Catalog: Estate Jewelry: Silver (314)

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...

Impressive takes on a whole different meaning when the work of the Los Castillo taller is concerned - and the wide, exuberantly vibrant floral and foliate repousse bracelet I am presenting here proves the point. Continuing in the 1940s’ spirit that called for designs derived from nature in jewelry production, this piece is a celebration of everything verdant - organic in an unexpected way, full of movement, reaching for the sunlight, twisting and twirling with the wind...

Glowing with the patina of time that adds precious depth to recesses of the design, this vintage Los Castillo repousse brooch has a more romantic air about it than most of their work. I love the combination of twists and twirls with the stylized "trumpet" flowers at the top and even though the elements which have been called into service here are definitely floral, I can't stop seeing the eyes of a night owl staring back at me in wise contemplation...

Delicate and quite romantic with their Spanish Colonial bows and a half-hidden heart motif this set of Los Castillo earrings is elegant and nostalgic at the same time. Crisp finishing and a beautifully glowing patina complete the "package" - I will let the photos say the rest while I provide the specifics: 1 3/8" long by 1 1/8" wide, weighing 11.2 grams (for the set). Fully signed with maker's name as well as "TAXCO" and Eagle 15 assay mark...

Saturated blues and greens juxtaposed to the warm glow of well-aged silver soften the austere geometry of this Los Castillo modernist cuff bracelet. Out of the workshop’s “mozaico Azteca” line which celebrates the art of seamless inlay, the cuff is also showcasing the beauty of azur-malachite. There is nothing superfluous here - economy of design, honesty of materials and craftsmanship of the highest level combine in a visual power-house, a piece of mid-century wearable art...

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. Set in channels defined by sterling wires, the saturated blues and greens of the azur-malachite inlay clearly mark it as belonging to the workshop's "mozaico Azteca" line...

One of the techniques the Los Castillo workshop pioneered, “pluma Azteca” uses dyed bird feathers as inlay to adorn jewelry and other decorative items. Quite impressive in their colorful vibrancy, the feathers can also be vulnerable, especially when they are left exposed, resulting in a rather small number of “pluma” jewelry having survived over the years. The articulated torque-type necklace at hand is a wonderful exception...

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...

A retail shop in Taxco, Margarita was a place were one could buy jewelry by many local maestros, according to Bille Hougart. The long, beautifully made dangle earrings presented here bear only the shop’s name without a specific maker’s signature yet this does not affect their quality at all...

Margot de Taxco loved combination pin / pendant necklaces and she designed them so that you could take the brooch away and still link the two lengths of chain and wear them alone as an elegant choker. I suspect that many pieces were comprised of inter-changeable elements so if you had this set and a different pin/pendant out of her “hand-hammered” line, for example, you could theoretically attach to this chain and enjoy that second brooch as a necklace too...

Elegant and romantic, this vintage Mexican silver and amethyst brooch bears the signature of Margot de Taxco, one of the few female designers of Mexico’s 20th c Silver Renaissance known to us today. Reflective of the 1940s trend towards jewelry inspired by nature, the brooch looks delicate and tender yet its silver-work is confident, substantial and perfectly finished. I love the soft curve of the floral stem and the way the amethyst bud rests serenely on the pierced leaf...

Bigger in size than the most frequently encountered version of the specific design and executing a different step, this vintage Margot de Taxco “ballerina” brooch is Mexico’s contribution to the ballet craze started by Van Cleef et Arpels in the 1940s, with the issuance of their gem-studded “ballerina” jewelry...

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...

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...

Confident in his prowess as a warrior and comfortable in his ceremonial attire this Margot de Taxco silver and enamel Aztec figure can be enjoyed both as a brooch as well as a pendant. Though experimentation with the art of enameling started while Margot was still part of the Los Castillo workshop, it was after her divorce with Antonio that she focused on perfecting it in her own, independent taller. And perfect it she did. So much so that today, when one thinks of Mexican enamel jewelry, one un...

A twist to Margot de Taxco's classic all silver zodiac pendant / charms this sinewy Sagittarius rises above a background of multicolored confetti enamel. A true feast for the eyes, the archer faces the viewer but has his head turned to the right in the direction of his outstretched bow-holding arm. I love these enameled examples by Margot because the confetti, especially the primarily blue / green version like here, reminds me of clear nights when thousands of twinkling stars light up the skies....

Drawing inspiration from Mexico’s Spanish Colonial past, this sterling silver necklace and earrings set by Margot de Taxco combines dark oxidation with overlay and deep hand-chasing to achieve an elaborate and rich Old World visual effect. I find the central station to resemble a carnival mask - I know, too Venetian but then, carnivals were celebrated in Spain as well though not as elegantly or extravagantly. The earrings, extra wide, mirror the shape of the necklace’s focal point while refl...

Playing the violin with abandon as is evident by their determined expression, Margot de Taxco’s “musician putti” come here in earring form which is a rather rare occurrence. The specific angelic musician is usually found hanging off Margot’s charm bracelet of the same design, one out of a band of nine, and even though I have had the bracelet a few times in the past, this is the first pair of earrings I have found. Big, beautifully aged over the years of their long life, sitting on a rose...