Vintage Aztec Calendar Pendant diamond The triangular cut-out sections at

The triangular cut-out sections at the shoulder capture and refine the essence of the "split-" or "bifurcated" shoulders so common in jewellery throughout the ages

Cool mid century serpent bangle dating from the 1950s

and seven gold bars - alternately carved with swirling patterns - form the tail

It opens to reveal two oval locket compartments

Vintage Aztec Calendar Pendant diamond The triangular cut-out sections atThe Aztec calendar, like the Mayan calendar on which it was based, was organised around two cyclical patterns: a 365 day 'civil' cycle and a 260 day 'ritual' cycle. From the Encyclopedia Britannica: "The ritual cycle, or tonalpohualli, contained two smaller cycles, an ordered sequence of 20 named days and a sequence of days numbered from 1 to 13. The 13 day cycle was particularly important for religious observance, and each of the 20 numbered cycles