Roman jewelry

Ancient Roman jewelry was characterized by an interest in colored gemstones and glass, in contrast with their Greek predecessors who focused primarily on the production of high-quality metalwork by practiced artisans.

Participation in trade allowed access to both semi-precious and precious stones that traveled down the Persian Silk Road from the East.

Unlike ancient Greek jewelers, Roman manufacturers would have dealt primarily with mass-produced pieces created using molds and casting techniques.

[5][6] Roman aesthetic values led to the increased use of precious and semi-precious gemstones as well as colored glass in jewelry.

Semi-precious stones such as garnet, emeralds, jasper, and lapis were imported from Egypt while onyx, amber, and moonstone came to Rome from the Persian Gulf.

[9] The focus on showiness and imitation of fine materials demonstrates the fact that Romans were highly conscious of how they presented themselves in public.

[1] While living, Roman men and women frequently used ornamentation of their houses and bodies to demonstrate wealth, power, influence, and knowledge.This representation changed over time, as noblewomen of the Republic's ornamentum symbolized familial status, while an Imperial noblewomen's ornamentation represented person achievement and status.

The elite women of Roman society were expected to wear an abundant amount extravagant and expensive gold jewelry to show their familial status.

[8] Inspired after the sack of Greek cities Tarentum, Syracuse, and Capua, it became increasingly popular for Romans to use gold wreaths or diadems in funerary practices for both men and women.