“Cameos, Old and New” 

Book by Anna Miller, 4^th Ed 
revised by Diana Jarrett

 The 4^th edition of this very noteworthy publication was just published.
 I am honored to be included again, and
 I would like to share with you some fond memories
 related to how we all came together.

 When I met Anna Miller, the renowned jewelry historian
 and appraiser, in 1997 at one of her lectures in
Washington DC, she had already published her book
“Cameos, Old & New”. She was very kind and apologetic
for not having knowledge about me and my work,
and promised to include me in a future edition of her book.

Soon thereafter she asked me to write my thoughts and views
 about the how to evaluate a contemporary gem carving,
 the manuscript that became the “Criteria for Evaluating a Gem Carving”,
 parts of which were published in Chapter 9 of the 2^nd edition
 of the “Cameos, Old & New” book, and later as an article
 in “The Guide- Gem market News” Magazine, May/June 2002.

 [follow this link to read the whole article]

http://gemstonepress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=GP&Product_Code=0-943763-36-3&Category_Code=B

 In February 2003 I gave a presentation of the
“Criteria for Evaluating a Gem Carving”
at a seminar at AGTA GemFair, sponsored by
 the ‘American Gem Trade Association’,
at the Convention Center in Tucson, Arizona.
I was truly honored to have Anna Miller in the audience
 and after the lecture this photo was taken.

Today, I truly treasure that photo and that memory,
 as it was the last time I saw Anna before her passing
 soon thereafter.

 But things do have a way of coming full circle.
During my latest presentation “Gem Carving, Inspiration & Skills”
 at the February 2007 AGTA GemFair in Tucson”,
I met Diana Jarrett, an award winning trade journalist,
gemologist and appraiser. She was very enthusiastic
about my work, which she later featured in her article
“Set in Stone”, published in the “Rapaport Diamond Report”
magazine in October of 2007

 Late last year Diana informed me that she was
 revising Anna Miller’s book on cameos and asked me
 to update my chapter with any new info and photos.
 I was thrilled to do the revision and happy to help her
with additional information about other cameo carvers.

 The 4^th edition, revised, updated and expanded by Diana Jarrett,
 was just released in February of 2009 and looks marvelous
 with 250 photos, 60 of them in full color!
 Many of the photos are completely new.

My thoughts and views on the
“Criteria for Evaluating a Contemporary Gem Carving”,
first published in the 2^nd edition of the book,
 are now again presented in length in Chapter 9,
p.272-281, in an updated version along with 8 photos
 of me and of my work.  

The book has been selected for the
 ‘Antiques Roadshow Book Club’ and is an outstanding source
 of information for gem artists, cameo and jewelry lovers,
art history lovers, collectors, professional gemologists and
 appraisers to understand the history and progression of
cameo carvings, the various materials used from
soft organic materials like shell and coral to the hard gemstones
and how to differentiate between hand-carved and
ultrasonically produced cameos.

 My sincere thanks to both Anna and Diana for
including me in the book! 

 --Helen Serras-Herman

 To receive a copy of the new book, simply click the email button below
or  contact directly the publisher online at www.gemstonepress.com