A GOLD bracelet worth almost £40,000 will go on display alongside jewellery made out of teeth and horse hair in a new gallery opening in October at Mima.

Storage space has been converted to showcase the museum's accessories collection, which the modern art gallery in Middlesbrough believes to be the finest public collection of international contemporary jewellery in the UK and will attract visitors from across the world.

The collection features more than 200 pieces from the 1970s onwards, when there was a shift away from precious metals and gemstones to more unusual materials.

It includes jewellery made out of pan scourers, rubber, horsehair and even human teeth.

It also features pieces in traditional materials too, the most valuable piece in the collection is a gold bracelet worth £37,000.

Jewellers featured in the project with Teesside University include some of the most acclaimed over the past 50 years including Ted Noten, Gijs Bakker, Karl Fritsch, Wendy Ramshaw, Otto Künzli and Felieke van der Leest.

It is scheduled to open to the public over the weekend of Saturday, October 4 and Sunday, October 5.

Mima curator Alix Collingwood said: “We are extremely proud of our jewellery collection, which is unique in the UK in its focus and comparable with important collections of contemporary jewellery at the V&A and the Crafts Council.”

Professor Gerda Roper, Dean of Teesside University’s School of Arts & Media, added: “Jewellery experts around the world know about Middlesbrough’s renowned collection and now they will have the opportunity to visit, making the town a prime destination for jewellery enthusiasts and creative arts students. This will be a lasting legacy for the region.”

The new jewellery gallery is being funded by a grant of almost £300,000 from Arts Council England and support from Teesside University.