Antique Jewelry

  Ancient and Renaissance cameos were made with banded hardstone such as onyx, agate or sardonyx. They were also made out of shell, coral, lava or glass. In fact, during the Egyptian era, glass cameos were worn by those who could not afford the hand carved cameos.   Shell cameos were made as early as the Roman era and more commonly in the Renaissance period, 15th and 16th century. They...

Manufacturing of jewelry can occur in several ways - two of which are die-striking and casting.  Die-striking, from the 1890's to early 1930's requires more hand fabrication and hand finishing of jewelry.  The end result is that die-struck jewelry is of a much higher quality than those items created by way of casting.  The process was tedious creating meticulous patterns, often with filigree and one-of-a-kind results.   With die-stiking, a sheet...

  The Edwardian era, spanning roughly 1901 to 1910, coincided with the reign of King Edward VII in Britain and overlapped with the height of the Belle Époque in France and the Gilded Age in America. This was a period defined by optimism, technological innovation, and a renewed emphasis on social life and luxury. Ballrooms glittered with finely dressed aristocrats, opera houses filled with society's elite, and jewelry became not...

  Jewelry changed during her reign and went from heavy and cumbersome designs, almost masculine, when she was younger to very somber jewelry after the death of Prince Albert. A lighter style jewelry took over later on. Popular stones were agate, amber, emerald, garnet, seed pearls and turquoise, to name a few. The engagement ring given to Queen Victoria was an emerald set in a serpent head. Starting in approximately...