By the end of the first decade of the twentieth century, the Fabergé firm was producing works in the popular Art Nouveau style. This case is one of Fabergé’s most successful, combining sumptuous guilloché enamelling with a diamond-set mount in the shape of a snake biting its tail – the symbol of everlasting love.

Purchased by Mrs George Keppel and given to King Edward VII; returned to Mrs Keppel by Queen Alexandra, 1910; given by Mrs Keppel to Queen Mary, 1936