Once the shell have been picked in the bottom of the ocean,  the carver selects the shell or cabochon to be used.  To make a good selection of the shell fit for carving is an art by itself.  Then, the carver outlines in pencil the shapes of the cameos that will be obtained from that material and then begins the carving process.

The methods used to carve cameos haven’t changed in thousands of years. Although modern machinery now assists in the initial stages of the process, the intricate details are still carved by hand.  ( Most agate, sardonyx or onyx stone agate are carved from a hand made original, and then carved ultrasonically).  Most shell, cameo, however, are still  carved by hand.

The carvers use very sharp steel gravers with handles that fit the hand of the carver. With these incredibly sharp precision tools, the most intricate details can be obtained.

The most important steps in the cutting process  which will decide where the cameo will be on the shell.  Then starts the first layer removal, the marking, profile molding, the sanding, and placement determination, the designing, sketching , the engraving,the  finishing, polishing with oil and oil removal.

During this process the sculptor/carver must be very careful that the cameos, especially the shell, are not bumped around or dropped as they are very fragile at this stage of the fabrication.

After it is carved, the future cameo is engraved. The cameo to be engraved is mounted with wax on a wooden stick. After having sketched a picture of what he intends to carve onto the cameo, the engraving begins. Cameos can often be engraved using dental tools! Then, the cameo is cleaned with oil.

Finally, after the cameo is formed and cleaned, it is placed in a setting. This is strictly hand-made. The gold frames are most often used for this purpose. Older cameos are set in brass, gold filled, silver vermeil, or silver. Mother-of-Pearl is usually set in silver.

The frames, like cameos themselves, are created in all shapes and sizes, the most popular being the oval. A gold metal ribbon (bezel or gallery wire) is wrapped around the perimeter and folded over the edge of each single cameo. In this fashion no two can be exactly alike in their curvature, thickness and contour. The bezel is then twisted into a decoration, such as braids or ribbons.

You can tell a cameo’s time period by its frame. Restrained, simple frames surround the early Victorian pieces, in contrast to the jeweled, pearled and diamond settings that came later in that period. Turn-of-the-century and later Art Deco cameos are set in white gold.

Everything about a cameo carving is unique from its very start. No two authentic cameos are alike in any way.  This makes cameos even more valuable and very different from other pieces for jewelry.