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oop-in-loop jewelry has been made for thousands of years. The earliest known examples come from about 3000 BC, but those pieces were so expertly made that it's clear the techniques had been around for some time. The height of loop-in-loop chain making came at about 500BC (plus or minus a thousand years) on the north coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The goldsmiths of that time had a very good understanding of their medium and produced some exquisite pieces, many of which have survived to today. Loop-in-loop jewelry can be made from gold or silver wire, but due to the nature of the metals, gold survives the ravages of time extremely well while silver can tarnish into nothingness. Most of the examples of ancient loop-in-loop jewelry that I've seen have been made of gold. elow are some examples of ancient loop-in-loop jewelry on display at the British Museum in London, England. These are all informal snapshots taken through the glass of the display cases and should in no way be considered official British Museum pictures. (Their photographers are much better than I am.) This is my single favorite piece of loop-in-loop jewelry. It is from the southern part of Italy and was made in approximately 300 BC. The wide, flat shape was achieved with two sizes of loops, the longer loop spanning a whole row of interlocking smaller loops. The dangling gold pendants are almost certainly hollow. Detail of the extremely fine work. This is a stunning piece about which I wrote nothing at all. My guess is that it is from a similar time/location as the necklace above (both are very skilled work out of tiny gauge wire) but that is only an educated guess.      Two pair of Byzantine gold and pearl earrings, 6th - 7th century AD. The first pair is from Erythrea, Crete. The second pair is from Kalymnos, Greece. Gold and garnet. Second century AD, but there was no information on location.