Antique jewelry glossary

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Neck ring

A rigid circular ornament worn around the neck, as distinguished from a flexible necklace or necklet.

Ancient examples were made of bronze or gold in the North European and Iberian Late Bronze Ages, c. 8th/6th centuries BC. Such rings were popular in Scandinavia and northern Germany, being worn by high-ranking women.

Some examples were made as a ring with an opening at the front that was joined by bent ornamented loops that hooked together, and some had a hinged section at the back for fastening. Some gold examples, made of a ribbon-like twisted gold band, have been found in Ireland. Pieces of similar shape and form, made of gold or silver, and sometimes set with gemstones, are worn today; for an example in pennanular form with one ornamented terminal.

From: An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry, autor: Harold Newman, publishers: Thames and Hudson