A lovely old one! I'll be in the Naples area of Italy in only a few weeks, and of course that is where this Grand Tour souvenir brooch would have originally come from - the south of Italy is known for the bulk of these old cameos. The gold test tells us this is 8k or less, so we'll call it pinchbeck since it is a great mimic for gold as far as the look of this one. A stunning NeoGothic styling, it's perhaps missing a center bottomo drop, but is beautiful just as it presents, we think you will agree. We'd date this beautiful old Italian hand carved Mediterranean red coral bas relief cameo to the Victorian era. The work is superb, the form and presentation of the sidelong profile sculpture raises the Classical figure almost off the backing. Only a bit of her hair and shoulder remain embedded in the cameo oval, and thus she presents as nearly a full figure carving - very impressive work and so well preserved.
Very good to excellent condition, I see nothing to detract from either her beauty or the investment value of this elegant cameo brooch. I like to clamp these over my pearls and use the old brooches as enhancers, and this one is perfect on pearls or on a red coral bead necklace. So rich and gorgeous!
