Felicitas Necklace – Roman Jewelry with Cherry Quartz
Roman Necklace Felicitas – at a Glance
The "Felicitas" necklace is a handmade replica of Roman jewelry from the Imperial period (1st–3rd century AD). Individually wrapped cherry quartz beads in brass wire on a length of 46 cm, closed with an authentic hook clasp. The type corresponds to archaeologically documented wire-wrapped necklaces with semi-precious stone beads, as preserved, among other places, in the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. Named by us after Felicitas, the Roman goddess of blessed happiness, this necklace combines historical construction techniques with modern wearing comfort.
Who wore a necklace like this in the 1st century AD – and why?
We are in Rome, somewhere between the Aventine and the Esquiline, shortly after dawn. A woman of the middle class, not a senator’s wife, but not a slave either, opens a small cedarwood box. She reaches for her necklace. Her fingers clasp the hook, one quick fastening, done. The light clinking of flat quartz beads against brass, the cool touch of the beads on the collarbone: this was not a fashion accessory, this was a statement.
The hook clasp – technically anulus cum hamo – appears again and again in the archaeological record of the 1st to 3rd century AD. Necklaces made of individually wire-wrapped beads connected by small loops are among the most frequently recovered forms of jewelry from the Roman Imperial period. An outstanding comparative object is held, for example, in the British Museum London: an Imperial-period gold necklace with rock crystal beads, constructed according to exactly the same principle – bead, wire wrapping, loop, next bead.
Now comes the part that surprises many people: the Romans would have recognized this delicate pink tone, but not as cherry quartz. That does not exist as such in nature. What ancient gem cutters used instead was rose quartz, pink coral, or finely ground glass in imitation of expensive gemstones. Pink was not considered kitschy, but rather the color of Venus, of beauty, and – indeed – of Felicitas. The style of this necklace is historically airtight. The specific material is an elegant modern interpretation.
The name Felicitas chosen by us is no coincidence. The goddess Felicitas, established in the Roman state cult since the 2nd century BC (temple on the Capitoline, dedicated in 146 BC by L. Licinius Lucullus), stood for lasting happiness, not the chance luck of Fortuna. Her image appeared on coins from Augustus to Septimius Severus. Whoever bore or invoked her name actively called upon protection. A necklace bearing this name – Roman women would have understood that immediately.
The hard facts – or: what is really inside?
Imagine holding the necklace in your hand for the first time: 26 to 28 round flat beads in a warm, transparent pink, not bright, not pale, but like morning light shining through rosé wine. Each bead sits individually in a carefully wrapped brass wire setting, connected by small oval loops into an even chain.
The clasp is a shaped brass hook that catches into a simple ring, without snap closure, without spring mechanism, exactly as it was 1,900 years ago. The weight rests barely noticeably on the collarbone, the beads feel cool on the skin for a moment and quickly take on body temperature.
-
Length: 46 cm, worn all around, resting centrally on the breastbone
-
Beads: Cherry quartz, round, diameter approx. 8 mm, translucent pink with natural inclusions
-
Connection: Individual brass wire wrapping (wire-wrapping) with oval loop links, construction-faithful to Imperial Roman models
-
Clasp: Hook clasp (ring-and-hook clasp) made of brass
-
Comparative model: Imperial-period bead necklaces with wire wrapping, including examples in the British Museum London, similar pieces from Pompeii (before AD 79), Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli
How does this piece change a garment in the field?
Cherry quartz at the collarbone
After 18 years of reenactment, I can say one thing: nothing completes a Roman woman’s outfit faster than the right neck jewelry. A tunic with stola or palla without a necklace looks like a legionary without a cingulum – somehow naked. This is exactly where the "Felicitas" necklace comes into play, on three levels that I have all experienced myself.
For reenactors and living history interpreters:
First, the purely visual effect on the event grounds. The pink beads stand out immediately against the natural white or ochre yellow of a linen tunic – without appearing too loud. Visitors at Roman fairs notice the piece, they ask questions, and you explain. That is how a conversation begins about ancient gemstone jewelry, about the goddess Felicitas, about trade routes by which rose quartz traveled from India to the Rhine. An accessory becomes a topic of conversation.
Second, wearing practicality over a long event day. The hook clasp sits securely, the necklace does not twist, the beads clink only minimally. That may sound minor, but after six hours in costume it is a real advantage compared to modern lobster clasps or toggle fastenings, which are historically simply wrong.
Third, use in a museum education context. Anyone guiding school classes through a Roman exhibition likes to use hands-on objects. The Felicitas necklace handles that with ease: no precious metal, no fragile setting, but maximum clarity and demonstrative value. Children immediately understand how wire wrapping works as soon as they hold the necklace in their hands.
My specific advice for reenactors: If worn with a simple tunica for the civilian portrayal of a Roman woman of the middle class – merchant, craftsman’s wife – the Felicitas fits stylistically and sociologically. For a patrician woman of the late Republic or early Imperial period, gold with emeralds would be the more correct choice. Honesty in reenactment begins with such nuances.
Who is this necklace the right choice for – and when not?
The Felicitas is not jewelry for every purpose. That sounds harsh, but it is actually a compliment: good replicas have a profile. Here is who can really make the most of it.
If you are building a civilian female portrayal from the Roman Imperial period, for example middle class, 1st to 3rd century AD, and still lack neck jewelry, then the Felicitas necklace is the logical first purchase. The style is right, the clasp is right, and so is the price-to-authenticity ratio.
Are you planning a museum workshop or a school demonstration on the subject of ancient jewelry? Show participants what wire wrapping looks and feels like – this piece can handle it, survives curious children’s hands, and almost explains itself. Robustness here is not incidental, but the real added value.
Anyone portraying a high-ranking patrician woman or an empress and insisting on maximum historical accuracy in material and precious metal should keep looking. For that level of portrayal, a gold necklace with real gemstones would be the more fitting choice. The Felicitas plays in a different, more honest league: it shows how the great majority of the Roman urban population was actually adorned, not the exception, but the rule.
History enthusiasts who are not actively portraying a role but want to wear Roman aesthetics in everyday life get a piece with the Felicitas necklace that works with any normal outfit. 46 cm, neutral pink, no print, no logo, just a well-crafted necklace with a story stretching back almost 2,000 years.
What did the Romans themselves say about jewelry on the body?
Pliny the Elder was no romantic. The officer, scholar, and notorious workaholic – he is said to have dictated from bed at night – regularly rolled his eyes in his 37 books of the Naturalis Historia at the consumption habits of his contemporaries. In the introductory chapter to Book XII he writes about gemstones, pearls, and jewelry, and he does so with a rather sharp bite:
“Nimirum quoniam parum erat collo, crinibus, manibus gestari, nisi infoderentur etiam corpori.”
“Apparently it was not enough to wear them on the neck, in the hair, and on the hands, unless they were also embedded into the body.”
Pliny was referring here to ear piercings, but the sentence says almost everything one needs to know about the Roman relationship to jewelry. Neck, hair, hands: that was the order of priorities. The neck came first. A necklace like the Felicitas would probably have seemed the most reasonable variant to Pliny: no gold, no exotic pearls from the Red Sea, no status symbol. Simply a beautiful piece of stone, well made. He might even have been able to live with that.
What reenactors and history enthusiasts really ask
What does the name “Felicitas” mean – and why does a necklace bear this name?
Felicitas was the Roman goddess of lasting happiness – not to be confused with Fortuna, the goddess of luck by chance. Her cult is epigraphically attested from the 2nd century BC onward, and her temple on the Capitoline was dedicated in 146 BC by L. Licinius Lucullus. On Imperial coins she holds a caduceus and a cornucopia – two symbols uniting prosperity and abundance. Wearing a necklace with her name in antiquity was a quiet wish: may happiness remain.
Is cherry quartz an ancient material – or may I wear this in reenactment?
Cherry quartz as such is a modern product – synthetically colored or treated quartz glass that did not exist in antiquity. What the Romans used instead was rose quartz, pink coral, or glass paste in gemstone imitation. The style of the necklace – wire wrapping, bead shape, hook clasp – is historically documented and correct. For a portrayal of the urban middle class (merchant, craftsman’s wife, priestess of Isis), the piece is entirely acceptable as long as one knows and, when needed, communicates the material difference. In reenactment, transparency matters more than perfection.
How does the hook clasp work – and does it hold for a full event day?
The hook clasp – a curved brass hook engaging in a ring – is one of the oldest and most reliable clasp types in the history of jewelry. It appears regularly in Roman finds from the 1st to 3rd century AD and requires neither spring nor mechanism. Once hooked in place, it sits securely as long as the necklace is not actively tugged. After more than a dozen event days with comparable clasps: they hold – and if the hook ever loosens, it can be bent back into shape with small pliers in two minutes.
Which historical portrayal suits this necklace best?
The Felicitas captures everyday life in the Roman Imperial period, 1st to 3rd century AD – the broad middle of society, not the very top. Female merchants, craftsmen’s wives, freedwomen, priestesses of oriental cults: all of these portrayals benefit from simple, well-crafted neck jewelry without precious metal. For a patrician woman of the late Republic or an imperial portrayal, a gold necklace with real gemstones would be the more correct choice. The Felicitas shows what the majority really looked like, and that is often the more interesting story.
Can the necklace also be worn in everyday life – or is it purely reenactment equipment?
At 46 cm in length, in a neutral pink tone, with no historical motif and no print, the Felicitas necklace works perfectly well as everyday jewelry. The brass wire wrapping gives it a handcrafted, slightly rustic character that pairs well with natural materials – linen, cotton, leather. Anyone who likes patina will love this necklace over time: brass develops a warm golden tone that emphasizes the pink of the beads even more strongly.
Fun Fact: Rome’s Coolest Jewelry
In antiquity, rose quartz was not considered merely a gemstone – in Naturalis Historia (Book 37, c. AD 77), Pliny the Elder describes how wealthy ladies held rich crystal in their hands on hot summer days as a cooling object because it was believed to remain permanently cold. The Romans explained this by thinking crystal was frozen water – so thoroughly frozen that no sunlight could ever thaw it again. Physically wrong, of course, but that cool sensation on first touch? That part is actually true.
Bibliography
Title: Naturalis Historia, Book 37
Author: Pliny the Elder (Gaius Plinius Secundus)
Publication: Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press Date: AD 77 (first edition), reprint 1962
Title: Clothing and Jewelry in Rome and the Provinces
Author: Astrid Böhme-Schönberger
Publication: Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart Date: 1997
Title: Greek and Roman Jewellery
Author: Reynold A. Higgins
Publication: Methuen & Co., London / University of California Press Date: 1961, reprint 1980
Title: Roman Necklace (Acc. No. 22.139.64)
Author: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Publication: Online Collection, metmuseum.org Date: Permanently accessible, last checked March 2026
Further Links
Updated on: 25/03/2026
Forum Traiani ® | We make history tangible!
