Victorian Triple Snake Ring with Old Mine Cut Diamonds in Gold

A striking Victorian snake ring, dating to around 1880, this sculptural jewel coils across the finger in rich 18ct yellow gold, its engraved surfaces and curling lines already hinting at the coming Art Nouveau taste for more fluid natural forms. The three serpent heads are set with old mine cut diamonds, together weighing approximately 1.24 carats, of light yellow colour and VVS to VS clarity. Both decorative and symbolic, it carries the enduring 19th century fascination with the serpent as an emblem of renewal, mystery, and devoted attachment.

Jewellery Type
ring

Condition
very good condition
more info on our condition scale

Country of origin
unknown

Style
Victorian - Victorian decorative arts refers to the style of decorative arts during the Victorian era. The Victorian era is known for its eclectic revival and interpretation of historic styles and the introduction of cross-cultural influences from the middle east and Asia in furniture, fittings, and Interior decoration. Victorian design is widely viewed as having indulged in a regrettable excess of ornament. The Arts and Crafts movement, the aesthetic movement, Anglo-Japanese style, and Art Nouveau style have their beginnings in the late Victorian era.
See also: Victorian
more info on styles

Style specifics
Late Victorian / early Art Nouveau - The subject of this piece, although typical 19th Century, announces the coming of the Art Nouveau style.

Period
ca. 1880
Events & facts of this era, poetry of this era, fashion of this era.

Source of inspiration
Mother Nature

Theme
Snakes and serpents - Snakes and serpents are one of the oldest and most widespread mythological symbols . Considerable overlap exists in the symbolic values that serpents represent in various cultures. Some such overlap is due to the common historical ancestry of contemporary symbols. Much of the overlap, however, is traceable to the common biological characteristics of snakes.

A lot can be said about snakes and serpents. They have been worshipped since the Dark Ages and are a powerful religious symbol with many different meanings, like death and resurrection, while they have also been associated with healing and rivergods and also denote fertility, wisdom and the ability to cure.

Extra information
The triple arrangement gives the ring an added symbolic resonance, as if the serpent’s traditional meanings of renewal and attachment were reinforced through repetition, though this cannot be stated with certainty.

Material 18K
yellow gold (touchstone tested)
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Diamonds
Three old mine brilliant cut diamonds with an estimated total weight of approximately 1.24 ct, light yellow, VVS to VS.

- When we provide weights, colour grades, and clarity of diamonds, these are approximate unless otherwise stated, as we do not remove diamonds from their settings to preserve the integrity of the piece.

- All diamonds, regardless of their size or shape, in our vintage and antique jewellery are verified as 100% natural by the IJGC laboratory.

Birthstones
Diamond is the birthstone (or month stone) for April.
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Hallmarks
"18K" indicating 18K gold
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Dimensions
band width top of ring 2,26 cm (0,89 inch)
see picture with a ruler in millimeters and inches

Weight
5,50 gram (3,54 dwt)

Ring size Continental EU: 61 & 19½ , Size USA: 9½ , Size UK: S½

Resizing
Free resizing (only for extreme resizing we have to charge).
more info on ring sizes

Adin Reference Nº
26065-0149

Copyright photography
Adin, fine antique jewellery

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