Victorian 18k Gold Diamond Snake Ring Hallmarked 1900

The serpent has had a place in mythology since man has been man. Chased from the Garden of Eden, sprouting from the head of a Gorgon, a dual symbol of good and evil, of medicine and poison, of fertility and revenge. Perhaps the duality of our own human nature has led every culture throughout humankind to both revere and revile them. To the Egyptians they were a symbol of royalty, to the Hindi a sign of passion, to the Romans they represented undying love. When Prince Albert proposed to Queen Victoria, it was at the height of a fashion revival for all things ancient and he presented her with a ring composed of two intertwined snakes to symbolize their unity and eternal love. Thus began both the engagement ring and the Victorian love affair with the serpent.

This wonderful snake ring was hand crafted in London in 1900 and has full English hallmarks. The single snake coils thrice around the finger and his head is set with a chunky old European cut diamond that measures about 5x5x2.2mm and weighs about .38 carats. The ring measures 11 mm north to south and 19 mm across, it’s 5 mm which and weighs 9.8 grams. This ring is marked with ’18’ for the gold content of 18 karat, the Leopard head for London, the Crown for England, the letter e for the year 1900 and a makers mark which is too worn to make out. I think it may have been sized down at some point, it ’s a size 5.5.

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