Hi thank you for writing to us with the following cameo question:
" I have a brooch and set of clip on earrings. The brooch has a lady with a v neck and hair swooped slightly downwards. I believe the cameo to be made of coral of rebecca & it is stamped on the back of the frame can you please help me identify the maker & i read also that the best cameos are set in brass or pinchbeck."
You can find lots of info about cameos on Antique Jewelry Investor at the following links:
Carved Cameo can be mounted in a variety of metals and also the metal that you mentioned, which is collectible - Pinchbeck. Pinchbeck is an alloy of Copper and Zinc that was invented in c. 1720 by you guessed it - Mr Christopher PINCHBECK, a London watch-maker.
Pinchbeck looks like gold but it's much lighter and was used for less expensive pieces of jewelry including, watch-cases, chatelaines, buckles, clasps, and even snuff boxes. In England, before 1854 there was not such thing as 9 carat gold.
Pinchbeck - the people's alternative to gold, was used also in France where it was known on the continent as "pinsbeck" or "pinsebeck". Pinchbeck is the ancestor of "gilded" metal and "rolled gold" - 9 ct gold wasn't legalized in England until 1854, after which time, the alloy, pinchbeck began to fade over the horizon.
You can up load a follow-up submission with a photo of the stamp on the cameo so that we could further research.
