Victorian gold, turquoise pearl and garnet snake necklace – £5200 at Roseberys.
Far more fluent in the language of jewellery and stones, the Georgians and Victorians would have immediately made the link between snakes and eternal love. The ouroboros – a serpent swallowing its own tail – was commonly understood as a symbol of eternity.
This gold, turquoise, garnet and half-pearl collarette dates from c.1830. Note the series of gold graduated articulated scalloped links, each engraved with a dot and striation pattern.