Catalog: Estate Jewelry: Silver: Mexican (255)

Vintage 1980s Talleres de Los Ballesteros Mexican modernist bracelet wrought in Antonio Pineda’s favorite .970 alloy which is richer in silver content than the standard sterling, this is a heavy, architectural piece adorned with clear, faceted, gem-quality amethysts. The stones are open on the back to maximize the effect created by the light as it passes through them and the all-silver links are substantial and very sculptural...

When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade and when it hands you an orphan cuff link, you have it converted into a ring. I have always been very partial to pieces of jewelry that would normally come in pairs but lost their partner over the course of their adventurous life...

If I saw this piece from far away, I would think it's a poison ring - that's how impressive in size and lift its gallery is. Yet not to worry, there is no hidden compartment here and you won't be tempted to become a modern-day Lucrezia Borgia! Beauty and commanding presence, though, yes! There is a lot of that in the sodalite's dark blue depths with their cloudy grey swirls and that river of black cutting across right through the cab's middle...

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 fabulous example of Taxco modernism by Los Ballesteros, this vintage Mexican silver and amethyst bracelet is as beautiful to look at as it is comfortable to wear. A couple of days ago I presented another creation by the same workshop and I will suggest that the two pieces are representative of their line of medium-width modernist link bracelets...

One of my favorite female designers of Mexico's 20th c. Silver Renaissance (and admittedly, they aren't so many to begin with), Carmen Beckmann was a rather flexible maestra, able to create in many different styles. using a variety of materials. Her jewelry can be massive and jaw-dropping but quite as easily delicate and more sophisticated...

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 .....

One of the most successful duo in Taxco’s 20th c. Silver Renaissance, Cecilia and Tono excelled in some of the most difficult techniques in jewelry making like piedra negra, metales casados and mozaico Azteca. Their jewelry is usually modernist yet their designs unfailingly reference Mexico’s rich archeological heritage...

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...

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...

Crafted in the late 1950s or in the 1960s, this sterling silver Mexican necklace is signed by Victoria or Ana Maria Nunez de Brilanti. Victoria is one of the few female designers and silversmiths of Taxco’s 20th c. Silver Renaissance that we know of and she is credited, among others, for perfecting the “metales casados” or “married metals” technique. In this necklace, however, she adds a modernist twist to an otherwise “archeological” design...

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...

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...

A seamless marriage of sterling silver and golden sheen obsidian celebrate Enrique Ledesma's creative genius in this set of modernist Mexican earrings. Much published and avidly sought after, the design can be found with various semi-precious and hard stones or, as in our case, housing polished, glistening pieces of volcanic glass. And if you are not so keen on screw-back findings, you are in luck with these as they are actually clip-ons. Measuring 1 1/4" tall by 5/8" wide the earrings weigh ...

I don’t often use the expression “Holy Grail” but Tane’s “Tarascan” necklace is one of those few pieces in the world of vintage Mexican silver jewelry that deserves it. Especially if it bears pre-1980 hallmarks - which is the case here. Habitually referred to as “the Tiffany’s of Mexico”, Tane has been producing holloware and jewelry in silver and gold since 1942 and is known throughout the world for the quality of craftsmanship, impeccable design and perfect finishing. Based o...

One of the oldest and definitely one of the very few original workshops that are still in operation in Taxco, the Los Ballesteros taller created some of the best "mask" jewelry in the story of Mexico's 20th c. Silver Renaissance. Whether incorporated in rings, brooches, pendants or bracelets, their minimalist carved portraits are always finely executed and the silver-work which houses them quite often touches the monumental. Based on the shape of the ancient Aztec calendar disk discovered in Mex...

Sized for a man (yet resizable by a jeweler to fit a woman as well) this vintage Mexican silver and carved amethyst "mask" ring attracted me with its unusual brutalist setting. I don't think I have ever encountered a "mask" in a brutalist ring and I was quite thrilled with the discovery despite the fact that the stone was showing its age and the shank was burdened with a huge blob of solder thanks to somebody's clumsy attempt at resizing. It just took some love and a trip to the jeweler's - and ...

A substantial set from Taxco's "middle period" this stunning necklace and earrings demi combines chunky cylinders of azur-malachite with shadow-box sterling box links. The result is quite impressive as the primarily green hues of the stone (the malachite is predominant here) are tempered by the variegated brown of the inclusions, all colors finally reflected in the glowing silver. I love a good chain necklace and this example combines good length with a presence that will never go unattended. Th...