Vibrant and classically elegant with its vermeil filigree silver work a vintage Deco Chinese bracelet set with oval turquoise cabochons. I find it difficult to decide if the stones are reconstituted turquoise or glass but either way, their color is stunning. The bracelet measures 7 1/4" long by 13/16" wide and weighs 48.1 grams. It is in excellent vintage condition with light wear to the vermeil finish and signed "SILVER" as shown...

Early 20th c. Chinese necklace comprised of translucent rose quartz and jade beads with a sterling silver medallion-type clasp. The silver is set with an oval carved jade figural piece showing fruits and flowers. The necklace measures 15 1/2" long while the jade-set clasp is 1 3/8" wide by 15/16" tall. The rose quartz beads are 5/8" in diameter and the smaller jade ones 3/8". Weighing 91.3 grams it is simply marked "STERLING" and in excellent vintage condition...

If you love those massive, really heavy 1930s charm bracelets that bring to mind bikers' jewelry then this piece is for you! Especially since it is accompanied by a carefully cut-out old Panamanian coin featuring the profile of Vasco Nunez de Balboa, the Spanish conquistador who first settled Panama. I believe this is a 1934 "Un Balboa" coin which was minted out of .900 silver and the detail on it is exquisite...

Beautiful Chinese silver ring marked as "syc{ee}" silver and also bearing a "n{o} 23" hallmark (I am assuming the number of the workshop out of which it came?) executed in filigree with an oval carved amethyst cab adorning its face. This is an adjustable piece as is usually the case with Chinese rings from the period and it is in excellent vintage condition. Currently a sz 7 1/3, its face is 13/16" tall by 5/8" wide and it will rise approx. 3/8" off the finger when worn...

Towering sterling silver Matl ring with pyramid-cut amethysts in Matilde's iconic Maltese cross design. I haven't found an Eagle stamp on this piece so I believe it's a pre-1948 example. Classic and irresistible, I like this version with amethysts only; it's more discrete, in a way, and not as folky as the rings that have corals and turquoise too. The ring is a size 8.5 and its face has a diameter of 1 1/16"; when worn, it rises approx. 9/16" above the finger...

Renowned for its carved stone mask jewelry the Los Ballesteros taller created a series of pin/pendant combinations that are avidly collected for their fine carving and the elaborate sterling headdresses that the figures wear. The golden sheen obsidian example at hand illustrates in the best possible way the beauty and craftsmanship those pieces exhibit...

Early Mexico City figural brooch, this piece is extraordinary not only in size but especially in the quality and detail of its repoussage. Worthy of the best Mexican silver jewelry collection focusing on the Deco years and reminiscent of Matilde Poulat's work, the brooch is one of those examples that make any other accessory redundant when you have it on. Measuring an impressive 4 3/4" tall by approx. 3 1/2" wide (at its widest) it weighs 36.2 grams and is simply marked "MEXICO STERLING"...

An early 20th c. rare pair of Chinese silver vermeil repousse bangles adorned with highly stylized bird figures, which according to Susan Dods might well be Mandarin ducks or pigeons whose mating for life made them appropriate themes for wedding jewelry. In the pair at hand, one of the bangles has bezel set jade cabs and the second has coral. There are four gems in each piece , all perfect and secure in their settings and their enamel decoration is executed in two shades of blue...

An early Los Castillo creation as is indicated by its design number this is a necklace that will astonish you with the way it feels and looks once you have it on. A classic Taxco piece with its cascading festoon links and its playful teardrop repousse dangles the design draws from Mexico's long Spanish Colonial tradition. Much heavier than the unsigned imitations that surface from time to time, the necklace wears like a dream and has a very strong visual effect...

Gerardo Lopez belongs, in my humble opinion, among the very best repoussage maestros of early Taxco - his work is absolutely phenomenal, deeply chased and elaborate and just a pleasure to have and behold...

A truly monumental early 20th c. Chinese silver bracelet, this is simply breath-taking both in proportions as well as in the craftsmanship it displays. Executed in cobalt and sea blue, as well as purple and green enamel infinity knots, bats, stylized clouds and "Shu" characters adorn the filigree frame. Yet the piece de resistance is the carved and pierced jade insert in the central link. I believe this might be mutton fat jade and it shows the Ho Ho or Heavenly Twins. Symbolizing perfect partne...

A retail store in Taxco La Cucaracha seems to have been one of the best retailers during the city's heyday but I have to admit that some of their jewelry, usually crafted in 980 silver, are of even more exceptional quality and truly inspired design. Rarely surfacing they constitute, in my opinion, collector quality examples and are indeed avidly sought after. The necklace presented here, a quintessentially Deco creation with strong Machine Age characteristics, is one of those difficult to find p...

A rarely surfacing example of Margot de Taxco's distinctive brooches in which she combined silver with faceted gems and carved ivory figurines the piece presented here is true museum quality and a must-have for the serious Margot collector. To me it looks more like a work of art, something that you would proudly display among your most precious antiques, than merely a piece of jewelry. Standing under a sterling willow tree the carved figure of the Chinese scholar (?) has turned a mellow ivory co...

A sweet example of Victoria's "mixed metals" jewelry in which she seamlessly combined copper with silver and some times also brass, this is a cuff bracelet from the line that the maestra named after her daughter, Cony. An elegant less-is-more bifurcated copper cuff with swirls at its ends gently holding sterling silver spheres between them - perfect for a younger lady and ideal to combine with other, similar pieces. The cuff has an inner circumference of 6 1/2" as is but it's easily adjustable....

I have a special affinity for early Mexican silver brooches - the bigger they are, the deeper I fall in love with them and it wasn't difficult to become infatuated with the unusual example offered here. I have not seen this design before and I find its combination of amethyst and hand-cut quartz beads truly stunning. The flower's starburst formation is also unique - a dizzying beauty. Measuring 5 1/8" tall by 3 1/8" wide (the diameter of the floral burst) the brooch weighs 35.6 grams and is si...