Fashion’s recent flirtation with Greco-Roman and Egyptian style has surfaced in the form of gooses togas, classic column gowns, tunics, Roman sandals and even the occasional heroic plate. In keeping with the Greco-Roman and regal Egyptian genre, jewelers, accessory and home furnishing designers are following the same themes.

Many of the pieces have an archaeological feel to them, and some of them really are genuine arte-facts re-discovered and re-worked for modern use. At the fine jewelry house of Bulgari, the past is more than a passing fancy.

The Bulgari family’s Greco-Roman heritage inspires the use of rare antique coins, some dating as far back as 300 AD, in elaborate gold and diamond studded setting.

Eileen Coyne of the Talisman Coyne Gallery has used a stock of Roman agate beads mixed with pieces of a modern gold Indian bracelet to create a necklace of ancient grandeur.

An excellent source of archaeological lookalikes is museum gift shops. The British Museum carries a brilliant selection of reproduction pieces: gleaming silver ankhs, the Egyptian symbol for eternal life, intricately carved scarab pendants and Roman coin jewelry.

The MetropolitanMuseum in New York City is also renowned for exquisite assortment of reproduction jewelry, like the gilt cuffs featured here.

At Mementos of Bath you’ll find handmade embossed clay pendants of Minerva and Pegasus, amongst the Roman souvenirs, while pieces like Cathy Parker’s ‘Roman candle’ candelabra and phillip Vian decorative lonic column bring the past into the home.