The Cameo Reinvented To Modern Flair

we all know that throughout history, the royals have set the tone for jewelry fashion.

It is said that Queen Elizabeth loved to wear cameos and it is noted that Catherine the Great had a very impressive collection of them. Since Queen Victoria favored cameos, the cameo was quite popular during and since her reign. They were popular as pins and pendants usually worn on a black velvet ribbon or even sometimes-pastel satin ribbons.

During the Victorian Era, (1837-1901) every decade had its jewelry trends, but the cameo remained a favorite. And interestingly, the intaglio, which was a piece carved below the surface, came before the cameo. In ancient times, the intaglio was used to seal papers or to mark property. Later on, it became a jewelry item worn by women. The cameo is the opposite of the intaglio.

It is a portrait or scene carved in relief with a contrasting colored background. In the Nineteenth Century, skilled artisans utilized gemstones, stone, shell, lava, coral and man made materials to produce cameos.

Beautiful, carved images used for personal adornment have cast their romantic spell over people's imaginations for thousands of years. As both a sentimental keepsake and a work of art, concentrating major drama into a minute space, the cameo is one of the most treasured sculpted images. A cameo is a small scene or figure carved in relief. This modern Italian word, meaning "to engrave, " is though to have come from the ancient Hebrew/Arabic word "kamea", meaning "charm" or "amulet." Folklore relates cameos' mystic capacity to attract health and good fortune. The enduring popularity of the cameo attests to its delicate power to beguile generations of wearers and viewers alike.

Here ICON continues to push the creative envelope by bringing "Old World" beauty and charm to the ICON Woman.