Catalog (323)

I acquired this pair of Miguel Melendez’s hinged bangles as a set some time ago and after long deliberations, I decided that they should continue in life as such. Miguel is one of Taxco’s modernists yet he honed his skills at Spratling’s Las Delicias and working for Margot de Taxco for many years. This specific design is a favorite of mine’s by him - it brings to mind rock formations and I love the interplay of negative and positive space. I am also attracted to the specific stone that ...

It's been a very long time since I offered a Mexican clamper bracelet and I am happy to be starting again with a classic Taxco design, this repousse and shadowbox "Quetzalcoatl" example. The maestro who signs it I am familiar with - he worked in Taxco and it seems that clamper bracelets were one of his favorite forms. Always beautifully executed, his repoussage has good sculpturality and finishing and his jewelry, albeit not as heavy as those of the big talleres, has the weight necessary to impa...

Richly colored azur-malachite stone is paired with warmly glowing sterling in this chunky modernist Mexican silver bracelet signed by none other than the maestro of Piedra y Plata, Felipe Martinez. Martinez is one of my absolute favorite Taxco silversmith and a superb lapidary as well. He has an uncanny ability to pair silver with stone that works every single time, as if the two materials were just made to be together. Quite substantial, this specific design I have had in the past with amethyst...

How often does one find a ring by renowned Taxco modernist Enrique Ledesma? Let me answer my question - almost never! Over the years of my buying, selling and researching vintage Mexican silver jewelry, I have come upon a few examples, almost all of them adorned with a color-change sapphire. I had never seen a ring in the design I am presenting here until I discovered this one some time ago. All other pieces in the parure (necklaces, bracelets, brooches and earrings) can be found relatively easi...

The indisputable queen of Mexican enamelwork, Margot de Taxco created an amazing series of jewelry in that technique which she first started focusing on while still married to Antonio Castillo and designing for the family workshop. As with her other jewelry here too the sources of inspiration were varied covering distances not only in geographical space but also in time. From fiery Quetzalcoatls to Egypt's beguiling Cleopatra; from the world of flora and fauna surrounding her all the way bac...

It's been a while since I presented a piece by Gerardo Lopez but he is one of my favorite Taxco maestros, a talented silversmith and designer who excelled in the art of repoussage. I believe Lopez was at his best when he created pectoral necklaces and clamper bracelets and it is an exquisite example of the latter form that I am showing here. Definitely inspired by Los Castillo and Margot de Taxco (I have suggested in the past that Lopez must have worked for either one or both of the famous works...

A classic design for renowned Taxco modernist Enrique Ledesma, this set of vintage sterling silver Mexican mid-century earrings comes with clips and is set with green inlay, possibly azur-malachite or some kind of agate. There is nothing fussy about the pair - good, honest materials, clarify of form and fluidity of lines. Isn't that the essence of modernism? Measuring 1 1/8" tall by 3/4" wide the earrings weigh 9.8 grams (for the set) and are fully and appropriately signed with maker's name as ...

Sold through Plateria Cortes this Taxco mid-century silver and stone necklace is signed by Enrique Ledesma and indeed considered a classic example of the Mexican modernist. Ledesma excelled in the marriage of sterling and semi-precious or hard stones is sleek, minimalist designs so his jewelry has a timeless appeal and is very much relevant today as it was when it first saw the day of light. It seems that here we have two kinds of stones, both of them in hues of green and brown, set in channels ...

Abstract - and rather chubby - fish wrought in sterling silver with overlay and oxidation hang off the earlobes with this set of abstract Mexican dangles signed by Sigi Pineda. I don't believe I had this specific design by the talented - and prolific - Taxco modernist before but I am very familiar with the line and definitely in love with it. Substantial in size and quite dramatic in their juxtaposition of matte black and warmly glowing silver, these are quirky and elegant in a strange yet quite...

When it comes to classy Mexican jewelry, nobody can beat Margot de Taxco. Margot had that rare, innate ability to instinctively create elegant designs which defied the whims of fashion and remain as relevant today as they did when they first became available. The set of repousse earrings presented here is, I believe, a very good illustration of what I am trying to say. I have had pieces of her des. 5337 parure many times over the years and yet whenever I discover another example, I find myself e...

Classic and classy this fab Los Castillo necklace will astonish you with the way it feels and looks once you have it on. An iconic 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, it wears like a dream and has a very strong visual effect. And if you need some extra length, it can easily accept a simple sterling extension t...

One of the most energetic Taxco modernists, Sigi Pineda enjoyed a long, creative career. Prolific and ever “on the move”, he was at his best working within the confines of minimalist design. Sigi rarely used “unnecessary” ornamentation, depending more on fluidity of lines to imply motion, colored stones to impart texture, oxidation to add dimension to what are mostly flat surfaces in his jewelry. The floral brooch at hand provides a good illustration of the above. There is nothing excess...

There are some pieces of jewelry that simply defy any effort to photograph them. And this stunning Taxco modernist sterling silver and blue spinel hinged bangle is one of them - a really tough one at that too! I have faced this challenge once before in the past and the “culprit” is available here as well, only that one is by Enrique Ledesma and adorned with color-change sapphires. Almost identical yet bearing a signature which I will suggest belongs to Miguel Melendez (the mark is very faint...

The art of "metales casados" (mixed or married metals) was practiced by several Taxco workshops yet I think Victoria was its queen. Ana Maria Nunez de Brilanti combined copper, silver and brass not only to design exquisite jewelry but also hollowware of various kinds and decorative objects. In the necklace presented here she seems to be inspired by Egyptian Revival motifs which is not unusual for her - there are at least a couple of other parures she created that tread that same path. Distinctly...

One of my absolute favorite designs by Gerardo Lopez, this silver and copper "mask" necklace I have sold a few times during my career as a vintage Mexican jewelry dealer and I never tire of it! There is so much to attract the eye here and every time you look at it, you spot something new and exciting. Meticulously cut ornate sterling "frames", oxidized and embellished with overlay, surround the highly sculptural copper "masks". Lopez's decision to flank the central "portrait" with smaller versio...

Potent design and perfect execution combine in this set of Antonio Pineda cufflinks shaped like bull skulls. Fine, .970 silver with a satin finish (which I love here!), horns of what I believe is obsidian and not onyx (they test as glass on my gem tester, which is what obsidian is, volcanic glass) and a haunting interplay of negative and positive space in the casting of the animal's skull bequeath an other-worldly aura to an already impressive pair - and I mean impressive both in its boldness as...

One of the most elusive pieces designed by Danish modernist Hans Hansen, this sterling silver neck ring has been in my collection for a long time. The idea was to get a pendant by the same designer so as to complete the necklace but it never happened and I decided to give that same opportunity to someone else out there. So if you have been looking for a Hansen neck ring and have not been able to find one, here is your golden chance. This is a good size too and at 1/8" thick it is heftier than si...

Inspired by an ancient Aztec or Maya eagle head glyph this set of Antonio Pineda cufflinks were crafted in the maestro’s favorite, .970 silver alloy. Overlay and oxidation are used here to convey the bird’s of prey features, fearsome by default yet a little bit on the cartoonish side as well, if I am allowed the comparison… Measuring approx. 3/4” square the pair weighs 16.2 grams and is fully signed with Antonio’s crown as shown, “970”, “HECHO EN MEXICO” and bears Eagle 58 as...