London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 19, 2025

All that glisters: flood of fake ancient jewellery dupes buyers

All that glisters: flood of fake ancient jewellery dupes buyers

The 3D printer is enabling ever more sophisticated forgeries to be sold as Greek or Roman collectibles

There is a “pandemic” of fake gold jewellery, primarily ancient and medieval, according to a leading British historian, who warns that forgeries extend to more recent pieces that any one might pick up in a market.

Dr Jack Ogden, a specialist consultant for museums, auction houses, dealers and collectors, estimates that half of the supposed ancient gold jewellery he is shown is fake. Such pieces are cheap to produce, and people are being duped into buying something that is worth a fraction of what they paid. Although gold, these fakes may not be older than a few months.

“If it stands still long enough, they’ll fake it,” Ogden told the Observer. “It’s a bit of everything. There’s been some spectacular, supposedly Greek and Roman, gold. A lot of Greek gold, because that’s very collectible. They find pieces or styles they’re able to copy and which are desirable.”

One of the fakes he studied was a Romano-Celtic gold mask. It had been made from a simple gold disc of pre-Columbian origin – featuring designs applied with the point and cap of a ballpoint pen.

Ogden, the president of the Society of Jewellery Historians, notes that new technology has always been adopted by fakers. While “electroforming” copied gold pieces from the mid-19th century, computer-based technology has been used more recently.

Strange linear ridges seen in a recent fake of a Viking gold object shows that it was made using a 3D printer, he said, noting that it is obvious on this piece but that, “as the resolution of such printers improve, it will become trickier to spot”.

His warnings will feature in the forthcoming issue of Antiqvvs, a new magazine devoted to past civilisations, to be published this week.

Ogden was initially wary of releasing details from which the forgers can learn from their mistakes. He recalled his involvement, as co-curator, with the British Museum’s 1990s exhibition, Greek Gold: Jewellery of the Classical World, which was also shown at the Metropolitan in New York and the Hermitage in St Petersburg. “Within months, almost direct copies were appearing out of Russia. They got the technology pretty well because that was all discussed in the accompanying book. They suddenly had a recipe book. A huge mass of fake Greek gold was appearing.”

An openwork ring of vaguely Roman style, but made the wrong way for the period.


In Antiqvvs, he notes that the plausibility of filigree work on fake Greek and other jewellery has increased significantly, with fake copper corrosion being added sometimes to suggest a long burial.

He warns that pastiches combining genuine details within larger designs are “constantly turning up”. In one case, a single genuine Hellenistic gold earring formed the centrepiece of a fake gold diadem. In another, a single earring later emerged as a pair.

There has also been an exponential growth in the forging of documents for both genuine and fake objects, many of which are sophisticated.

The worry is that if fake objects enter museum collections they will be accepted as part of the archaeological record. “Museums are cutting back,” Ogden said. “In the old days, old Dr So-and-So headed a department with lots of assistants, who’d be learning. By the time he retired, there would be a body of knowledge that would continue. Nowadays, there aren’t resources for such continuity of expertise.”

Dr Mark Merrony, editor of Antiqvvs, said: “Reputable ancient art dealers and auction houses expend considerable financial resource to address this problem. The acute intelligence of many forgers, coupled with advances in applied science, compound this issue – rendering it, in effect, an artistic cat-and-mouse game of technological warfare.”

Ogden added: “I actually admire forgers enormously. They’re very clever guys.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
×