Did the Greeks create their own jewelry? Yes, in fact the first true examples of Ancient Greek Jewelry are pieces which utilized beads shaped in the form of various animals and shells. By--00 B.C. the Greeks had started to incorporate gemstones and gold into their jewelry. By the year 300 B.C they ventured into the area of colored jewelry, utilizing pearls, amethysts, and emeralds as well. They also made cameos from the Indian Sardonyx (a striped down pink and cream agate). In reality, Greek jewelry started off with very simple designs, but they became increasingly more complex and elaborate as time went on.

Did the Greeks create their own jewelry? Yes, in fact the first true examples of Ancient Greek Jewelry are pieces which utilized beads shaped in the form of various animals and shells. By--00 B.C. the Greeks had started to incorporate gemstones and gold into their jewelry. By the year 300 B.C they ventured into the area of colored jewelry, utilizing pearls, amethysts, and emeralds as well. They also made cameos from the Indian Sardonyx (a striped down pink and cream agate). In reality, Greek jewelry started off with very simple designs, but they became increasingly more complex and elaborate as time went on.

The people of Ancient Greece did not wear jewelry in their daily lives. It was worn during special events, occasions, or public appearances. A common gift for women, it was displayed to show off not only their incredible beauty, but also their social status and tremendous wealth. It was thought that jewelry had mystical powers. Many believed that it could ward off the "Evil Eye" (a look that one person could send your way that would bring you injury or other forms of bad luck). Most of the Greek jewelry of this time period was made from (1) silver, (2) gold, (3) ivory, (4) gemstones, (5) clay, and (6) bronze.

We know of two types of jewelry that the Ancient Greeks developed. These pieces were: (1) cast jewelry pieces and (2) those pieces made from hammering out sheet metal. Although we have only a few examples of cast jewelry available today, we know that they were made from casting metal onto two moulds (made out of either clay or stone). These moulds were joined together with wax, and molten metal was poured into the center (a common technique that had been passed down from the Ancient Bronze Age). We have more samples of their jewelry that was created by hammering out sheet metal. The process was simple...sheet metal was hammered to the desired thickness, and then soldered together.

Let's fast forward to the time of the Ancient Romans. Brooches, which were used to secure their clothing together, were very common at the time. The Roman Empire, being very vast and huge at the time, was something that the Romans took full advantage of. They incorporated the various materials that they were able to obtain from the far reaches of their Empire. They used quite a bit of glass beads and pearls in their early years, but later on they incorporated bronze, bone, and gold. They were also known to have used Indian diamonds, amber, and emeralds, as well as Sri Lankan sapphires into their various jewelry designs.

Like their neighbors the Greeks, one of the purposes of Roman jewelry was to ward off the "Evil Eye" given by one's enemies. Women wore jewelry all over their bodies, but for men, it was often only a ring on the finger. It was expected that Roman men would wear a ring on one finger, but some Roman men wore a ring on every finger, while others wore no jewelry at all.