Blogs: All That Glitters

5 Fine Jewels for the Year of the Snake

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With Jan. 1 in our rearview, we’re now looking ahead to a different New Year’s celebration: the Lunar New Year. This year it begins on Jan. 29 and is the Year of the Snake. In the world of fine jewels, just like in the Chinese zodiac, the snake has been a recurring motif.

Snakes have a long and varied history in fine jewelry, from the uraeus (a cobra) worn by pharaohs as a powerful symbol of royalty and divine protection, to a surge in popularity during the Victorian era—after Queen Victoria’s engagement ring turned the snake into a symbol of eternal love and commitment— to the 20th-century art nouveau movement’s embrace of the snake’s natural form in flowing, stylized designs, to contemporary designers who draw inspiration from the creature’s multifaceted symbolism, which includes duality (good and evil), transformation (shedding skin), wisdom, allure, and mystery.

Across cultures, the snake represents a complex mix of qualities. In ancient Greece and Rome, they were associated with healing, as seen in the caduceus of Asclepius—the intertwined snake that today is an emblem of the medical profession—and also represented wisdom, rebirth, and eternity. The ouroboros, a snake eating its tail, further emphasized themes of eternity and cyclical renewal.

We’ve rounded up a few fine jewels channeling the spirit of the snake, in honor of the Lunar New Year.

Stephen Russell
Stephen Russell vintage necklace and bracelets (circa 1860) in 18k yellow gold, $48,000; Moda Operandi
Ileana Makri
Ileana Makri Boa earrings in 18k white gold with 2.36 ct. t.w. white diamonds, $13,495; Ileana Makri
Cece
Snake & Moon Ring in 18k yellow gold with enamel and brilliant-cut diamonds, $3,828; Cece
Lito
Andromeda bracelet (also pictured at top) in 18k yellow gold with a 0.48 ct. kite-cut white diamond and 1.96 cts. t.w. brilliant cut white diamonds, $22,000; Lito
Samantha Knight
Vintage double-headed snake ring in 18k gold with rubies and diamonds, $2,495; Samantha Knight

Follow me on Instagram: @anniedavidsonwatson

By: Annie Davidson Watson

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