Some of the more glamourous raw commodities to come out of Western Australian soil have been meticulously crafted into rare collectibles by the Perth Mint.

The Jewelled Snake coin, the latest release in the Perth Mint’s Masterpieces series, features 175 hand-set rare Argyle pink diamonds and 111 white diamonds which form the scales and body of an 18-carat rose and yellow gold snake coiled around a tree branch, with two emeralds for its eyes.

Argyle pink diamonds were produced out of the namesake mine in WA’s east Kimberley region by Rio Tinto for 37 years, until the operation’s closure in late 2020.

The striking three-dimensional snake highlights the expert craftsmanship, care and precision required to create the eight identical, limited edition coins. The collection is a collaboration between the Perth Mint and famed jewelled John Glajz.

It is the sixth annual release of the diamond-encrusted coins and follows the Jewelled Phoenix, Dragon, Tiger, Horse and Koi coins in previous years.

“The Perth Mint takes enormous pride in presenting magnificent masterpieces to the global luxury market and The Jewelled Snake is no exception,” Perth Mint General Manager of Products Neil Vance said.

“It’s a large undertaking to design and craft these intricate coins but the results are outstanding, and we have no doubt that collectors will be impressed by The Jewelled Snake’s design.”

Jewelled Snake design team leader Sean Rogers said it was an honour to be involved in such a challenging and rewarding collaboration.

“With this series we continuously challenged what is thought possible for numismatic creation. Here, we used hundreds of diamonds and gemstones to create the intricately sculpted snake,” he said.

“The finished piece is transfixing and an extraordinary tribute to a creature that’s achieved amazing significance in human culture.”