Cameo Habillé Pendant, Woman with Flower, Sterling Silver, Antique Helmet Shell Cameo, Statement Necklace

This is a cameo habillé, which means the figure wears a real element: here, a small metal dangle earring applied to the carving itself, not carved from the shell. The detail is period-appropriate and adds a dimension of luxury to an already beautifully carved design.

A woman with dramatically windswept hair, a flower tucked at the crown, a single flower at her shoulder, and a draped one-shoulder garment that the shell carver rendered with real confidence. Her expression is direct: she's looking at something, or someone, with full attention. There's nothing passive about this particular portrait.

This helmet shell is carved with strong contrast between the pale upper layer and the warm peach-orange ground. The relief is high and the carving is assured. The setting is a double twisted rope border with a dotted outer edge, more substantial than a simple bezel, and the bail is decorative and textured to match. This piece has weight to it, literally and otherwise.

Hallmarked Blue Piranha, .925. Dimensions: 2 and 1/4 inches (5.7 cm) long from top of bail to bottom of pendant; 1 and 1/4 inches (3.2 cm) wide. Weight: 22.7 grams.

Each pendant is available without a chain, so you may use your own if you prefer. If you want to add a chain, I offer different lengths and styles. Every chain comes with a 2-inch extender, so you can vary the length. Please choose your chain from the options at checkout.

Good for: a gift that will get asked about every time she wears it. The woman who wears jewelry that commands a room. A friend with a flair for the theatrical and the historical. Anyone who finds most jewelry too timid for their taste.

Your purchase arrives gift boxed, in a soft pouch with a story card.

About cameos:

Cameos have been carved for thousands of years, falling in and out of fashion since ancient Greece, while the Victorian era gave them their biggest cultural high point.

Cameos are carved from shell but they can also be created from glass, hardstone (such as sardonyx), lava, vulcanite, and coral, as well as other materials. Hand-carving continues today, most famously in Italy, where the tradition is still very much alive. The cameos I work with came from an antique market, found loose and in varying condition. Some were chipped, but some were quietly extraordinary. Those are the ones I kept.

The shell cameo tradition runs from ancient Greece through Rome, through the Renaissance, and reaches one of its peaks in the 19th century, when carved cameos became a staple of fashionable dress and sentimental jewelry alike. Helmet shell became the standard cameo material because of its natural two-tone layering and the relative ease of carving compared to hardstone.