Gold & Rock Crystal Pendant

Elegant pendant featuring a polished rock crystal body in an elongated acorn or bullet shape, mounted in an elaborate gold cap. The gold mount displays fine granulation work with rows of tiny beads forming decorative borders, twisted wire ornamentation, and a suspension loop for wearing as a necklace pendant. Rock crystal was highly prized in antiquity for its clarity and was believed to possess protective and cooling properties. The sophisticated goldwork suggests manufacture in a major Hellenistic or Roman workshop.