Going old school with jewellery inspired by Ancient Greece

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Personally, I think the Olympics are going to be awesome. As a Londoner, I can remember the excitement I felt, crowded round in the office, waiting for the announcement that we were going to host this year’s Games. It seems to have been a long time coming and has not without it’s controversy and tribulations, which I’m not going to get into here.

So, with 3 days to go until the Opening Ceremony, the sun is shining and hopefully we can all now look forward to what is going to be the greatest Olympic Games the world has ever seen. Go Team GB!

You’d have had to have been been living under a rock in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean not to have had Olympic fever blasted at you from every side recently. It’s everywhere! Everyone has taken the chance to get a piece of the pie and the jewellery world is no exception. But rather than write about the same old Olympic-themed jewellery that’s been all over the interweb recently, I thought it would be a nice opportunity to look back in time and admire some jewellery inspired by Ancient Greece.

The Ancient Olympic Games are generally accepted as having started in 776 BC and included events such as running, a pentathlon, boxing, wrestling and equestrian events. They were held every 4 years, exactly as our modern games are, but had a more fundamental religious importance as well as the element of competition.

Ancient Greece has long been a strong influence in jewellery design, with motifs like the serpent, key, gold coins, reef knots, stamping, leaves and wreath designs all still popular today. Gemstones were also popular, particularly rubies, emeralds, pearls and amethysts. Many designers today will cite Greek, Persian and Byzantium jewellery styles amongst their influences and inspiration.

I’ve picked out a selection of pieces I like the most, but realistically, the choice is endless and the range of prices means there is something out there to suit every pocket. If you don’t want to invest in gold and gemstones, look for fashion jewellery in wood and leather (and even plastic and resin) with beading and textured detail. Once you know what you’re looking for, you’ll see Greek influence everywhere.

Vintage Givenchy gold tone Greek Key earrings £120 Coco's Closet

Hammered cuff £33 by Entwined Jewellery

Fuchsia crystal druzy ring £32 by Love, Hearts and Crosses

Gold and silver cut coin Owl earrings approx £87 eBay

Apologies for the poor quality of this image, but as someone who grew up obsessed with Clash of the Titans, I bloomin’ love these!!

2 colour gold Greek key bracelet £175 by Chisholm Hunter

Gold and black snake ring £5.95 by Fashion Jewellery House

Snake rings are everywhere, but I liked this one in particular as it’s a little bit different. And totally cool!

Greek style bracelet £245 by Lucy Stratton at Open House Art

Wow. Properly wow.

Rio single strand coin necklace £51 by Stella and Dot

There you have it, my selection of some of the bestest bits of Greek inspired jewellery out there. I hope you enjoyed them?

All that’s left is to say, enjoy the Olympic and Paralympic Games and whatever country you’re supporting, make sure you shout loud, wave flags like mad, have loads of fun and generally get tonnes of national pride and support going for your athletes.