Comments for I would love to know the origin and stone on my brooch.

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Glass v. Hardstone (Agate)
by: Bronwen

Whether the piece is glass or stone, it is safe to gently clean it. A little mild soap & water will not harm it.

Molded cameos of glass or plastic are usually too perfect; hand carved pieces, except those by the very best carvers, always have imperfections, some more so than others. Tiny pieces like this are very difficult to cut. The roughness of this one argues that it is genuinely hand carved agate, or 'hardstone', as it is generally known in the cameo world.

Agate is very porous and it is quite common for material that is naturally off-white - grey to be dyed. Even the Romans had some tricks for doing this.

I believe you have a hardstone cameo that has been tinted green on the background layer. The weeping woman is often identified as Andromache, wife of the the Trojan hero Hector.

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Agate Cameo?
by: Yvonne

Another cameo candidate is agate. Agate is stone and stone is cold to the touch. Colder than non-shell cameos. Tip: Agate stone cameos are cut using modern laser technology. So again we see the importance of dating — which again can be narrowed down by determining the time period in which the marks were registered.

Was the item made before modern laser technology? Dating will determine this.
Yvonne

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Possibly Molded Glass
by: Anonymous

Hi Prue thank you for your question. I think I can see a maker's mark on the stem of the pin. What are the initials please? If the central rectangular material has a "glassy" apearance Prue, I'm thinking this dark green jade look-a-like material could indeed be dark green Glass. It could be Molded Glass or possibly a molded plastic. Plastic is a relatively new material in jewelry making terms so the initials of the pin if identified will also be a date qualifier in terms of the chemical composition of the material.

Best Regards
Yvonne

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