Popularized during the Victorian era, pique was a technique of decorating tortoiseshell with inlays of gold and silver. By applying heat to small gold and silver shapes, jewelers could essentially iron the metal into the tortoiseshell. Pique jewelry is relatively rare for two reasons: first, because it is an organic material and didn't always stand the test of time; second, because the Victorians stopped using real tortoiseshell in favor of the faux variety, made from early plastic. This spectacular pique snake bracelet has lost its inlay in a few places but is in otherwise excellent antique condition.