Catalog: Estate Jewelry: Silver: Mexican (255)

Hinged bangle bracelets whether gem- or hard stone-studded, wrought in shadow-box or simply crafted in bold, massive silver are among my favorite designs by the Los Ballesteros workshop. The modernist, generously wide version at hand with its impressed “nested ellipses” and its bezel-set green jaspers is a first one for me...

Calling the vintage Mexican silver and black stone "mask" ring I am presenting here massive is not an exaggeration. It is not just the actual ring size (9.5 US) that makes it so; it is also the textured, solid setting, quite masculine in design, and the beautifully carved, stupendous effigy it houses. I am not sure what the stone is - I think it might be onyx but it could also be black agate. I am fascinated by its opaque gravity and the way its satin finish invites the touch...

A whopper of a bracelet, this early Taxco Deco beauty was wrought in fine, 980 silver and has still evident the Spanish Colonial influence in its design. Bold yet simple in its constitutive motifs, the silver-work is made up of three massive curved links that are adorned with traditional wire appliques and a touch of deliberate oxidation...

Maestro Mateo is mostly known for his brutalist rings and his work spans the 1980 divide. Most of his pieces that were made after 1980 are wrought in 950 silver, which almost became the norm in Mexican jewelry during that period...

A classic early Matilde Poulat Mexican silver bracelet, its textured sterling wire-work adorned with beading and coral and turquoise cabochons, this piece was made in the 1934-48 period of Matl's creative life as is indicated by its hallmarks. Part of her "flat" as opposed to "repousse" jewelry, the bracelet is perfectly articulated and responds to the wrist's every move in a effortless, gracious way...

I have had this ring in my personal collection for several years now - always meaning to get it sized so I can enjoy - but I finally deciding to let it go. I have only seen this design once before, with a obsidian cab and a different shank but I really love how it looks with the “feathered serpent” jealously guarding an amethyst...

Matilde Poulat needs no introduction to the seasoned Mexican silver collector but I believe her work is equally appreciated by all lovers of bold, earthy, hand-crafted jewelry. Matl’s creations have a unique, powerful character - there is nothing timid or hesitant about them and I cherish them for exactly that. The ring presented here is a design that comes up less frequently than some of her other rings...

Dating in the earlier period of Matilde Poulat’s extraordinary career, the cross pendant presented here is adorned with Matl’s favorite stones - turquoise, amethyst and coral. Inspired by Mexico’s rich folk art, it belongs in her daringly eye-catching series of “jeweled” creations but here, there is an additional motif that makes the pendant even more precious. Namely, the two small repousse angel dangles, facing each other in a kneeling position with lit candles in their hands...

Wrought in .900 silver which Matilde Poulat used in the early period of her career this stunning silver repousse brooch develops around a carved black onyx “mask”. Matl’s work is always impressive - no one could ever blame her creations for timidity - but it seems to me that the repoussage of her first years is even bolder...

It looks like this is a Matl year for One Good Eye Silver and I couldn't be happier about it! A few months ago I presented a Deco Matilde Poulat cross pendant necklace with kneeling angels and today I am featuring another, possibly earlier, variation of the design but this one wrought in fine, .980 silver...

Elegant and "quiter" than most Matilde Poulat jewelry, this early repousse bracelet by the big maestra exhibits nonetheless all the attributes Matl's work is avidly sought after and venerated for. Repoussage that creates a body with impeccable texture and perfect finishing, a gorgeous golden sheen obsidian cabochon and, of course, the Mexico City style silver-work which to me represents Mexico's Arts and Crafts movement...

Impressive in its generous width, with a gorgeous greenish blue turquoise bezel-set in its central station, this early Matilde Poulat silver bracelet is wrought en repoussage in the “Mexico City style“ she came to represent. Malt’s repousse work leaves the journey of the silversmith’s tools on the jewelry created intentionally visible and that for me brings her close to the philosophy of the Arts and Crafts movement...

A Mexican version of the classic "giardinetto" jewelry, this set of Matilde Poulat earrings is rather unusual with its all-silver vase that holds the flowers...

The story of this Mexican Deco silver and turquoise hinged bangle is an interesting one. When it came to me, it had a rather hastily applied gold plating that looked both out of place and, should I say?, garish. I cannot understand why anybody would do such a thing yet many a time, in discussions with older bench jewelers, I have been told that a few decades ago this was indeed a trend of sorts...

Based on one of Spratling's early designs, this "ring with three cascabeles" was also made in Taxco and wrought in high purity, .980 silver. I believe the motif is the same here as that in the renowned maestro’s tortoise shell and silver "snake" box - the more I look at it, the more I think of writhing serpents with spotted skins...

One of my favorite insect designs in the world of vintage Mexican silver jewelry, this “machine age” dragonfly is known as a Los Castillo creation yet here it is signed by a “less celebrated” Taxco maestro. What first attracted me to this creature is its “industrial”, perforated wings that make the dragonfly look more delicate but awe-inspiring at the same time. Carefully hand-crafted and perfectly finished, the brooch is decorated with three polished agate cabochons. Green is for sp...

Signed by a listed yet still unidentified workshop, this set of vintage silver and gold cufflinks is a classic Mexican Deco design. Inspired by the massive Aztec carved stone "Sun Disk" discovered in 1790 during excavations in Mexico City's zocalo, the pair is generous in size and quite nicely made. When I first acquired it, I thought it had a simple vermeil finish but as I was preparing it to list, I realized that it is hallmarked for both sterling and 14k so I am assuming that the cufflinks' f...

A glorious emulation of Spratling's "Aztec Sun" design, the early Mexican Deco silver and amethyst cuff at hand combines repoussage and overlay with cleverly applied oxidation that adds more depth and drama to an already stunning bracelet. This is a generously proportioned piece so if you always craved a cuff like it but couldn't find one to fit, don't miss this opportunity. If its rich purple stones, the deeply chased repousse and appliques and those daring slender silver rays bursting out of t...