The Met’s new Roman Bead Collection is an ode to all that is timely and timeless. With their oversized scale and simple yet bold proportions, these pieces would fit right in at a contemporary fashion show—yet they’re almost two millennia old.

he apparel world can learn a lot about sustainability from the jewelry world.

There’s a quality to jewelry that lends itself to sustainability: universal appeal, a conscious investment in precious metals, to the common practice of passing pieces from generation to generation.

I’m against the idea that fashion needs to change to remain significant. It’s only a matter of time before fashion reaches a boiling point—trends move so fast and are so cyclical today that it’s inevitable that at some point soon the pendulum is going to swing, and we will long for things that last again.

The Met Store’s new Roman Bead collection is a prime example of all that is timely and timeless. The new collection offers a fresh take on the ancient world, with semiprecious stones that dazzle.

With their oversized scale and simple yet bold proportions, these pieces would fit right in at a contemporary fashion show—yet they’re almost two millennia old.

Every piece contains semiprecious fair-trade stones from Chile, Brazil, the Rocky Mountains, featuring lapis, fossilized coral, and turquoise beads.

Christopher Lightfoot, Curator of Greek and Roman Art at The Met Museum, explains that rock crystal was a rare and exotic material in antiquity, used for both jewelry and highly prized vessels. They typify the sort of rather simple but elegant jewelry that women found attractive during that period.