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A necklace is an adornment worn around the neck. Necklaces may have been one of the first types of jewellery worn by humans. They are often used for ceremonial, religious, magical or funerary purposes and are also used as symbols of wealth and status, given that they are usually made of precious metals and stones.

The main component of a necklace is the band, chain or cord that wraps around the neck. These are most commonly found in precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum. Necklaces often have additional attachments that are hung or inserted into the necklace itself. These attachments typically include pendants, lockets, amulets, crosses, and precious and semi-precious materials such as diamonds, pearls, rubies, emeralds, garnets, and sapphires. They are made with many different type of materials and are used for many things, sometimes referred to as clothing.

In Ancient Mesopotamia, cylinder seals were often strung and worn as jewellery. In ancient Babylon, necklaces were made of carnelian, lapis lazuli, agate and gold, as well as gold chains. The ancient Sumerians created necklaces and beads from gold, silver, lapis lazuli and carnelian. In Ancient Egypt, there were a number of differences in the types of necklaces. Ancient Egyptians of the upper class wore collars made from organic or semi-precious and valuable materials for religious, festive and funeral purposes. These collars were often decorated with semi-precious stones, glass, ceramics and hollow beads. Beads from a variety of precious and semi-precious materials were also often strung together to create necklaces. Gold, which was modelled in stylized forms of plants, animals and insects, was also common. Amulets had also been turned into necklaces. In ancient Crete, necklaces were worn by all classes; the peasants wore stones on a linen thread, and the rich wore beads of agate, pearls, carnelian, amethyst, and rock crystal. Pendants in the shape of birds, animals and humans were also worn in addition to paste beads.

In Ancient Greece, exquisitely crafted gold necklaces were worn, crafted from repoussé and plaited gold wires. These necklaces were often decorated with blue or green enameled rosettes, animal figurines, or vase-shaped pendants, which were often decorated with fringes. It was customary to wear long gold chains with hanging cameos and small perfume vessels. New elements were introduced during the Hellenistic period; colored stones made it possible to create polychrome objects, and decorations with animal heads, finials and pendants in the form of spears or buds were suspended from chains. The ancient Etruscans used granulation to create granular gold beads strung with glass and faience beads to create colored necklaces. In ancient Rome, necklaces were one of the many types of jewellery worn by the Roman elite. Gold and silver necklaces are often adorned with foreign and semi-precious items such as amber, pearl, amethyst, sapphire and diamond.

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