Vintage 18k 750 yellow gold framed hand carved shell cameo brooch pendant

Description

View Vintage 18k 750 yellow gold framed hand carved shell cameo brooch pendant with current marketplace pricing, condition, product images and item details. The 750 stamp agrees with both. Photos of my scale and my test are included. This one does not have to. I am not representing 7.78 g of gold content. The carving is crisp, with the undercut hair detail intact. Vintage 18K Gold Carved Shell Cameo Brooch / Pendant - Italian Hallmark - 7.78 g A hand-carved shell cameo of a young woman in profile with a floral sprig, set in a solid 18K yellow gold frame with an engraved ribbon-and-scallop border. The mount is dual-purpose: a pin back with rollover safety catch, plus a fixed bail, so it wears as a brooch or on a chain as a pendant. HALLMARK AND ORIGIN The reverse carries the Italian maker's mark - a five-pointed star, 250, NA - struck over a 750 purity stamp. This is the Italian marchio di identificazione, required of every Italian precious-metal manufacturer since Law 46 of 1968: a five-pointed star, the workshop's registration number, and the two-letter province code. NA is Napoli - the province that contains Torre del Greco, the traditional home of shell-cameo carving. The piece is therefore registered Italian work from the Naples area, made in 1968 or later. I have not been able to match registration number 250 to a named workshop. That register is held by the Naples Chamber of Commerce and is not publicly searchable, so I am offering this as unattributed Italian work and pricing it that way. I would rather tell you what the mark says and let you draw your own conclusion than guess at a maker. Because of the mark, this is listed as vintage, not antique. PURITY VERIFICATION XRF-tested and confirmed 18K by the selling auction house prior to my purchase, and independently re-tested in hand on a GemOro AuRACLE analyzer, which also read 18K. The 750 stamp agrees with both. Photos of my scale and my test are included. No numeric assay percentage was published to me, so I am not quoting one. What I can tell you is that two independent instruments and the stamp all agree. DETAILS Metal: solid 18K yellow gold, stamped 750 Total weight: 7.78 g gross, calibrated 0.01 g scale (photo included) Gold content: 4.02 g of 18K, measured by water displacement Dimensions: approx. 40 mm x 30 mm Carving: right-facing female portrait in deep relief with undercut hair detail - hand-carved shell, not moulded resin Mount: pin back with rollover safety catch, plus fixed bail for pendant wear PLEASE NOTE - THE WEIGHT SPLIT 7.78 g is the gross weight of the complete piece. The carved shell carries no metal value, so here is the split, measured rather than guessed: Gold content: 4.02 g of 18K Carved shell: 3.76 g Method: the piece is weighed dry, then the volume of water it displaces gives its density, and a two-component solve separates gold mass from shell mass. Most cameo listings quote a gross weight and leave you to work out how much of it is actually metal. This one does not have to. I am not representing 7.78 g of gold content. The 4.02 g figure is what I measured, and it is the number to price against. CONDITION Vintage, pre-owned, and shown honestly in the photos rather than glossed over. The shell should be checked for hairline cracks - the standard condition issue on carved cameos - and the pin, catch and bail inspected for wear or old repair. The carving is crisp, with the undercut hair detail intact. Ships fully insured . Condition: Pre-owned - Excellent. Category: Jewelry & Watches › Vintage & Antique Jewelry › Cameos. Brand: Cameo.

Main Stone Creation

Natural

Shape

Oval

Color

Gold

Material

Shell

Year Manufactured

1970-1979

Metal

Yellow Gold

Materials sourced from

Italy

Jewelry Department

Fine

Vintage

Yes

Main Stone

Shell

Brand

Cameo

Type

Brooch

Metal Purity

18k

Main Stone Shape

Oval

Base Metal

Gold

Theme

Beauty

Country of Origin

Italy

Handmade

Yes