A striking Victorian serpent stickpin in 18ct gold, the snake coiling upward around an inverted pear-shaped malachite — a format that gives the piece a sculptural, almost totemic quality distinct from the more common coiled-snake design. Malachite, with its vivid banded green, was a stone greatly prized in the Victorian period for its bold, graphic patterning, and here it provides a rich chromatic contrast to the warm yellow gold of the serpent. At 6.6g this is a stickpin of considerable weight and presence. Unhallmarked; tests as 18ct gold. Head 2 × 0.9cm.

The Details

• Circa: Victorian
• Weight: 6.6g
• Head dimensions: 2 × 0.9cm
• Hallmarks: Unhallmarked; tests as 18ct gold
• Stone: Malachite (inverted pear cabochon)