Gold, Roman glass, and pearl necklace

"When in Rome"

Every piece of glass in this necklace has wonderful patina from the centuries that the glass has been exposed to the elements around it. I didn't just want to make a pretty necklace with it, I wanted to make a necklace in the style of Roman, or Etruscan, jewelry so I looked up styles from that era and patterned my design off of pieces I saw and liked. I wanted to truly honor the pretty glass I had to work with. The beautiful brushed gold look of the metal beads and the fantastic luster of the accompanying keshi and baroque pearls seemed to be a natural choice to compliment the glass. I really love how this necklace turned out. It is 20" long with a 1 1/2" long pendant.

About Roman glass, taken from the web:

"Roman Glass is an ancient glass, discovered in archaeological excavation sites...across what was once the roman empire. The excavated glass fragments from the era of the roman empire...have been embedded in the soil for hundreds of years. The patina formations (the iridescent, pearly scales on the surface of the glass) evolved gradually over centuries as a result of extended exposure to the sun, water, oxidation, and dampness in the soil in which the glass was buried. Roman glass production developed from Hellenistic technical traditions, initially concentrating on the production of intensely colored cast glass vessels. However, during the 1st century AD, the industry underwent rapid technical growth that saw the introduction of glass blowing and the dominance of colorless or 'aqua' glasses. Production of raw glass was undertaken in geographically separate locations to the working of glass into finished vessels and by the end of the 1st century AD large scale manufacturing resulted in the establishment of glass as a commonly available material in the Roman world, and one which also had technically very difficult specialized types of luxury glass."