-offs will almost always be molded. Many molded cameos feature blended colors, are light weight, and may even appear to be shiny when compared to their carved counterparts. Although rare, there are some examples of molded versions being made from natural materials like bone or ivory.

But rather than focus on the few exceptions, it is best to concentrate on avoiding the molded pieces. While the online auction sites and most flea markets are riddled with the cheap knock-offs, a veteran collector can spot the carved pieces and typically buy low and sell high. Rounded features and a marked lack of precise or sharp lines are hallmarks of molded pieces. Avoid shopping for cameos until you can easily spot the knock-offs or you may regret it later.

Owing to their fine craftsmanship and superior materials, carved cameos will almost always command more value than any molded piece. While collectors would want to find authentic shell cameos at the flea markets, the plastic imitators are so good that it takes a truly trained eye to spot the differences. Authentic carved cameos made from shell will tend to feature a pair of colors and will be crafted from a single shell. Coral cameos will also feature a thin back but it is flat as compared to the shell varieties. One substance to really try and keep an eye out for is agate which will appear multi-colored due to its layered nature.

Now that you know what to look for with the cameos made from shells, coral, and agate, its time to focus on the more valuable pieces carved out of hard stone. It is quite common to mistake a glass piece for a stone cameo because it will appear applied to the plaque as one might expect from a cheap imitator. Positive identification of a stone piece can be made if the back of the portrait appears slightly undercarved or even concave. The stone pieces are gems in the cameo collecting world but they are rare so be careful not to be fooled by an imitator.

Even if you never plan to collect cameos, it is still important to differentiate the imitators from the valuable carved pieces. Genuine carved pieces appreciate in value and will almost always have greater detail than a plastic or glass piece. Even carved wood portraits are highly valuable and prized among collectors. For anyone taking the time to really learn the distinguishing characteristics, collecting cameos for big profits is very possible.

Jon Kreps is a vintage cameo collector specializing in carved and molded pieces.