Posted 8 years ago
Jimmy2.0
(1 item)
I was giving this pin by my grandmother she said she had it since before she got married in the late 1940's. I believe is made out of ivory & onyx. I don't want to sell it just Curious about its value and any other info on the pin
Hello Jimmy2.0, Afraid the value here is the inestimable sentimental value the piece holds for you. The piece looks well-made for what it is, but it is definitely costume jewelry. The cameo itself is what is generically known as 'resin', a man made composite. The coloring is meant to look like banded agate/sardonyx: a white figure or scene on a background that is dark brown to black. Some genuine sardonyx pieces utilize another layer of color at the top; the tinge of orange in the hair gives that effect here.
If the setting is not marked as silver, it probably isn't, although it is not uncommon to see artificial cameos n sterling.
This young woman with a ponytail originated in the same period when the hairstyle was popular, the 1950s, and is still being produced today. Since she clearly treasured it, your grandmother may have been given the cameo by her husband, at a time when the image was quite a new and up-to-date one.
Hope you will also treasure it.
I love your comment, cameosleuth:)