Jewellery, Watches, Antiquities and Objects of Vertu

A 9ct gold serpent bangle by Smith & Pepper, the sprung coiled serpent with gas-pipe body and engraved head with ruby eyes, hallmarked for Birmingham, 1970 and bearing maker’s mark S&P, internal bangle diameter approximately 52m. £300-£400

Smith & Pepper was a jewellery manufacturing firm in Birmingham, located at 78 and 79 Vyse Street, and set up in 1899 by Mr Smith and his uncle Mr Pepper, who became business partners after Smith had split from his family business.

In the 1920s at the height of their success, the company was well known for producing serpent bracelets and jewellery with Egyptian motifs, which grew in popularity after Egyptologist Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922. The coiled snake bangle with ruby eyes became a popular seminal piece. Unfortunately by the 1980s, the elder members of the family could not secure the future involvement of younger family members to continue the business. So in 1981, the company closed and the factory was abandoned. The building was left shut for 9 years before the Council acquired possession of the premises and opened the doors to find a perfectly preserved time capsule of jewellery production, dating back to 1899. The premises is now the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter.