Amongst the impressive offering within this catalogue, you’ll find every kind of style to equip a jewellery box. There are the ‘every-day’ wardrobe staples such as simple strands of pearls, single stone rings or a pair of pretty floral semi-precious stone earrings that suit every age and never look 'de trop' or out of fashion. You can never go wrong investing in a classic. Next are the starrier attractions such as a dazzling 19th century Festoon diamond brooch or Art Deco sapphire strap bracelets and cocktail rings taking any jewellery box up a sparkling notch or two. Then there are the emotive jewels; a parade of glittering creatures – who in my experience often make the most cherished pieces in any woman’s collection, winking from the pages of the catalogue.

Animal designs in any artistic medium tend to provoke passionate responses and bejewelled animals are no different. Figurative animal shapes have long been a mainstay of the jeweller’s art. Animal talismans have served as friends and guardians to us for centuries and most cultures draw on the symbolism of the animal kingdom for luck or protection. The scarab may be a dung beetle, but it has the longest pedigree of any amulet in the world, so popular a symbol of renewal and rebirth that it’s been used as a bodyguard for more than 4,000 years. A jewelled animal can be worn as a lucky mascot, tangible reminder of one’s own pet or a touching memory. Other times they can be used to express character of the wearer in a unique form of personal branding. The Cartier panther, for example on page 39 – is one of the most iconic animal designs of the 20th century which was originally adopted in the 1930s as an expression of the independent-minded woman. A wild cat pinned on a lapel became a sign of avant garde chic in The Duchess of Windsor’s set.

Over time no creature has been too unusual nor too deadly or ugly to escape the jeweller’s oeuvre. Caroline Scheufele, Co-President of Chopard and a zealous animal lover herself, designed the polar bear, elephant stick pin and cheeky dachshund included from her Happy Diamonds and Animal World Collection. The fact that the sale features another gold floppy-eared dachshund proudly sporting a ruby collar is testament to the popularity of the breed.

Whilst a snake might not be your pet of choice, it has been the front runner in the jewellery stakes since Imperial Rome when snakes were worn in multiples high on the arm and coiled around wrists. The innate curvilinear nature of the creature adapts itself to the body perfectly with coloured ‘livery‘ scales replicated in gold, enamel or precious stones adding to the aesthetic beauty of the jewel. The snake’s ability to shed its skin has made it a symbol of longevity and re birth for centuries and when the serpent is depicted devouring it’s its own tail, known as ouroboros, it becomes a symbol of eternity and protection from evil.

The Victorians took advantage of the snake’s serpentine form to twist around a wrist or finger. Queen Victoria received a snake engagement ring from Prince Albert in 1839 with diamonds, an emerald set head and ruby eyes. The symbolism of the gemstones reinforced the serpent’s message of eternity; rubies carry passion, the invincibility of diamonds means forever which added to the circular serpent combine to mean love forever. If one also wanted to read the emerald - a symbol of hope, it would be let's hope love is forever. Often, Victorian serpents were mounted with turquoise imbued with the poignant message forget me not.

During the 1940’s Bulgari injected the serpent with sex appeal when it introduced the alluring Serpenti design. In 1962 when Elizabeth Taylor was filming Cleopatra in Rome, she was photographed wearing a gold and diamond Serpenti bracelet comprising a gold band with the head of the snake concealing a tiny watch dial. From that moment the image of the snake reached new heights of desirability, culminating with the legendary editor of Vogue Diana Vreeland, declaring, “Don’t forget the serpent…it should be on every finger and all wrists; the serpent is the motif of the hour in jewellery. We cannot see enough of them".

There’s a fascination in a motif that embodies conflicting notions of sin, seduction, fear, protection and beauty all embodied in thousands of years of symbolic evolution. Snake jewels remain evocative and head turning making fashionable hour of the serpent motif enduring, just like the ouroboros itself, coiled in a never-ending loop.

In any event whether it’s an ornamental mammal that catches your eye, or a fish – personally I fancy the jaunty sapphire and diamond chequerboard sea horse - or the elegant enamel scaled serpenti flashing diamond eyes with a forked tongue revealing the time, a jewelled creature never ceases to make a precious addition to any collection.  

Carol Woolton is an author, editor and broadcaster on the podcast 'If Jewels Could Talk'. Her new book 'If Jewels Could Talk' is published September 2024 by Simon & Schuster. She discusses the impact of the animal kingdom on jewellery on the podcast as well as the snake in art and jewellery.

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