Vintage 14KT gold serpent bracelet, the coiled body built from articulated gold scales, the head and tail enamelled in turquoise with polychrome scrollwork and set with ruby, opal and diamond.
The body is made as a run of overlapping gold links, each one chased as a scale, so the whole coil flexes and settles round the wrist rather than sitting rigid. Head and tail are the showpieces: both are enamelled in a strong turquoise ground and worked over with foliate arabesques in white, red and gold, the kind of polychrome scrollwork that rewards looking at closely. Two rubies are set into the head and a cabochon opal hangs at the mouth, while turquoise cabochons and diamonds run in pairs along the neck. The tail finishes in a plain polished gold blade that crosses back over the coil.
Dimensions -
Bracelet: Fits an 18 cm wrist
Head to tail: 11 cm
Weight: 60 grams
Specifications -
Period: Vintage, mid 20th century
Origin: European
Metal: 14KT gold
Design: Coiled serpent on articulated scale links
Enamel: Turquoise ground with polychrome foliate scrollwork, to the head and the tail
Fitting: Coiled, sprung to the wrist
Rubies -
Cut: Cushion
Colour: Red
Number: Two, set to the head
Setting: Claw set
Opal -
Cut: Cabochon
Colour: White with play of colour
Number: One, hung at the mouth
Diamonds -
Cut: Old and rose
Colour: Near colourless
Setting: Collet set along the neck, paired with turquoise
Turquoise -
Cut: Cabochon
Colour: Sky blue
Setting: Collet set along the neck
Condition :
Excellent condition. The enamel is intact across both the head and the tail with no chipping to the ground or the scrollwork, all stones are present, and the scale links run smoothly without slack.
Stone weights and grades are careful estimates taken from the mounted piece and are not laboratory certified.
Vintage 14KT gold serpent bracelet, the coiled body built from articulated gold scales, the head and tail enamelled in turquoise with polychrome scrollwork and set with ruby, opal and diamond.
The body is made as a run of overlapping gold links, each one chased as a scale, so the whole coil flexes and settles round the wrist rather than sitting rigid. Head and tail are the showpieces: both are enamelled in a strong turquoise ground and worked over with foliate arabesques in white, red and gold, the kind of polychrome scrollwork that rewards looking at closely. Two rubies are set into the head and a cabochon opal hangs at the mouth, while turquoise cabochons and diamonds run in pairs along the neck. The tail finishes in a plain polished gold blade that crosses back over the coil.
Dimensions -
Bracelet: Fits an 18 cm wrist
Head to tail: 11 cm
Weight: 60 grams
Specifications -
Period: Vintage, mid 20th century
Origin: European
Metal: 14KT gold
Design: Coiled serpent on articulated scale links
Enamel: Turquoise ground with polychrome foliate scrollwork, to the head and the tail
Fitting: Coiled, sprung to the wrist
Rubies -
Cut: Cushion
Colour: Red
Number: Two, set to the head
Setting: Claw set
Opal -
Cut: Cabochon
Colour: White with play of colour
Number: One, hung at the mouth
Diamonds -
Cut: Old and rose
Colour: Near colourless
Setting: Collet set along the neck, paired with turquoise
Turquoise -
Cut: Cabochon
Colour: Sky blue
Setting: Collet set along the neck
Condition :
Excellent condition. The enamel is intact across both the head and the tail with no chipping to the ground or the scrollwork, all stones are present, and the scale links run smoothly without slack.
Stone weights and grades are careful estimates taken from the mounted piece and are not laboratory certified.
