Antique Jewelry And Book
Q.Just wondering if anyone can tell me where I might be able to find some info on pricing a cameo. My great-grandmother gave me a cameo when I was very young, and I'm just wondering how much it's worth. Any good books? I've looked through several antique jewelry books, but can't seem to find the right one. The cameo I have is a shell cameo, and a couple of antique jewelry dealers said they're worth more. I don't have a clue!
A.An excellent book on cameos is "Antique Jewelry with Prices," by Doris J. Snell, Wallace Homestead Book Co., publishers (1984), a div. of Chilton Book Co., Radnor, PA. Used to cost $19.95 (8 1/2 x 11" soft cover), you can probably buy it in a used book store for half now; I did. It has six pages devoted to nothing but cameos, with values, descriptions, years. You may find a look-a-like there. What you need to look at is: Is carving fine, artistic, high relief or crude, amateurish and flat-looking? Your variables in price is everything in between. Is your cameo white/pink (Rosalyn), white/brown (Sardonyx), or cream/reddish (Carnelian)? Everything else being equal, the Rosalyn is generally the most prized but this opinion varies among collectors. Gold or non-gold setting, "chest" on the lady or no chest, a diamond set on her necklace or no diamond; these things also do conspire to raise or lower its value. Keep in mind - there is no real SET value on anything! You have basically these prices: What you insure it for (High retail); What you sell it for at retail (probably a little lower than insurance replacement value); What you sell it for to a dealer (most likely half of the lower retail value, or even less depending on whom you are dealing with!); And, tragically, what you sell it for to anyone if you are desperate for money (very little, in other words..). The more educated you are as to what you really have, the better off you are. If you know a fine jeweler whom you trust, see him/her for an opinion. Tell him/her first that you are not looking to sell it so s/he doesn't feel either compelled or obligated to tailor his appraisal to a price you'd be willing to give it up for! Even your jeweler is a business man, no matter how much you trust him! You can also take it to a few different jewelers for "second" opinions. Do not do this on the same day and in the same jewelry district! Jewelers have "jungle" telegraph and communicate the same appraisal to each other once they get wind of your going from store to store! This is a very old practice in larger cities.
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