Because I love all things vintage, these magnificent little treasures really caught my eye.

Aren’t they breathtaking?

Vintage Cameos and Cabs

We’re so excited to currently have them in stock in our online bead shop! Depending on their style/shape, they’re called cabochons, cameos, or intaglios.

This collection showcases designs that were used in the costume jewelry of yesteryear. What you see in the photo is called “old/new stock”, which means it was made years ago but has never been used. Technically, these are not beads, as they have no holes for stringing, but they look gorgeous when you incorporate them into your beaded jewelry designs!

To use them as pendants you can carefully drill a small hole at the top, or you can wire-wrap them, or mount them in vintage metal pendant frames, or my favorite – you can create a beaded bezel around them using delicate seed beads! The beaded bezel gives them an elegant old world look. You’ll find an excellent tutorial on beading around a cabochon, here.

In the photo, there are both glass and resin pieces. Some have smooth rounded surfaces, some are particularly three-dimensional, and some have beautiful beveled edges. All of them have flat backs. The colors are soft and the details exquisite. In addition to making a bold focal point for your jewelry, these pretty cabochons would definitely lend themselves to other uses, including sewing/embroidery projects, home décor, altered art, greeting cards, and scrapbooking.

Of course, there’s always the option of simply “collecting” vintage jewelry components just because they’re beautiful!

Whether you use them in jewelry, put them on display, or keep them in a box to pull out and admire from time to time, there’s a bonus when you collect tiny treasures . . . storage space is not an issue.  J