Ancient Roman Pendants

Ancient Roman pendants took on a variety of shapes and sizes. They were worn by all classes of people, but it should be noted that as far as jewelry went, Roman men of higher status generally wore a signet ring. The Roman men that were of a higher class were the wealthy merchants, the senators, the militia, and of course the emperor and his court. During these times, a ring was made out of materials such as iron, silver, and other fine stones and gems. However, in order to set themselves apart, many wealthy and noble Roman men wore pendants made out of gold. Gold at that time, as is does now, represented wealth, opulence, and status. Boys during this time wore special pendants to protect them from evil spirits, and to wish them a healthy growth into manhood. Boys wore these pendants, because they were the leaders of society. Men held the class, the wealth, and the power. Because of this, it was deemed that boys needed a protective pendant.

On the other hand, women had no status in society. As such, there were no protective pendants for baby girls, because they weren't seen as having any worth in society. However, women of all classes did were pendants. They were made from pearls, precious stones, and gems. Rich women like their male counterparts wore pendants made out of gold to signify their wealth and status. To further differentiate themselves from the lower or poor class of women, they refused to wear pendants, or anything made out of amber, because amber was considered to be a tacky and low class stone at that time.