 | Most of the raw materials that were used to make jewelry were found in, or near Egypt, but certain prized materials such as lapis lazuli were imported from as far away as Afghanistan. One locally-obtained gemstone, said to be Queen Cleopatra's favorite, was emerald, which was mined near the Red Sea, at the Wadi Sikait Emerald Mines in Mons Smaragdus, Egypt.
Jewelry coloration was very important to the ancient Egyptians, and each color had a different symbolic meaning. jewelry that featured the color green was meant to symbolize fertility and the success of new crops, while according to the Egyptian "Book of the Dead" a deceased person would wear a red-colored necklace which was meant to satisfy the God Isis' need for blood. |  |