The Victorians were fascinated with the carved scarab beetles that appeared in huge numbers in newly excavated ancient Egyptian tombs. The scarab's symbolism? A universal one: rebirth. But the dung beetle struck a special chord with the Victorians because they loved collecting animal and insect (and plant and geological) specimens -the more exotic, the better. Darwin's discoveries and exploration into all corners of the globe marked the 19th century as an age of Science. Combine the aesthetics of natural science and that of Egyptomania and you get this: a not-quite-Egyptian necklace set with not-quite-scarab beetles. These insects are actually from South America, so no Egyptian, ancient or otherwise, would have ever seen them. But style was more important to the Victorians than authenticity, and these iridescent green bugs are really pretty.