There’s only one thing a renaissance faire, the boardwalk in South Beach Miami, a popular Queen of England, the Mojave desert, Alice Cooper and Samuel L Jackson have in common: the mystical, sublunary, revered, feared, and most powerful Serpentes Altus, the snake. For tens of thousands of years, like actual tens of thousands, humans have been crafting jewelry, art, totems, artifacts, bowls, cigarette holders and everything that fits under its belly in homage to the one & only vertebrate that moves without a crack in its back. And this year, it’s our turn to kiss the hiss.
For the 8th Fiat Lux Annual Maker’s Competition, 9 of the world’s most interesting small-batch jewelry makers submitted pieces in honor of the snake. Each one is meticulously handmade by the artist, and each piece is one-of-a-kind and worth $2000. From a close up on snake eyes to a serpent as hatchling to a nod to Indiana Jones, this year's slithering serpentine submissions are strange & sublime.