Not every animal on the Zodiac calendar is quite the same to design around. The snake, however, which slithers into the coming Lunar New Year cycle, is well and truly a jewellery designer’s daydream. It’s a creature that’s well represented in many collections, even beyond the Lunar or Chinese calendar. Bvlgari, most famously, has a timeless icon in its Serpenti jewels and watches.
The reason is simply that snakes have been, since antiquity, an animal bound up in symbolism and mythology. Nearly every recorded culture in history has some manner of snakes in their folklore. The slithering creatures have in them a terrific duality that makes them faceted, varied symbols.
Snakes are symbols of renewals, harvests, health and fertility because they shed their skin. See the serpent coiling around the Rod of Asclepius, the symbol of the ancient Greek deity of healing and medicine. The motif persists even today on the logos of many health organisations, the World Health Organisation for one. See, too, the idea of infinity in the Ouroboros, a symbol in which the snake curls around to eat its own tail. It’s in the works of the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, in the world mythologies of the Norse, and even winds up in Vedic texts.
There is, of course, a darker side to snakes too. The Western canon has cast the snake as a creature of seductive wiles, an animal that is as beautiful as it is dangerous. Alluring, yet with poisonous bites well worth fearing. Not to say that the animal is inherently evil. Rather, that in design it can even embody this sharper edge.
With all these possibilities, why not consider a totemic piece of snake jewellery as a companion for the year? Here, Vogue selects designs to know, from lovely to lethal. And if the snake is not quite your year, then consider perhaps a simple pop of red for a touch of good fortune.
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Van Cleef & Arpels Lucky Animals Snake clip in yellow gold with malachite and onyx, $12,900
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Anita Ko Diamond Narrow Snake ring in rose gold with diamonds and tsavorites, $10,550
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Bvlgari Serpenti Viper Lunar New Year special edition necklace in rose gold with rubies, $6,540
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Boucheron Serpent Bohème Toi et Moi S motif ring in rose gold with diamonds, $15,400
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Jacquie Aiche Diamond Snake Wrapped Onyx Droplet necklace in 14K yellow gold with onyx and diamonds, $12,600
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Tiffany & Co. Elsa Peretti Snake bangle in yellow gold with diamonds, $11,900
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Piaget Possession "Snake Pattern" ring in rose gold with a diamond, $4,100
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Selim Mouzannar Basilik earrings in yellow gold with blue sapphires and spinels, US$5,575
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Catbird Sylvie Snake ring in 14K yellow gold with a pearl, $417
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Jacquie Aiche Large Snake Wrapped Pink Tourmaline Flower Pave ring in 14K yellow gold, with a carved pink tourmaline and diamonds, $12,100
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Marina B Trisola Magnus ring in yellow gold, $7,700
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Kamyen ring in white gold with diamonds and enamel, $11,100 from Net-A-Porter
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Shihara Diamond S 03 earring in yellow gold with diamonds, $2,544
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Swarovski Snake brooch in rhodium-plated metal with crystals and a crystal pearl, $279
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Buccellati Opera Tulle pendant in yellow gold with red enamel, $4,000
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Chanel Coco bracelet in beige gold with a ruby, $3,500
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Chaumet Jeux de Liens pendant in rose gold with carnelian and a diamond, $2,810
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Pomellato Pom Pom Dot necklace in rose gold with carnelian and diamonds, price on request
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Completedworks F64 earrings in recycled sterling silver with red lace agates and pink bio-resin, $385
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Fred Chance Infinie necklace in pink gold with diamonds and rubies, price on request
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Piaget Possession bracelet in rose gold with a carnelian bead and a diamond, $2,450
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Tiffany & Co. Tiffany Lock small pendant in rose gold with rubies, price on request
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Monica Vinader Lucky Asymmetric drop earrings in gold vermeil with red onyx, $290
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