Catalog: Archives: Estate Jewelry (468)

Born in Oaxaca but living and working in the American Southwest Federico Jimenez creates jewelry in silver combining his Mexican heritage with Native American influences. I would suggest that the monumental arm band bracelet presented here is as much a piece of jewelry as an artifact in and of itself...

Stunning Matl-Salas sterling silver Palomas combination pin/pendant with meticulously worked repoussage and coral, amethyst and turquoise jewels. One of the most impressive pieces I have seen, its quality makes me think that it's an early 1980s example and its size just has me dazzled. I have paired it with an earlier, handwrought Mexican chain with elaborate links and appropriate length for such a stupendous pendant - the result is, to my eyes at least - beyond words.....

I would never have thought that the necklace presented here was not made in the 1930s or 1940s - design, construction, even the way it is hallmarked point in that direction. Yet it is later as indicated by the maker's registration code - I think it must have been made around 1980. Heavy clusters of bead and tube dangles adorn the central part of the necklace creating an impressive sense of abundance and luxury...

In the style of Matilde Poulat's jeweled hand-mirrors a vintage 1980s piece from Taxco having an ornate frame replete with wirework, beading and topped by two repousse Doves - Matl's favorite "Palomas". The mirror is encrusted with turquoise and coral cabs as well as pyramid-cut amethysts and it has an elongated, teardrop repousse handle. it is 5 1/8" tall by 2 3/8" wide and weighs 40.9 grams...

I don’t usually venture into the 1980s with vintage Mexican silver jewelry but Erika Hult de Corral is one of the few instances in which the general rule is broken. A Paris-educated, talented modernist with a distinct brutalist strain in her designs, Ric (as she signs her pieces) worked with Sigi Pineda and Enrique Ledesma before she opened her own workshop...

An absolutely stunning table-cut citrine adorns this massive Carmen Beckmann Mexican silver ring. The gem, its color traveling from refreshing lemon to saturated yellow as the light changes, is lifted above the finger in a terraced setting with geometric cut-outs...

Modernist sterling ring by Erika Hult de Corral (Ric), this rather rare to find design combines silver in two finishes with richly colored malachite and two small, deep blue lapis cabochons. I am very excited to have found this piece, especially since I recently sold the matching earrings to it (you can use the search feature to see them, if you wish). A talented designer and one of the few known female contributors to Mexico’s 20th c...

The daughter of celebrated Taxco silversmith and designer Antonio Castillo, Mimi learned the art of jewelry design and production from the best and the most talented...

Having justly earned a place in the pantheon of those artists whose work changed the way we design and think about silver jewelry, Matilde Poulat created a whole school of silversmiths who emulated her work not only when she was alive and active but even today, in the so called "post-1980" period of Mexican jewelry making. Based on Matl's signature Palomas motif, this is a big, impressive, nicely made bracelet. Coral, amethyst and tiny turquoise beads stud the repousse and wire work ornam...

Quite impressive with its big, variegated agate cabochon - I believe this is actually moss agate - and extremely rare this is a Mexican ring with strong presence by Enrique Ledesma, one of Taxco's foremost modernist silversmiths. I love the asymmetrical setting - it creates a feeling of continuous flow and movement that accentuates the earthiness of the agate - and the fantastic way that Ledesma has of combining metal and stone. The ring bears the Eagle 60 assay mark, which in Bille Houga...

A gorgeous example of my favorite Ledesma work this is a pair of earrings that illustrates in the best possible way the maestro's magic touch in the seamless combination of silver and stone. Resembling highly stylized calla lilies, the earrings curve and curl to reach their pointy height. The color of the malachite is saturated and its polished surface just perfect. Each earrings is just shy of 1 1/4" tall by 3/4" wide (at its widest) and the set's weight registers at 11.8 grams...

It is not often that one finds an Enrique Ledesma ring and this modernist beauty is made even more desirable by the big color-change sapphire that adorns it. The gem has a table-cut type of shape and mimicking the behavior of alexandrites, it changes color under different light conditions traveling from deep amethyst to steely purple. I love the highly stylized setting - to my eyes it reads like silver fingers holding on to the stone as it rests on a willing palm...

Possibly the most massive ring by Antonio I have ever seen and a very strong modernist statement at the same time, this is a piece that would fit right in the best collection of Pineda jewelry. Angularity that is softened by the stone's curves and the curled wire holding itin place combine with the setting's breath-taking size to create a visually powerful ring. Currently a sz 6, it can be easily resized by a good jeweler...

One of my favorite designs of the so-called "archaeological" genre, I have seen similar pieces bearing Victoria's signature but this one is made by an artist who signs his name with initials "AE" in a heart-shaped "M". Though we don't know much about the specific maker, we do know that his work was appreciated enough by his colleagues that his signature can be found on jewelry by Rancho Alegre and Estela Popowski...

One of the few female designers we know of in Mexico's 20th c. Silver Renaissance and a gifted modernist at that, Erika Hult de Corral created jewelry that attracts the eye and captures one's imagination. I am particularly fond of her "moonscape" designs that touch upon biomorphic brutalism, if you allow me the combination, yet the sense of unimpeded, fluid motion and the abstraction present in this particular bracelet reflect, in my opinion, one of her best moments...

Perfect for medium to smaller wrists, this modernist Erika Hult de Corral bracelet was made in Taxco in the 1960s-70s. One of the few female contributors to Mexico's 20th c. Silver Renaissance that we know of, de Corral studied at the Parson's School of Design in Paris. An award-winning designer, she worked with Sigi Pineda and Enrique Ledesma before opening her own workshop. Always within the scope of modernism, her jewelry is impeccably crafted, with high quality materials and when they don't ...

Fabulous pair of mod, space-age Mexican silver dangle earrings with azur-malachite inlay in the style of the Los Castillo "Mosaico Azteca" line. Just note the Saturn-like spheres at the end of the slick, long stems and the dimension that the inlaid band around them adds to the design. Spectacular and so unique! Each earring is 2 1/4" long and the diameter of the dangling sphere with the band around it is 3/4". The set weighs 9.9 grams and it dates in the mid- to later 1940s but it might as well...

Vintage silver and tiger's eye necklace by Erika Hult de Corral, the Taxco modernist designer with studies in Paris and apprenticeships in the workshops of both Ledesma and Sigi Pineda. I love Ric's jewelry for the fluidity of lines and her unique way of marrying sterling with hard stones. The necklace at hand has an inner circumference of 15 3/4" (clasped) with its width varying between 3/4" at center front and 1/8" at its narrowest, next to the clasp. It weighs 57.0 grams and is signed with m...