Gemstones

Information on agate including it's use in cameo carving. Agate is one of the most common materials used in the art of hardstone carving, and has been recovered at a…

The pastel shades of turquoise have endeared it to many great cultures of antiquity: it has adorned the rulers of Ancient Egypt, the Aztecs (and possibly other Pre-Columbian Mesoamericans), Persia,…

Sardonyx is a banded variety of the oxide mineral chalcedony and consists of red bands. The ancient Romans entered battle carrying amulets of sardonyx engraved with Mars, the god of…

Pearls have often been used to enhance cameo jewellery and other items. For thousands of years, seawater pearls were retrieved by divers in the Indian Ocean in areas such as the…

Information and history of sapphires used in cameo carving and as decorative elements to cameos and intaglios. Sapphire is one of the two gem-varieties of corundum, the other being ruby…

Information and history of ruby cameos and cameos surrounded by rubies. Rubies are excellent gemstones for surrounding cameos. They are especially attractive when mounted in gold, as in the gold,…

Information on chalcedony and its use in cameos and cameo carving. Chalcedony is a type of quartz that occurs in several different forms including onyx and agate. It has a waxy…

Information on shell cameos. Although occasionally used in Roman cameos, the earliest prevalent use of shell for cameo carving was during the Renaissance, in the 15th and 16th centuries. Before…

Diamonds have often been used to set around the finest of cameos. The crystal clear stones enhance the look of the cameo. Many of these cameos would have been carved…