An American who arrived in Mexico in the 1940s, opened her own workshop in 1945 and by 1950 employed about twenty five artisans*, Doris is one of the few female designers that we know of in the world of vintage Mexican silver jewelry. My first encounter with her creations wasn’t until a few years into my “career” as a Mexican jewelry dealer and I was immediately captivated by the exquisite design, the impeccable craftsmanship and the quality of the materials used...

A luxurious tassel, its sterling threads spilling out of a brushed silver bead, catches the eye instantly in this vintage Mexican charm bracelet. A classic rendition of the specific design, it has a thick twist rope chain that has acquired a soft, silky glow over the years. Striding the divide between Deco and Retro jewelry, this is a veritable statement bracelet and if you decide to add the matching earrings and lariat necklace you see in one of the photos to it, you will not be disappointed...

Circa mid-century, this Margot de Taxco ring has exquisite repoussé silver work with scrolls and tiny beading.

This is Margot's design #5337. The face of the ring measures 1 3/8" x 1", with a band that is adjustable. Current size is 9 1/4.

Weight is 19.1 grams.

Hallmarked with the eagle assay 16 and the design # 5337.

Beautiful patina, excellent vintage condition.

This hand-wrought Mexican necklace dates to pre-1948,

It's an exquisite piece with highly detailed silver work, and it looks beautiful on. Measuring 36" in length, the two sides can clip together about 4" from each end.

Signed and hallmarked on the bottom of each ball "S.D. Hecho en Mexico 0.925".

Weight is 80.5 grams.

In excellent vintage condition.

Possibly my most favorite Carmen Beckmann ring design (an example lives in my jewelry box), her Etruscan style domed creation presented here is an ode to wire-work and micro-beading. It rises regally above the finger yet because of all those curved, glistening surfaces, it never creates problems to the wearer like most rings that are so high do...

Classic Antonio Pineda bangle bracelet wrought in the maestro's favorite, .970 fine silver alloy with deep notches all around it that appear more dramatic thanks to the intentionally applied oxidation. There is something about Antonio's jewelry that bring them close to your heart as soon as you first see them and this piece is no exception. Enjoy it alone or, if you are lucky enough, add it to the stack of his bangles you already have...

Matching the highly geometric cuff bracelet that is also available in my store, this vintage Los Castillo Mexican silver modernist ring still cherishes the austere angularity of the Deco years. Set in channels defined by sterling wires, the saturated blues and greens of the azur-malachite inlay clearly mark it as belonging to the workshop's "mozaico Azteca" line...

Circa 1940-1945, this is a rarely seen hummingbird pin produced by Hector Aguilar at the Taller Borda. This piece is shown on p. 17 of "Silver Masters of Mexico". Beautifully hand-wrought with superb repoussé silver work, this pin is collector quality. Measures 2 1/2" x 1 7/8", pin closes with a roller. Weight is 17.3 grams. Signed and hallmarked "HA Made in Mexico Sterling". In excellent vintage condition.

This pin from Los Castillo dates 1940-1945. It's an early piece, likely designed by Margot van Voorhies Carr while she was married to Antonio Castillo. It's a beautiful repoussé sterling silver pin with an oval amethyst cabochon surrounded by tiny silver beading. A floral design with exquisite detailing, this pin measures 3 1/16" wide, 1 1/2" tall. Weight is 24.8 grams. Signed and hallmarked "Los Castillo Taxco Sterling Made in Mexico", with the early design number 100...

Over the years of my career as a vintage Mexican jewelry dealer I have come to love and appreciate the "mask" pieces created by the Los Ballesteros workshop. I have to admit that this was not a "love-at-first-sight" affair. On the contrary, it took me some time to realize that prolific though they might have been, especially in the post-1980 years which witnessed a drop in creativity as well, the specific workshop excelled in the production of superb jewelry centered by carved stone effigies...

Circa mid-century, this necklace was produced by Ana María Nuñez de Brilanti, whose shop was known as Victoria.

Brilanti was known for her unique designs in mixed and married metal, and for her commitment to quality.

This is a gorgeous necklace. The pendant can be removed and worn alone as a pin. It's a large piece with a multi-dimensional celtic design in sterling silver, copper, and brass...

Originally a painter who in the 1930s moved to Mexico to participate in the country’s cultural scene, Bernice Goodspeed quickly moved into designing and selling her own jewelry out of the store she and her fellow-artist husband Carl Pappe opened in Taxco. Bernice’s work does not come up often and I am very excited to have found this repousse necklace by her...

An iconic personality for advocates of female empowerment, Jeanne d’ Arc is not a figure I expected to see on a piece of jewelry by the Los Castillo. I look at the pendant and I see Margot de Taxco at her drawing table, sketch pencil in hand, making the French heroine materialize on paper before she is cast in sterling silver...

Confident in his prowess as a warrior and comfortable in his ceremonial attire this Margot de Taxco silver and enamel Aztec figure can be enjoyed both as a brooch as well as a pendant. Though experimentation with the art of enameling started while Margot was still part of the Los Castillo workshop, it was after her divorce with Antonio that she focused on perfecting it in her own, independent taller. And perfect it she did...

Glistening caramel golds and molten browns dominate in this Cecilia Tono Mexican modernist bang ring. This is one of my favorite Taxco collaborations - the jewelry that came out of it slick and inventive with the highest quality of craftsmanship and the best of materials. There is nothing excessive about this ring - except maybe the heftiness of its oxidized setting - yet it immediately attracts the eye and holds the gaze captive with its liquid warmth and its generous width...

Bearing the signature of Pedro Castillo this bracelet is, for me, a fusion of classic Taxco "arhaeological" as well as modernist elements...

In the style associated with Matilde Poulat the Mexican Deco sterling silver brooch presented here is big, bold and beautiful! Wrought en repoussage and embellished with hand-chasing feathers and beads surround three gorgeous turquoise cabochons in shades of blue and green. The brooch is open-backed like many of Matl’s early pieces and a pleasure to wear and to behold. It measures 2 3/4” wide by 1 7/8” tall and weighs 17.8 grams. It is simply marked “MEXICO SILVER”, dates in the 1...

Possibly the most "surrealist" early Mexican Deco "mask" brooch I have ever had, this piece is the source of so many questions for me. What is it exactly that it depicts with its "portrait" surrounded by an elaborate headdress, the two arms emanating right from its top with no actual body present? And what is the "mask" itself made of? It registers as a stone in my gem-tester but I am not sure if it is onyx or a different type of opaque, black stone. I find myself in one of those instances in wh...

A graduate of the Parson's School of Design in Paris, Erika Hult de Corral is one of my favorite modernist designers and silversmiths in the context of Mexican silver jewelry. Spanning a few decades, her work is unfailingly of the highest quality with attention paid not only to materials but also to finishing and, of course, imaginative design. The ring presented here, wrought in sterling and centered by a scrumptious tiger's eye stone, can also be found with Enrique Ledesma's signature. Since ...

A classic combination for Enrique Ledesma, the marrying of sterling and stone, makes this vintage Mexican bracelet an easily recognizable creation by the renowned Taxco modernist. The stone is here azur-malachite, I believe, with greens and browns predominant and the warmth of the silver casings adds a certain "inner glow" to it. The bracelet offers a glimpse of its life story in an inscription on the back of one link - romantic and rare yet if you would rather have it removed, it can be easily ...

Slender, elongated, hand-wrought fine silver feathers that end in a playful curl make up this set of "swan wing" modernist earrings by Antonio Pineda. I have to admit that this is one of the most unexpected Antonio creations I have ever encountered. When I first saw it, I thought that the clip-ons would have to surely be a later replacement yet I have since seen a similar pair and that one too had the same findings. Now these are earrings for those not afraid to ... spread their wings and reach ...

A beautiful pair of Earrings by the famous Matilde Poulat who signed her work MATL. They feature her ornate silver work set with Coral cabochon stones in a swirl design. They measure 1 3/8" long by 5/8" wide and weigh 10.4 grams. In good condition with the typical screw backs. Hallmarked on one earring "MATL". These are a gorgeous pair of earrings by a important artist.

Maestro Mateo of Taxco is known among vintage jewelry collectors for his modernist, mostly brutalist, ring designs. His work is sought after for its quality, the beauty of the stones he incorporates in his pieces and the strong sense of tension that his rings exude. His career strides the divide between the so-called Eagle mark period and that of the T-marks and, in my experience, he is one of the very few silversmiths who used .950 alloys before they became the norm in the 1980s. When I came up...

Circa mid-century, this Los Castillo pin is a spectacular work of wearable art, and features one of their most iconic designs.

It's a multi-dimensional piece with superb repoussé silver work, highly detailed, and absolutely collector quality.

Measures 3 1/4" x 2". Pin closes with a roller.

Weight is a very substantial 30.8 grams.

Signed and hallmarked with the early linear mark "Los Castillo Taxco Sterling Made in Mexico", along with the design ...

Circa mid-century, this ring was produced by Antonio Pineda. It's a thick and substantial ring, with a superb modernist twist design. Hand-wrought with 970 silver, the center design appears to be gold plating over brass, providing a gorgeous contrast. Measures a size 7 3/4, but a jeweler can easily adjust the size slightly smaller or larger. Weight is 11.8 grams. Signed and hallmarked with the Antonio Taxco crown, the eagle assay 17, 970, and Hecho en Mexico Silver. In excellent v...

These mid-century earrings from Antonio Pineda are large and unusual. The primitive hunter design is said to have been based on the Lascaux cave drawings, used on several of his pieces. I have the matching bracelet in my shop. These dangle earrings are quite substantial, measuring 2" top to bottom, with a width of 1 7/16". Weight is 28.5 grams. Screwbacks work perfectly. Signed and hallmarked with the Antonio Taxco crown, 970, Hecho en Mexico, and the eagle assay 17. In excellent vin...

Early pre-eagle large bracelet with a lacy flower form pattern. Circa 1940. Marked STERLING 925 TAXCO. With a darkened aged finish. It weighs 59 grams. This piece and most of the other Mexican silver I have listed came from one long time collector's estate. 4 inches wide in the front and with a wearable length (when the edges meet) of 7 inches. Excellent condition. No dents. Photos enlarged to show detail. Display form is life size.

This brooch by Matilde Poulat features a large amethyst front and center, with turquoise cabochons and coral branches in a butterfly design with dangles.

Measures 2" tall x 1 1/2" wide. Pin closes with a rolling "C" clasp.

Weight is 11.8 grams.

Signed and hallmarked "Matl Mexico 925", with the eagle assay 129. Dates to pre-1960.

Bird doll motif. Pre assay era Made in Mexico bird pin brooch. Early - tested at least sterling - colossal 4 3/4" north to south with 2 turquoise beads. This figural exhibits flowers in the style of Fred Davis or Matilde Poulat. Repousse and chase workmanship.
The native peoples were known to make dolls representing the local animals for their children to play. Today those same children are being taught the value in Nature Tourism.

This Quetzal bird parrot pin is stamped: SILVER...

Spanish Colonial in inspiration with their heart-shaped wire-work and tiny little beading this set of sterling silver and amethyst dangle earrings is a Mexican Deco treasure. Securely set in their bezels, full of inclusions that shroud their depths in mystery, the stones are carved in the shape of leaves which hang off richly colored amethyst cabs. Big, bold, beautiful yet also so romantic and full of nostalgia. Measuring an impressive 2” long by 1” wide the earrings weigh 20.6 grams (for th...

A retail shop in Taxco, according to Bille Hougart, Plateria Cortes is a name also found on some of Enrique Ledesma pieces, most probably because they were sold there. So my first thought when I saw this set of vintage Mexican silver surrealist earrings was that they might have been made by Ledesma. And then it all came back to me - a couple of years ago, I sold three sets of earrings in the same exact style (and actually even a pair like the one at hand) clearly signed for Sigi Pineda. Interest...

Rings by Victoria of Taxco, one of the few ladies of Mexico's 20th c. Silver Renaissance that are known to us, are such rare finds, they actually touch upon the impossible. If one is really lucky, one might find a shadowbox example from her "angel" parure but I have never before seen a "mask" ring with her signature. Yet here it is - the black onyx "mask" set in elaborate sterling worked such as to represent a headdress and breastplate. Deeply etched and oxidized lines add detail while also best...

My second M Velazquez silver brooch for the day, this Mexican Deco repousse "portrait" I have never had (nor, I believe, seen) before. As opposed to the first figural pin, here the "sitter" is shown in profile, his likeness set in a raised frame against a stippled background. Velazquez's repoussage can be very dramatic and in the piece at hand it is also enhanced by deep chasing and oxidation which brings out the sculpturality of the face and the impressive headdress. The brooch measures 2 1/8"...

This past year seems to have been a Carmen Beckmann year for One Good Eye Silver. And even though I cannot claim it was because of planning, it has not been entirely out of luck either. One of the few female contributors to Mexico’s 20th c Silver Renaissance that we know of, Beckmann’s jewelry are works of a confident designer, impeccably finished and at her best moments, incredibly creative as well. In the ring presented here I see a marrying of ancient motifs and modernist sensitivity as t...

Circa mid-century, this necklace is exquisitely hand-wrought by noted Taxco silversmith Beto. Deeply carved swirling silver panels alternate with polished half-cylinder shaped amethysts. The stones are gorgeous, with natural inclusions and quartz marbling. Measures 15" closed, wearable length. Weight is 52.7 grams. Signed and hallmarked "Beto 925 Taxco GRO Sterling Hecho en Mexico". In excellent vintage condition. Clasp is tight and secure.

Circa mid-century, these earrings are the work of Salvador Vaca Teran. Teran worked for William Spratling before leaving to work with his cousins at Los Castillo - creating many of their earlier designs. These earrings are a perfect example of his distinct abstract designs, biomorphic and modernist. Measures 1 5/16" at the widest part. Weight is 18 grams. Signed and hallmarked "Salvador" in script, and "Sterling Mexico", along with the design # 144. Collector quality. Scre...