All Items : Estate Jewelry : Silver : Mexican : Pre 1950 item #1490874 (stock #15467)
I have had this mod Taxco bracelet a few times over the years - also in ring, earrings and brooch form. And I never tire of it! The example at hand is signed by maestro Moreno and it has the beguiling sculpturality that makes the design memorable. Two perfectly crafted silver spheres sitting on stylized leaves - that is all yet it is so much more. Gutsy, slick and eye-catching at the same time - definitely a bracelet for the daring among us...
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Silver : Mexican : Pre 1970 item #1490873 (stock #700072)
This bracelet is a seldom seen design from Sigi Pineda. It's a spectacular modernist piece with three faceted stones which graduate in size. At first glance the stones appear to be hematite, but they may well be onyx. Opens at the back nice and wide to easily fit over the wrist. Original safety chain attached. Closed, wearable length is 6 7/8". Width is 1 7/8". Weight is 91.3 grams. Signed and hallmarked "Sigi Tasco Made in Mexico Sterling", with the design #47 and the eagle assay 3...
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Silver : Retro : Pre 1960 item #1490871 (stock #15570)
My second belt buckle for the day, this is a completely different piece from the Los Castillo example I already presented. Hand-wrought in sterling silver it is big, bold and absolutely beautiful. Inspired by the world that surrounds us, it is just one of those treasures that defy my photographic skills and I am afraid I failed to impart the silky sculpturality of its heart-shaped floral motifs...
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Silver : Mexican : Pre 1980 item #1490868 (stock #15465)
A mid-century Los Castillo Mexican silver and stone inlay belt buckle, this is a piece out the workshop's "onix negro" series. I have said before that the specific technique is a challenging one both for the silversmith and the lapidary as the stone has to be cut exactly to the dimensions of the silver elements that will be inlaid in it...
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Victorian : Pre 1910 item #1490865 (stock #RM12167)
Period Pieces
$259.00
This pair of 10kt yellow gold cuff links, sporting an ivy motif, is a favorite of ours! Both because they are pretty, and because of ivy is symbolic of marriage and friendship. Sweet! The decorated ends measure ¾” x ½”, and the total weight is 3.2g. Unmarked, they test at 10k, and we believe them to be from the Victorian/Art Nouveau period. In excellent condition...
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Silver : Mexican : Pre 1970 item #1490848 (stock #1220681)
This mid-century masterpiece from Talleres de Los Ballesteros is a book-piece design shown on p. 227 of Warman's Jewelry 3rd Edition. It's an iconic bracelet, with gorgeous faceted amethysts and incised stars which are oxidized in the recesses. The amethysts sit high in four pronged settings. Opens wide to easily fit over the wrist and closes with a tight and secure tongue in box clasp. Closed, interior length is 6 3/4", with a 1 3/4" width. Weight is 122.3 grams...
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Edwardian : Pre 1920 item #1490829 (stock #RN07130)
Period Pieces
$899.00
This beautiful pendant/pin has a stylized floral motif, with enamel that shades from green to yellow, in a design reminiscent of a French fleur-de-lis. It is centered by a small diamond (approx. 5 points), surrounded by a pearl-set modified starburst which accents the enameled “petals.” In 14k rose gold, it measures 1” in diameter at the widest point. The bale folds down nicely when it’s worn as a pin...
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Silver : Mexican : Pre 1970 item #1490798 (stock #0709)
An early design by the Los Castillo taller (could it have been created by their cousin, Salvador Teran, when he was still working for them?), the “fish skeleton” is considered a classic and has seen many emulations and reproductions over the years. The hinged bracelet at hand, wrought in thick silver sheet with copper bead accents, is a modernist treasure that was made for small wrists...
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Silver : Modernism : Pre 1980 item #1490786 (stock #jj1822/3395)
Three pieces of modernist sterling jewelry by noted Vermont jeweler, Luella C. Schroeder, (1918-2004), who worked at the Cranbrook Institute before going off on her own to open a jewelry studio are available. They may be purchased individually or in any combination.

The first item is a sterling silver modernist brooch with a layer of three stylized fish on a contrasting darkened silver background. Measures 2 1/4" long and almost an inch across...

All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Art Nouveau : Pre 1910 item #1490706 (stock #RP08130)
Period Pieces
$549.00
This strikingly beautiful pin is an interesting mixture of the Art Nouveau and Victorian styles. The Victorians loved to use real insects in jewelry. This particular type was a favorite.The Nouveau jewelers loved naturalistic motifs, but generally didn’t incorporate organic substances – yet the design of the framework is very Nouveau. Marked “14k”, the pale gold setting contrasts nicely with the deep green of the beetle...
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Silver : Mexican : Pre 1970 item #1490647 (stock #12551)
One of the better known "less celebrated" maestros of Mexico's 20th c. Silver Renaissance, AEM (or, as I like to refer to him, AE Heart because of the heart-shaped M that hugs the signature's other two initials) lived and worked in Mexico City. Of good weight and exhibiting very good craftsmanship, AEM's jewelry often emulate pieces by his more famous contemporaries but he created many original designs himself as well. I am particularly attracted to his hinged bangle bracelets and I also love hi...
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Silver : Native American : Pre 1980 item #1490640 (stock #14406/14407)
One Good Eye Silver
$135.00
for the pair
Offered here as a pair, these beautiful vintage heishi necklaces are made up of slender shell disks, turquoise, silver and glass beads and what I think are most probably shark teeth. They have been with me for a long, long time and I always thought I would combine them into one longer piece yet never gotten around to it. So it's time for them to go to a new, loving home where they will be worn and enjoyed once again. Please note the rich colors of the turquoise chunks and the wonderful patina th...
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Silver : Victorian : Pre 1900 item #1490639 (stock #RM10138)
Period Pieces
$299.00
This sterling silver buckle features translucent (plique a jour) enamel in a floral motif. These sash buckles with plique are quite unusual. The enamel is red, green, and two shades of blue. It is signed with a “JK” above another “JK” in a box. There are marks for London, 1886, and a duty mark. Measuring 3-1/8” x 2-1/4", it weighs 32.7g or 1.16 oz. It is in very good condition. (The plique has a few hairlines and some bubbles, which is normal for this type of enamel.) The red and blue ...
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Edwardian : Pre 1920 item #1490570 (stock #RE09026)
Period Pieces
$459.00
We found this sweet pair of earrings in London, England. Rubies symbolize love and immortality. Pearls symbolize purity and harmony. What a perfect combination for these pretty earrings! They test as 10kt gold, although they are marked 375 for 9kt (this often happens in older jewelry). The hanging flower basket motif is quite charming. They contain a total of 16 rubies and 18 seed pearls. The total length is 1-7/8”, and together they weight 4.3g. As is often the case with older earrings, it’...
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Silver : Mexican : Pre 1970 item #1490546 (stock #16014)
Admittedly my favorite Mexican modernist, Salvador Teran seems to have never had a "bad" moment during his career. There is not one piece of his that I have come upon which I have not loved for its quirky abstraction, its sometimes tongue-in-cheek genius, its magical way of playing with layers, abstraction and oxidation. The mod pendant presented here provides a good illustration, I believe, of the point I am trying to make. The rendering borders on cubism yet at the same time, the pendant regis...
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Silver : Mexican : Pre 1940 item #1490515 (stock #16018)
Big and early as indicated by the .900 silver alloy used to craft it, this Mexican Deco silver repousse "mask" brooch I particularly love because of the gorgeous stone out of which the portrait is carved as well as the pronounced repoussage of the frame that surrounds it. If you follow my "journey", you already know that I am drawn to Mexican "mask" jewelry. I consider them quintessentially "Mexican Deco" and believe that they epitomize the spirit of the period in which they started being made...
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Silver : Mexican : Pre 1980 item #1490496 (stock #15714)
Made in the 1960s, this vintage Mexican sterling silver bracelet consists of figural disks developing in a row defined by lengths of double-woven, thick chain. I have seen this combination featuring three different kinds of disk designs. While here we have depictions of the country's history as well as symbols of its old religion (a jaguar warrior portrait, Quetzalcoatl, Mexico's state Eagle) the specific bracelet design can be found with Mexican coins or representations of the zodiac cycle. I l...
All Items : Estate Jewelry : Gold : Art Nouveau : Pre 1910 item #1490458 (stock #RP09177)
Period Pieces
$259.00
This graceful pin is from the Edwardian/Art Nouveau era. The round peridot is framed by an oval of seed pearls, between delicate arabesques of gold set with more seed pearls, for a total of 30 (2 are replacements). Stamped 14k on the back, with an illegible maker’s mark, it measures 1-½” x 7/16" and weighs 2.0g. The peridot is slightly scratched, and the safety is a little loose and fussy, but in overall very good antique condition and with a nice patina. Circa 1910. Brought to Europe by th...