Victorian Selfie

Joden Girl

Baubles, Bling, and Carved Things

Grab your phone, strike a pose, and click!  Selfie!  In less than a second, you can capture a lasting impression.  But in the 1890’s, it took just a bit longer.  While photography was quite popular and widespread, it wasn’t instantaneous.  Instead, artisans took time, perhaps even months to create the perfect image… various methods were employed including miniature paintings, intaglio, and cameos.  Our extensive collection of antique jewelry boasts more than 200 of these tiny masterpieces, including this beauty…

There are two primary types of these vintage carvings – those sculpted from seashells and those cut from hard stones like agate.  This one is the latter, a late Victorian likeness etched from a bi-color piece of banded agate.  The stone itself grows in layers of color, the dark red and then the white.  The artist must then study the stone to determine how to make the face come to life.  This one features a woman shown in profile with her hair pulled back.  

Most cameos have been fashioned into brooches and can be quite large.  This one, however, is a perfectly sized pendant.  The small oval carving is ensconced a within multi-color gold frame, made entirely by hand.  With a pattern of rosy gold swirls, trios of small beads, and single-cut diamond accents…  this gem beats any selfie, hands down!  The number “36” is scratched onto the back of it…  perhaps indicating that it was the 36th carving of it’s kind.  It hangs from an 18 inch curb link chain and is available on our site.  Make a lasting impression of your own with this piece for just $1,400.00.

This pendant is just one piece in the rose gold edition of our Holiday Gift Guide.  Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram to find perfect gifts for every name on your list!  

“Go to our site and look, then come to us and touch.”

Written by Carrie Martin

Photos by Dana Jerpe

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