Lucretia Earrings: Stone Set on Point, Golden Beads, One Pearl
The Lucretia Earrings are handcrafted replicas of an Imperial Roman earring type from the 2nd century AD: a green aventurine cabochon set on point in a hammer-textured brass setting carries, via a lyre-shaped connecting element, a long bar of strung brass beads ending in a genuine freshwater pearl. The type of long hanging drop earring with stone setting and pearl terminal is widely attested for the Roman 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, with a focus in the eastern Mediterranean and Egypt. Dimensions: 5.5 × 1.2 cm.
Set on Point, Hung Long
Roman drop earring after an Imperial Roman type at a glance
The Lucretia Earrings are handcrafted replicas of an Imperial Roman earring type from the 2nd century AD: an aventurine cabochon set on point in a hammer-textured brass setting, connected by a lyre-shaped intermediate element to a long bar of strung brass beads with a terminal freshwater pearl, in a formal language widely documented in the eastern Mediterranean and Roman Egypt of the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.
Three Zones, One Logic: the long hanging drop earring of the 2nd century AD
The earring of the 1st century AD is short. It sits close to the earlobe, a hook, a pearl, a small stone. That is enough. In the 2nd century, this changes. The earring grows downward. Not because Roman women suddenly wanted more, but because the trade routes provided more: heavier stones from the East, longer pearls from the Indian Ocean, finer wirework from Alexandrian and Antiochene workshops. The earring responds to what is available, and to what the woman wants to express. Length is a statement.
The type of long hanging drop earring with a stone setting above and a pearl terminal below is widely attested for the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD in the eastern Mediterranean and in Egypt. Comparable objects can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum and the Egyptian Museum Berlin, dated to the 2nd–3rd centuries AD. According to the manufacturer, the original of the Lucretia Earrings is in a private collection and is dated to the 2nd century AD. Verification through a museum catalogue is therefore not possible; the type itself, however, is well established.
What distinguishes this earring from shorter drop variants is its deliberate three-part structure. At the top, the stone: set on point, rotated into a diamond shape so that it appears as an independent geometric surface. This is not an accident of setting. Roman goldsmiths of the 2nd century AD regularly set stones on point when the stone is meant to serve as the focal point, rather than as an inlay. In the middle, the lyre-like connecting element: volute motifs in wire have belonged to the basic vocabulary of Mediterranean goldsmithing since the Hellenistic period, appearing from Pompeii to Alexandria. Below, the bead bar: evenly strung brass beads, an elongated variant of the bulla motif that Roman goldsmithing adopted from the Etruscans. The pearl at the end completes the composition. Round against straight. Organic against geometric. An earring that makes one decision after another from top to bottom.
Diamond, Volute, Bead, Pearl
The Lucretia Earrings at a glance
The Lucretia Earrings are divided from top to bottom into three clearly legible zones. First zone: a square aventurine cabochon, set on point as a diamond, in a hammer-textured brass setting with hook closure. The texture of the setting is not smoothly cast, but roughened, which gives the upper section weight and presence. Second zone: a lyre-shaped connecting element of brass, two lateral volutes with a central ring loop, marking the transition from the rigid stone setting to the movable bead bar. Third zone: a long vertical bar of evenly strung small brass beads ending in a round white freshwater pearl, mounted in a small brass cap. The pendant hangs freely and moves with the wearer. The overall composition is long, structured and vertically oriented.
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Length: 5.5 cm, width: 1.2 cm
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Material: brass (setting, connecting element, bead bar, cap), genuine aventurine (green cabochon, set on point), genuine freshwater pearl (white, round)
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Closure: ear hook
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Type / Dating: Long hanging drop earring with stone setting and pearl terminal, 2nd/3rd century AD
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Model / Find context: According to the manufacturer, based on an original in a private collection, dated to the 2nd century AD; type comparable to drop earrings from the eastern Mediterranean, Metropolitan Museum of Art and British Museum, 2nd–3rd century AD
Long, louder, legible: Who wears the Lucretia Earrings, and in what context?
The Lucretia Earrings are the longest piece in this series. 5.5 cm hang from the ear: that is not a detail that disappears in a costume. It is a statement. Whoever wears them has decided that the earrings are meant to be seen, from top to bottom. In reenactment, this is both an advantage and a responsibility.
In reenactment, the Lucretia Earrings are suitable for portrayals of affluent women of the 2nd century AD with an eastern or Egyptian background: merchants’ wives from Alexandria or Antioch, Romanised upper-class Egyptian women, women with ties to the eastern provinces of the Empire. The length and three-part structure of the piece correspond to the Imperial Roman taste for structured, downward-growing ear jewellery, which is well documented in comparable objects from the eastern Mediterranean. Can be combined with the Octavia Necklace, since both pieces share freshwater pearl as a common material. Important: At 5.5 cm in length, the earring collides with elaborate updos. It is better suited to portrayals with loose or simply pinned hair than to the elaborate coiffures of Antonine fashion.
In museum education, the three-part structure of the piece offers a direct didactic approach: three materials, three zones, three craft decisions. What makes the diamond-set stone appear visually different from a straight-set one? Why does the earring end with a pearl rather than a metal terminal? These questions can be explored concretely with the piece in hand and lead directly into the subject of Roman goldsmithing practice of the 2nd century AD.
For private collectors and jewellery lovers, the length is the real argument. The piece needs space, is best worn with simple clothing, and in everyday life functions more as a statement than as background jewellery. Anyone who wants that is in the right place here.
A practical tip: freshwater pearls are sensitive to perfume and chemicals, and aventurine should not be exposed to direct sunlight permanently. Wipe dry after wearing.
5.5 Centimetres of Guidance
The Lucretia Earrings are the most striking piece in this series. That is not a disadvantage. It is a quality one can work with, or not.
Anyone building a portrayal of the 2nd century AD with an eastern or Egyptian focus and looking for an earring that immediately takes a clear position in costume has found the right piece here. The three-part structure of stone, bead bar and pearl can be read equally well in reenactment and museum education: the earring explains itself without a word needing to be said.
Anyone who already owns the Faustina or Marcia Earrings does not get a successor with the Lucretia Earrings, but a different state of matter. Faustina is still. Marcia swings. Lucretia hangs. All three share aventurine and freshwater pearl as materials, but address completely different wearing decisions. Together, they fully cover the Imperial Roman spectrum from dignified to emphatically present.
Anyone, however, who values a clearly verifiable museum object as the direct model should know this: the original of the Lucretia Earrings is in a private collection. No inventory number, no publicly accessible catalogue. The type is solidly documented, the individual object is not verifiable. Anyone comfortable with that is buying a well-founded earring. Anyone who needs an unbroken provenance should choose the Faustina Earrings.
What Tertullian thought about pierced ears and God’s intentions
Tertullian wrote De Cultu Feminarum around AD 196/197 in Carthage. This is not a neutral observer, but a man with an opinion, and that opinion also concerns ears. In Book II, Chapter X, he writes with the sharpness that made him famous:
“Deus auribus uulnera intulit et tanti habuit uexationem operis sui et cruciatus infantiae innocentis tunc primum dolentis ut ex illis ad ferrum nati corporis cicatricibus grana nescio quae penderent.”
„God inflicted wounds on the ears and thought so highly of the injury to his own work and the torments of innocent childhood, suffering pain for the first time, that from those scars made by iron some little grains should hang.“
Tertullian, De Cultu Feminarum, Book II, Chapter X, around AD 196/197
Tertullian means this sarcastically. He considers it absurd that women have their ears pierced as small children so that jewellery may later be hung from them. The word he uses for the hanging objects is grana, grains, little beads. Anyone familiar with the Lucretia Earrings knows what he means: a long bar of strung brass beads hanging from the ear. Tertullian writes his pamphlet at precisely the time when this earring type reaches its peak in the eastern Mediterranean. That he attributes the practice to the Parthians is no accident: he knows where this fashion comes from.
Aventurine, Pearl, Brass: What lies behind the Lucretia Earrings
What kind of portrayal are the Lucretia Earrings suitable for?
For portrayals of affluent women of the 2nd century AD with an eastern or Egyptian background: merchants’ wives from Alexandria or Antioch, Romanised upper-class Egyptian women, women with ties to the eastern provinces. Their length of 5.5 cm makes the earrings immediately visible in costume. Because of their length, they are less suitable for elaborate Antonine updos, but ideal for loose hair or simply pinned hairstyles.
Is the green stone genuine aventurine?
Yes. The square cabochon is genuine aventurine, a natural quartzite with embedded mica flakes, not glass and not an artificial stone. It is set on point, rotated into a diamond shape, which makes it appear visually larger than a straight-set stone of the same size.
Where does the original on which the Lucretia Earrings are based come from?
According to the manufacturer, from a private collection, dated to the 2nd century AD. Verification through a public museum catalogue is therefore not possible. The type itself, a long hanging drop earring with stone setting and pearl terminal, is well attested for the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD in the eastern Mediterranean and secured through comparable objects in public collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum.
Does the earring move when worn?
Yes. The entire pendant, bead bar and pearl, hangs freely from the hook of the stone setting and moves as the wearer walks. This is not a weakness of the construction, but a feature of the type. Unlike the Faustina Earrings, whose pendant is rigidly mounted, this earring lives through movement.
Does the earring match other pieces in this series?
Yes. The Octavia Necklace and the Pearls of Pompeii Bracelet share freshwater pearl as a common material. With the Faustina and Marcia Earrings, Lucretia shares aventurine. Anyone placing all three earring types side by side has before them the full spectrum of Imperial Roman ear jewellery, from the static drop earring to the long, mobile pendant.
Condemned and Yet Documented
Tertullian names the Parthians in De Cultu Feminarum as the originators of earring fashion. That is not as far-fetched as it sounds. In the 2nd century AD, the Parthians controlled the eastern trade routes between the Roman Empire and India, and Parthian goldsmithing was known for its long, richly furnished hanging earrings. What Tertullian formulates as a moral accusation corresponds to what archaeology shows: long hanging drop earrings with stone settings and pearl terminals spread in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD from east to west, along precisely those routes that Tertullian regarded as the gateway of luxury. The man wanted to condemn the jewellery. Instead, he documented its spread.
Sources
Title: De Cultu Feminarum, Book II
Author: Tertullian (Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus)
Publication: Marie Turcan (ed.), La toilette des femmes, Sources Chrétiennes 173, Éditions du Cerf, Paris
Date: 1971 (original work around AD 196/197)
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
Further links
Updated on: 13.04.2026
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