Antique Victorian Era (c. 1850-1900) Hand Carved Italian Gold Carnelian Shell Cameo Brooch F296

This is a petite brooch. I measure it overall at 1 inch tall and a bit over 3/4 inch across, This particular piece is quite old. When we look at the back we can see it has a C-clasp. and it has a tube hinge pin. Before mass manufacturing jewelers would have hand made these hinges.  At the top of the frame is a small loop. This originally would have had a short chain and a safety pin attached to it,  This was a secondary pin to prevent the piece from being lost. Although this pin is  small we also note how detailed the carving is. It took a lot of time and care to make this, something often lost as we move further and further up in time. The setting is not marked. After looking at hundreds of these I am going to say the frame is probably gold filled. Not unusual an old piece is not marked. That was mainly done later as eventually it was required by law, but this was made before the stamp act that required marking metal purity. This brooch is in nice shape. Just a touch of tarnish near the pin. could be cleaned if you want. Mostly people want real antiques left untouched. Make a nice gift, comes boxed.