DATE: Vintage, c.1960

Cool vintage snake collar dating from the 1960s. The head and tail are beautifully detailed, with jagged teeth and life-like scales and face, but the best feature is the mesh body, designed to be flexible and also simulate snake scales. With the Whiting & Davis Co maker's mark stamped under the head.

The Whiting & Davis Company was founded in Massachusetts in 1876, quickly gaining notoriety off the back of its fine evening bags made from hand-joined metal rings. By the 1920s, these mesh bags were (in their own words): "the coveted accessory of flappers, actresses and 'well dressed women everywhere.'" The company began production of costume jewellery in 1907, often heavily influenced by the Art Nouveau and later Art Deco styles. Whiting & Davis Co remains active to this day, continuing to produce quality mesh bags and costume jewellery, worn by the likes of Paris Hilton, Lady Gaga, Nicole Kidman, and Eva Longoria.

MEASUREMENTS 

Inner circumference: 14.25 inches minimum (expandable)

Width of band: 

WEIGHT 

63.9g

MARKS 

Whiting & Davis Co maker's mark

CONDITION 

Excellent