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A diamond ‘Serpenti’ bangle watch by Carlo Illario e Fratelli for Fasano, Turin, dated 1968, the highly flexible triple coil serpent’s body with brilliant cut diamond accents along the whole length to a pavé set brilliant cut diamond tail, the hinged head pavé set with brilliant and baguette cut diamonds and circular cut ruby eyes, the head opening to reveal a concealed watch, the 17 jewel manual wind movement with back wind and set by Jaeger LeCoultre, signed Jaeger LeCoultre, with a circular silvered dial signed Fasano, with applied Arabic numerals and dart markers and pointed baton hands, the back of the snake’s head stamped C.I.F for Carlo Illario e Fratelli and Fasano, and engraved Ott. 68 Maria, the tail stamped 750 PT, total diamond weight approximately 12.50 carats, 189.6g gross Introduced in the late 1940s, serpenti watches were initially constructed from hollow ‘tubogas’ coils of interlocking strips of gold for Bulgari, and by the 1960s they became elaborately handmade from sheets of gold which were screwed and pivoted together. Serpenti watches found celebrity acclaim when Elizabeth Taylor was photographed wearing a gold and diamond version by Bulgari on the set of ‘Cleopatra’ in 1962. Offered for sale with a letter of Expertise from Illario 1920, dated 20.11.2017, stating in Italian: This is a unique example commissioned by Fasano Gioielleria of Turin and manufactured by Carlo Illario in the 60s. Total diamond weight estimated 12.50 carats Carlo Illario e F.lli was founded in Valenza in 1920 by three brothers, Carlo, Vincenzo and Luigi Illario. The expertise of the three brothers saw the company become one of the most highly regarded fine jewellery manufacturers in Valenza for most of the 20th century. Carlo Illario e F.lli designed and made haute joaillerie for the leading Italian retail jewellers such as Bulgari, Faraone, Fasano and Ventrella, as well as pieces commissioned by the Italian Royal Family. The company supplied fine jewels to the leading French ateliers in Paris, and other international jewellers such as Tiffany & Co. The company made many of the Serpenti watch bracelets retailed by Bulgari and other jewellers. Carlo Illario e F.lli is still in business today trading as Illario 1920, and other members of the Illario family continue to make the finest jewels, including an interpretation of Serpenti bangles, under the brand name Carlo Luca della Quercia. Mario Fasano started his jewellery business in 1928, and a few years later opened a jewellery shop in Piazza Castello in the historical centre of Turin with his wife Stella Piovano in 1935. Fasano built their reputation from the 1930s through to the 1950s by selling Italian manufactured high jewellery which adhered to the latest fashion trends of the leading Parisian ateliers. Dario Fasano, the last family member to involved with the Fasano jewellery business, died in February 2018, having retired and closed the shop in Turin in 2013. Literature: Gabardi, Melissa: Italian Jewellery In The 20th Century (Silvana Editoriale, Milan 2016), p 312 and p314 for biographies of Fasano and Carlo Illario e Fratelli. See also Sotheby's New York, 'Magnificent Jewels', Lot 312, 5th December 2017, for an emerald and diamond Serpenti bracelet watch made by Carlo Illario e Fratelli for Bulgari.