Felicitas Necklace: Twenty-Six Green Discs, One Hook, and the Principle of Repetition
The Felicitas Necklace is a handcrafted replica of a Roman necklace from the 2nd century AD based on an original in the Museo Arqueológico Nacional Madrid: evenly strung lentil-shaped aventurine discs, each individually set in brass wire loops and connected by wire-wrapping, with an S-hook clasp in brass. This necklace type of lentil-shaped stone beads on individual wire loops is widely attested for the Roman Imperial period. Length: 46 cm.
Lens by Lens: the Imperial Roman Stone Necklace from Madrid
Roman stone-bead necklace after an Imperial Roman type at a glance
The Felicitas Necklace is a handcrafted replica of a Roman necklace from the 2nd century AD based on an original in the Museo Arqueológico Nacional Madrid: lentil-shaped aventurine discs, each individually set in a brass wire loop and connected by wire-wrapping into a 46 cm long necklace, with an S-hook clasp in brass, in a construction technique characteristic of Imperial Roman stone-bead jewellery of the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.
What Happens When a Goldsmith Stops Overthinking
There is jewellery that impresses through complexity: nested settings, multiple materials, elaborate connecting elements. And there is jewellery that impresses through the exact opposite. The necklace of lentil-shaped stone beads belongs to the second category. One stone. One loop. Repeat. Twenty-six times. Done.
That sounds simple. It is not. The wire-wrapped technique, in which each individual bead is set in a twisted metal wire loop and linked to the next loop, requires even tension in every single link. A loop drawn too tightly breaks the bead. A loop that is too loose sits crooked. When it succeeds, the result is a necklace that feels like a single movement: even, rhythmic, without beginning and without end except for the hook.
The original in the Museo Arqueológico Nacional Madrid is made of garnet and dated to the 2nd century AD. In this period, garnet was the stone of choice for exactly this type of necklace: hard enough to withstand drilling for the wire, dark enough to contrast with gold, and available in sufficient quantities from Bohemia, India, and the eastern Mediterranean. Comparable necklaces of lentil-shaped garnet beads on gold wire loops can be found in several European and American collections, dated to the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. The type is not a one-off. It is a form that works.
What the Felicitas Necklace renders in aventurine is not the material of the original, but its principle. Green stone beads in necklace strings are attested for the Imperial period: emerald cylinder beads, plasma jasper, green glass. Aventurine is the modern equivalent that takes over the function of the coloured stone in the sequence without claiming an anachronism.
Twenty-Six Lenses and One Hook
Twenty-Six Lenses and One Hook: the Felicitas Necklace at a Glance
The Felicitas Necklace consists of evenly strung, flat, lentil-shaped aventurine discs in a light, matte green with the slight shimmering effect typical of aventurine. Each disc is individually set in a brass wire loop: the wire is passed through the drill hole, twisted into a loop, and linked with the next loop. The result is a necklace that, despite its length, shows no intermediate metal links, but appears as a continuous sequence of stones. The clasp is an S-hook in brass, characteristic of Roman necklaces of this type.
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Length: 46 cm, width: 1 cm
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Material: genuine aventurine (lentil-shaped discs, light green), brass (wire loops, S-hook)
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Clasp: S-hook in brass
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Type / Dating: Necklace of lentil-shaped stone beads on individual wire loops, wire-wrapped, 2nd/3rd century AD
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Model / Find context: Based on an original in the Museo Arqueológico Nacional Madrid, 2nd century AD; original material garnet, aventurine as a modern variant with comparable colour logic
A Necklace That Does Not Explain Itself — and That Is Its Strongest Argument
The Felicitas Necklace is the first piece in this series that convinces not through complexity, but through consistency. No pendant, no central element, no change of colour. Only a sequence of identical stones that together are more than the sum of their parts. In reenactment, this is an advantage that should not be underestimated: a necklace that works without needing explanation.
In reenactment, the Felicitas Necklace is suitable for a broad range of portrayals of the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. The type of stone-bead necklace on individual wire loops is socially not limited to a single class. Garnet was not a luxury stone in the narrowest sense, but a widely available semi-precious stone worn by merchants’ wives as well as the upper classes. The Felicitas Necklace suits portrayals of affluent urban Roman women just as well as Romanised provincial women. It can be combined with the Faustina, Marcia, and Lucretia Earrings, since all pieces in the series share green stones.
In museum education, the construction principle offers a direct technical point of entry: how does the wire-wrapped technique work? Why is each bead individually set rather than simply strung? The comparison between original (garnet, gold) and replica (aventurine, brass) opens a conversation about choice of materials, availability, and the difference between historical evidence and modern approximation.
For private collectors and jewellery lovers, the Felicitas Necklace is the most versatile piece in the series. 46 cm in length, no bulky central element, no pendant that gets in the way. It works just as well in everyday wear as in costume.
A care note: do not expose aventurine permanently to direct sunlight. Rub the brass wire dry after wearing and store separately.
The Most Honest Necklace in the Series
The Felicitas Necklace asks no questions. No complicated connecting element, no single stone that has to be explained. An original in the MAN Madrid, a clearly attested construction type, and a material substitution communicated transparently. Anyone who values that is in the right place here.
Anyone building a portrayal of the 2nd or 3rd century AD and looking for neck jewellery that can be combined with as many other pieces as possible will find in the Felicitas Necklace the most flexible companion in the series. Green stone, discreet length, no pendant competing with other elements. It combines directly with the Faustina, Marcia, or Lucretia Earrings, since all pieces share aventurine as a common material.
Anyone, however, looking for neck jewellery that stands entirely on its own and is immediately recognisable from a distance as a historical statement will not find the Felicitas Necklace quite the right choice. The piece develops its effect at close range: in the shimmer of the stone, in the regularity of the sequence. Anyone seeking maximum long-distance impact needs a pendant or a strong colour contrast. Felicitas has neither.
Why Green Stones at the Neck Allow Everything
Juvenal writes his sixth satire in the early 2nd century AD, exactly the period to which the original of the Felicitas Necklace is dated. In lines 456 to 458, he formulates, with the brevity that made him famous:
“Nil non permittit mulier sibi, turpe putat nil, cum virides gemmas collo circumdedit et cum auribus extentis magnos commisit elenchos.”
„A woman allows herself everything, thinks nothing shameful, once she has placed green gems around her neck and entrusted great pendants to her stretched ears.“
Juvenal, Satires, Satire VI, lines 456–458, early 2nd century AD
Juvenal writes this as an accusation. From today’s point of view, it is a profile. Green stones around the neck: check. And behind that lies the observation that jewellery in Imperial Rome was not merely decoration, but a form of social agency. What Juvenal describes as moral decline reads as a social document: the type of necklace made of green stone beads was present enough in the 2nd century AD to be mentioned by name in the sharpest social satire of the age.
Green Stones, Gold Wire, and What Else There Is to Say About the Felicitas Necklace
What kind of portrayal is the Felicitas Necklace suitable for?
For portrayals of affluent women of the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD across the Empire. The type of stone-bead necklace on individual wire loops is socially not limited to a single class: garnet and related stones were worn by merchants’ wives as well as the upper classes. The Felicitas Necklace suits urban Roman women just as well as Romanised provincial women and can be combined with all earrings in this series.
Is the original in the MAN Madrid really made of garnet, and why was aventurine chosen?
Yes. According to the manufacturer, the original is made of garnet, the characteristic stone for this necklace type of the 2nd century AD. Aventurine replaces the original material as a modern, historically compatible variant. Green stone beads in necklace strings are attested for the Imperial period, including emerald cylinder beads and plasma jasper. The substitution is communicated transparently.
How does the wire-wrapped technique work, and is it historically correct?
In the wire-wrapped technique, each bead is individually threaded onto a metal wire, which is twisted into loops and linked with the next loop. The result is a necklace made up of many individual links, each of them independent. The technique is securely attested for the Roman Imperial period through original finds and corresponds to the craft standard of the time.
Can I combine the Felicitas Necklace with other pieces from this series?
Yes. All earrings in the series, Faustina, Marcia, and Lucretia, use aventurine as a common stone. The Felicitas Necklace ties these pieces into a coherent ensemble. Since the necklace has no pendant, it does not compete with any of the earrings, but frames them.
How do I care for a wire-wrapped aventurine necklace?
Do not expose aventurine permanently to direct sunlight, as the stone may fade. Rub the brass wire with a soft, dry cloth after wearing, since skin moisture causes brass to tarnish. Store separately so that the loops do not catch on other pieces of jewellery. Do not bring it into contact with perfume or chemicals.
From Bohemia to Bombay
In the 2nd century AD, garnet travelled far before it ended up around a Roman neck. The main supply areas for Imperial Roman garnet jewellery were Bohemia, India, and the eastern Mediterranean. Bohemian garnet came to Rome via trade routes through the Danube provinces. Indian garnet followed Silk Road routes through Syria and Egypt. The lentil-shaped disc form seen in the original of the Felicitas Necklace is not accidental. Flat lenses are easier to drill than round beads, lie flatter against the neck, and show more stone surface. Form follows function, and function follows the trade route.
Sources
Title: Satires, Satire VI
Author: Juvenal (Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis)
Publication: Sven Lorenz (ed.), Juvenal: Satires. Saturae. Latin-German, Sammlung Tusculum, De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston
Date: 2017 (original work early 2nd century AD)
Title: Greek and Roman Jewellery
Author: Reynold A. Higgins
Publication: Methuen & Co Ltd, London
Date: 1980
Title: Ancient Gold Jewellery
Author: Barbara Deppert-Lippitz
Publication: Schnell & Steiner, Munich
Date: 1985
Title: Roman Jewellery. A Collection of the National Archaeological Museum Sofia
Author: Lyudmila Ruseva-Slaveykova
Publication: National Archaeological Museum Sofia, Sofia
Date: 1991
Updated on: 13.04.2026
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