The word cameo originates from the Italian “commesso” which is a technique which started in late sixteenth century Florence where pictures are made with thin pieces of brightly coloured, semiprecious stones including agate, quartz, jasper, granite, amber and lapis lazuli.
A cameo is an engraved gem with a design which has a raised surface and is carved from stones (which are usually agates but sometimes onyx) with layers of different colours. The first engraving can be traced back to the Greek and Roman Empires. Current designs are usually cut from the top layer which is a light colour against a darker bottom layer which produces the cameo design in relief.
The Diamond Store has some very special cameo stud earrings which are mounted in yellow gold to enhance the colour of the stones. They are currently on offer at greatly reduced prices which cannot be repeated when current stocks are exhausted.
Cameos are elegant pieces of jewellery which have been favoured by the aristocracy over the centuries: particularly in Europe with Napoleon’s coronation crown featuring a beautiful cameo design and numerous queens being painted wearing them in some form as a brooch earrings, ring or pendant. They came into their own when the Medici Family from Florence discovered a new good quality agate mine in the Idar-Oberstein district of Southern Germany. The rich deposits here have all been mined with South America now supplying high quality layered agate for modern cameo jewellery.
Cameo earrings from the Diamond Store are precious pieces of jewellery to own with only 2% of all agate mined being good enough quality for detailed cameo cutting. They are particularly stylish pieces of jewellery which can be matched with a large number of different fashions and styles of outfit with the neutral colouring and timeless designs.
