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Brooches, Bracelets, Rings, and More
by Bob Brooke

The ancient Romans, both men and women, loved to adorn themselves with gold, colored gemstones and glass. The ancient Greeks, on the other hand, preferred fine quality metalwork in gold or silver.

Most Romans were highly conscious of how they presented themselves in public. Both men and women frequently used body ornamentation to demonstrate their wealth, power, influence, and knowledge. Bureaucrats and senators wore gold rings featuring large flashy gemstones to signal status. Roman aesthetic values led to the increased use of precious and semi-precious gemstones as well as colored glass in jewelry.

Examples of jewelry worn by the higher social classes include solid gold necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings, and fibulla (brooches) with many variations within these classes of jewelry. Some bracelets, such as golden ones shaped like snakes, had no clasps while others used gold pins or small gold screws to fasten the bracelet to the wrist.

Different genders and social classes in Rome used various types of jewelry for aesthetic purposes and to communicate social messages of status and wealth. Throughout the history of the Roman Empire, Greek, Egyptian, and Etruscan jewelry styles influenced Roman ones.

Most Romans preferred an ostentatious and creative use of color over fine metalwork. Glass makers were supposedly so skilled that they could fool the public into thinking that glass beads and ornaments were actually gemstones. When jewelers did use genuine gems, the stones preferred by Roman women were amethyst, emerald, and pearl, though pearls were rare and expensive and used only until the end of the Republic. They did use clusters of large pearl beads to make earrings called crotalia, or rattles.

Jewelry Materials and Style
Roman jewelry workshops got their precious and semi-precious gemstones from traders that had traveled down the Persian Silk Road from the East and Far East. Jewelers imported semiprecious stones like garnet, emeralds, peridots, jasper and lapis lazuli from Egypt. They brought in onyx, amber and moonstone in from the Persian Gulf which they embedded in earrings, rings, and brooches.

Other than gold, Romans also used bronze, Roman glass, bone beads and precious gemstones which were excavated from far off places like Persia, Far East, and the Indus Valley. Diamonds, emeralds and sapphires found their way from the silk route to the Roman land to appease the rich and mighty of this civilization.

While patricians placed much emphasis on fine gold and silver pieces of antiquated jewelry, many pieces worn by lower social classes in Rome would have been made out of bronze or other less expensive metals. Unlike ancient Greek jewelers, Roman manufacturers would have dealt primarily with mass-produced pieces created using molds and casting techniques. This allowed more people to afford such accessories.

Roman Jewelry for Women
Roman women collected and wore more jewelry than men. The elite women of Roman society were expected to wear an abundant amount extravagant and expensive gold jewelry to show their familial status.

They lavished themselves with different jewelry sets and adorned their bodies with rings, bracelets, earrings, and necklaces all worn at the same time. Jewelry artisans even bedecked functional accessories such as brooches or pins to fasten garments with gemstones, and often created them from precious metals. Earrings, specifically boat-shaped earrings wrought from precious metals were one of the most popular items in Rome among women. They usually had pierced ears, in which they would wear one set of earrings.

Jewelry was particularly important to women because Roman society considered it to be their own property, which could be kept independently of their husband's wealth and used as the women saw fit. They had the right to buy, sell, bequeath, or barter their own jewelry. The way an elite woman dressed, accessorized, and presented herself in public reflected the rank of her husband.

Solid gold snake bracelets, symbolizing mortality, were the most popular types of Roman jewelry for women who often wore them in pairs, around their wrists as well as on their upper arms.

The women of the Roman Empire wore earrings primarily to embellish their faces, it was also to symbolize their value or position in society. Amethyst, which served as a sign of enchantment, were one of the most popular materials that could be embedded in earrings.

Roman Jewelry for Men
Roman men wore less jewelry than their female counterparts. An Imperial noblemen's ornamentation represented personal achievement and status.

Finger rings and fibulae were the most common forms of jewelry worn by men, but they would also sometimes wear pendants. Roman men, unlike Greek men, wore multiple rings at once. Senators and bureaucrats wore gold rings with a large gemstone that, at a glance, indicated their high-ranking status.

Plebeians, or commoners, could only wear rings of iron, although occasionally they received rings of gold as a sign of bravery in battle.

Necklaces
Both men and women, rich and poor alike, wore necklaces. Most Romans leaned towards wearing a pendant rather than simple, choker-like necklaces. Pendants had the image of the Emperor stamped upon them, or were adorned with a gemstone embedded in gold or silver.

Brooches
Another common and most practical jewelry in that period was the fiblula, or brooch. Its purpose was to attach pieces of clothing and bring sophistication to the attire. Instead of sewing clothing items, Romans liked to fastened them with fibula and clasps made of gold, silver, or bronze. Jewelers decorated fibulas with a carved stone, especially cameo portraits and other popular designs.

Intaglios
One of the most common forms of jewelry decoration was the intaglio. Romans often used them as personal seals or amulets. Jewelers typically mounted them on rings which the wearers could press into wax or clay to create a personal signature. The artistry involved in crafting these tiny works of art required great skill, as the stones needed to be meticulously engraved with minute details. The Roman period saw significant development in gem carving techniques, often facilitated by specialized artisans working with intricate tools.

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