Personal cameos are often worn around the neck on a chain.
Cameo jewelry was prized during medieval times as a way of keeping a picture of your loved one with you at all times. In fact, cameo jewelry has been worn by various members of royalty throughout history, including Cleopatra and England's Queen Elizabeth. Although cameos can be made from a wide variety of materials, which allows hobbyists to customize their jewelry, there are three basic components included that are relatively easy to come by.
Cameo
The cameo itself is the most striking part of any cameo jewelry. Made from a variety of materials, a cameo is a carved image of another person or some other decorative image. Cameos can be carved from porcelain, glass, acrylic, shell or agate, which is a form of quartz.
Cameos are carved from these materials in relief, which means that the image is carved out of the material. Intaglios are often confused for cameos, but the main difference is that intaglios are carved into the material, impressing the image into the material rather than forming the material into the image's shape. (See References 3) Although carving a cameo is very difficult, it's possible to find cameos at jewelry parts stores.
Setting
The setting, or base, is what a cameo is glued into so that the cameo becomes secure. The setting itself is secured onto the chain component to complete the piece of jewelry. Some jewelry sets use a snap-secure setting for the cameo which will hold the piece in place without any glue necessary.
Chain
The cameo setting will contain a hole or some other securing device through which you can string a chain. Once the chain is strung through the base setting, the cameo jewelry is complete and can be worn around the neck, as is traditionally done with cameo jewelry; the cameo pieces can often be too large to be suitable as rings or earrings. The chain can be made from metal links, or you can finish the cameo jewelry with a wire or ribbon chain.
Tags: cameo jewelry, around neck, Cameos carved, Cameos carved from, carved from
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