How a Portrait Cameo is made

This page shows the stages involved in making a portrait cameo jewel.

Good Portrait Photographs

The original photographs of the three adult children sent by their father to Portraits in Stone.

Design Proposal for the custom cameo

The three photos arranged in a photo montage. The design worked best with the son in the middle to visually balance the profiles of the two sisters.

Carving the gemstone portrait

These photographs show the stages of the gemstone carving. The design is first incised onto the stone with a diamond point.

The top white layer is carved away to reveal the three profiles. The face closest to the background is carved first. The middle profile is next and then the top head is blocked out. It is very important to keep the levels of the three faces in the correct relationship to each other.

The hair is carved next. Then the final details are incised with great precision. The surface of the carving is polished with some areas left matt. This helps to enhance the effect of realism.

The finished Cameo Jewel

The finished cameo jewel from the front. This is dual purpose and can be worn as either a cameo pendant or as a cameo brooch pin.

I have recently made a pair of cameo earrings designed to match this cameo. You can view them in this gallery.

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