A wonderful gold snake necklace, this necklace was handmade in the late Victorian period. Snakes have slithered through jewellery history since ancient times. They reached their peak of popularity, however, in the Victorian era. Queen Victoria loved serpentine jewels. Arguably, she had even more power to shape trends than Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle do today.

Set with wonderful pearls, not tested but probably natural, and a synthetic ruby. Synthetic rubies were first produced in 1837.

The body is handmade with beautiful and sinuous 14 carat gold snake links. Both head and tail feature handmade blue enamel. This is a stunning one-off piece.

The necklace is 15 inches long (38 cm), and weighs 38.2 grams.

'Pre-owned is ethical and sustainable'