Over the years of my career as a vintage Mexican jewelry dealer I have come to love and appreciate the "mask" pieces created by the Los Ballesteros workshop. I have to admit that this was not a "love-at-first-sight" affair. On the contrary, it took me some time to realize that prolific though they might have been, especially in the post-1980 years which witnessed a drop in creativity as well, the specific workshop excelled in the production of superb jewelry centered by carved stone effigies...

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...

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...

Stunning pair of heavy silver bangles inlaid with raw polished Baltic amber, total 184 grams of silver. These have spring loaded hinges so they do not require a clasp. Inner diameters are 18cm. These crafted in a Tibetan design made by Nepalese silversmiths for a more sophisticated market than tourist kitsch. Would sell individually at $400ea.

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...

A truly spectacular sterling tufa cast ring with 14k gold saw tooth bezel set Carico Lake turquoise by Pala Mission-Cherokee jeweler and sculptor Larry Golsh. Many of his jewelry designs, such as this one, have been inspired by those of Hopi silversmith Charles Loloma. The ring is a size 6 and weighs 31 grams. The face of the ring measures 1 5/8" long. Fine original condition with no chips or cracks to the beauriful stone. Signed as shown. A remarkable work of art.

When Frederick W. Davis (1880-1961) designed this most unusual necklace he likely chose this ancient hand carved stone from his Pre-Columbian collection. The wearable length of the necklace is 20 inches. The pendant including cascabeles is 2 3/4" X 2". The small jade mask looks to be from the ancient Mexican city of Teotihuacan. When the artist placed the jade mask in onyx, he may have carved it to replicate the large ear adornments and necklace that priests of Teotihuacan wore...

Maestro Velazquez is one of my favorite early Mexican silversmiths. Based on the hallmarks on his work, he was most probably based in Mexico City and his creations are almost always in the so-called Mexico City style of repousse. Very well made and carefully finished, this figural fish brooch is also characterized by a fun, cartoon-ish air that will put a smile on your face every day of the year...

Made up of heavily “pitted” and oxidized beads, tubular links and a central medallion with asymmetrical dangles this Erika Hult de Corral Mexican silver necklace is an ode to modernism peppered with a touch of brutalism. Ric (as de Corral signs her pieces) has created a few versions of this particular design that I like to refer to as “moonscapes” and they are all a pleasure to wear and to behold. One of the few talented female contributors to Mexico’s 20th c...

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...

Slick, a modernist dream-come-true, crafted with the highest quality of craftsmanship and studded with the most beautiful tiger's eye you have ever seen, this slick Mexican silver necklace was made in Taxco in the 1950s-60s...

Maestro Rivera, known for his high quality creations in Matilde Poulat's "jeweled" style, is the silversmith signing this stunning Mexican Deco bracelet. Carefully wrought silver-work with beading, hand-hammering and twist-rope details is studded with pyramid- and emerald-cut amethysts as well as coral and turquoise little cabs...

A classic design for Hector Aguilar, this bracelet is comprised of a series of heart-shaped links with deeply etched details neatly arranged between two lengths of thick, hand-made chain. A very imposing in its simplicity creation, it is nevertheless a hefty, quite serious piece of jewelry. It feels beguilingly “familiar” around the wrist and conforms to every movement effortlessly. A real pleasure to behold and to wear, a bracelet around which collections are built...

In the style associated with Matilde Poulat the Mexican Deco sterling silver brooch presented here is big, bold and beautiful! Wrought en repoussage and embellished with hand-chasing feathers and beads surround three gorgeous turquoise cabochons in shades of blue and green. The brooch is open-backed like many of Matl’s early pieces and a pleasure to wear and to behold. It measures 2 3/4” wide by 1 7/8” tall and weighs 17.8 grams...

A vintage sterling silver geometric bracelet designed by Gine Sommerfelt for J. Tostrup, Norway...

A classic combination for Enrique Ledesma, the marrying of sterling and stone, makes this vintage Mexican bracelet an easily recognizable creation by the renowned Taxco modernist. The stone is here azur-malachite, I believe, with greens and browns predominant and the warmth of the silver casings adds a certain "inner glow" to it. The bracelet offers a glimpse of its life story in an inscription on the back of one link - romantic and rare yet if you would rather have it removed, it can be easily ...

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...

I have had full-sized Mexican silver and stone "idol" pendant necklace before but none like this exquisite example I am presenting here. Beautifully carved and visually imposing, the pendant's onyx Aztec / Maya male figure is shown in what I believe might be a supplication position. Cross-hatched bracelets carved into the stone hug his wrists while a silver necklace and an impressive headdress are the only other adornments covering his naked body. Suspended on an entirely hand-wrought sterling c...

Usually referred to as irreverent and whimsical Hubert Harmon was a native of Illinois yet studied at the Parson's School of Design in Paris. In the 1940s, he and his wife Louise settled for a few years in Mexico where Hubert opened a workshop in Taxco and created some of the most interesting designs in the world of vintage Mexican silver jewelry. A lover of parties, poodles and all creatures winged and mythical, he seems to have found inspiration in the country's folk art as well. The so-called...

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...

Circa 1944-1948, this Hubert Harmon pin is hand-wrought with exquisite repoussé silver work. It's a highly detailed piece, featuring a bird and fish in Harmon's signature whimsical style. The fish has an amethyst eye. Measures 3 1/2" x 2 7/8". Weight is 21.5 grams. Signed and hallmarked "Hand Made Sterling Hubert Harmon Made in Mexico", along with his winged feet. Collector quality.

A heavy pair of 14K gold cufflinks, the faces decorated with a sort of shield-shaped device against a stippled background. The influence of the Art Nouveau aesthetic can be seen in the assymetrical design of the shields. The semi-matte finish of the stippling contrasts nicely with the more polished shield. The backs marked "14K" and have Kirby's hallmark.

• Origin: America, ca. 1890
• Condition: excellent
• Dimensions: 11/16" x 1/2"
• Weight: 9.8 grams

A pretty 10K yellow and rose gold half-hoop wedding band, the front decorated with finely engraved roses. The flower petals are worked in rose gold for added contrast and the entire design is recessed to prevent wear to the carving. The interior of the shank is marked "10K" and also has an unidentified maker's mark.

• Origin: America, ca. 1950
• Condition:excellent
• Dimensions: 7/32" wide tapering to 1/8" at the back
• Finger Size: 7-1/4
• Weight: 2.9 grams

A classic pave pearl puffed heart pendant centered with an old European cut diamond. The diamond is H color, SI1 clarity. The back is stamped "14K."

• Origin: America, ca. 1900
• Condition: excellent
• Dimensions: 7/8" x 7/8" (excluding bail)
• Weight: 5.7 grams

Los Castillo is known for their superb silver repousse work and this stunning bracelet is an outstanding example of that skill. Two large vary ornate fish sitting on two blue Art Glass cabochons curve around the wrist ending with silver shells at the clasp in the back. It measures 6 1/2" long by 2" wide at the front tapering to 1" at the back and is quite heavy at 97.9 grams. In good vintage unpolished condition with minor signs of wear and tarnish with a lovely patina that beautifully accents t...

A heavy 14K gold curb link watch chain, finished with a movable t-bar, a dog clip, and a spring ring. The chain would be perfect to match up with one or more other heavy watch chains to create a unique layered look with multiple charms. Marked 14K.

• Origin: America, ca. 1900
• Condition: excellent
• Dimensions: 12-3/4" long
• Weight: 37.9 grams

A very rare pair of 18K yellow gold Sputnik earrings by H Sern. The spheres are bezel-set with round amethysts, citrines, aquamarines, green tourmalines, pink tourmalines, and peridots. The spheres are suspended from a bar of three larger gemstones. The Sputnik design was created in the 1950s to highlight the range of colored gemstones available from Stern’s Brazilian mines. It later came to be called “Sputnik” for its resemblance to the spiky Soviet satellite launched in 1957. Each piece ...

This mid-century Salvador Teran modernist pendant doubles as a pin. The three stones are pink quartz, chrysocolla, and jasper. It's a spectacular design, nice and large at 2 5/8" x 1 7/8". Weight is 36.1 grams. Signed and hallmarked "Salvador Sterling Mexico", with the design # 124. In excellent vintage condition. Pin closes with a roller.

An image of a crowned queen graces the front of this antique locket. Her crown has a row of 7 tiny single-cut diamonds, and one slightly larger full-cut diamond at the top. Her hair cascades down to her shoulder, and gold disks hang from the crown. There is a tiny dent at about cheek bone height. The back has a monogram, perhaps an S, and has several little dents, which are highly exaggerated in the photos. The rose gold (it was very hard to photograph the color accurately) tests at about 12k. I...

This huge pendant is the work of Celia Harms and likely dates 1960's-70's. Celia Harms pieces are rarely seen, and no two are identical. Measuring 6" tall, this pendant is composed of lapis lazuli and branch coral with sterling silver 22k vermeil beads. Weight is 58.9 grams. Signed and hallmarked inside the bale "Celia Harms Sterling Mexico". In excellent vintage condition. The vermeil is perfect and even.

Circa 1941-1950, this extremely rare Antonio Pineda pin is a book-piece shown on p. 89 of Silver Seduction: The Art of Mexican Modernist Antonio Pineda.

Measuring 3 1/8" tall, this pin has stunning detail and is exquisitely crafted. The center fuchsia flower dangles freely. As such, the pin can be worn at various angles to create different looks.

Weight is 37.6 grams.

Signed and hallmarked with the early "AP" mark along with "Silver Mexico" and the design # PR309...

A handsome, classic pair of Edwardian cufflinks by Larter. Worked in 14K yellow gold, the double-sided cufflinks feature faces of carved mother of pearl centered with cabochon sapphires. The mother of pearl shows nice play of color with rose and green overtones that nicely accent the blue sapphires. The connectors are stamped with Larter’s 14K hallmark.

• Origin: America, ca 1915
• Condition: excellent
• Dimensions: faces, 17/32” diameter
• Weight: 5.7 grams
• Ap...

This early vintage Antonio Pineda 970 Silver bracelet features thick sculpted links set with uniquely cut Amethyst "tubes" witch are set so when the bracelet is closed it appears that the amethyst weave in and out of the silver links. It measures 7" long by 3/4" wide and weighs 76.2 grams. Hallmarked with the Antonio Taxco Crown, Silver, Made in Mexico, 970, ZZ 779 and the eagle 17. Secure box clasp and attached safety chain. It is in good condition with light wear and tarnish - all the Amethyst...

These unique Earrings by Antonio Pineda are a great example of the imaginative designs he is know for. The earring resemble an Arrow open at the center which slip between the front and back of your earlobe so when worn it appears that the top of the arrow is piercing your ear and exiting at the bottom. They measure 1 1/2" long and each is marked with the Antonio Taxco Crown Mark. In good condition with light wear - the backs are a bit out of shape - and they have some light tarnish. The screw b...

The "Silver By Toño" hallmark was used from 1948-1953. For the discerning collector of Mexican silver - this bracelet is nothing short of spectacular.

This bracelet alternates five huge amethyst cabochons between repoussé silver shields tipped with silver balls. Closure is a pin on a chain. This design, in a necklace, is shown on p. 96 of Silver Seduction. The amethysts measure 15/16" in diameter.

Closed wearable length is just over 6 1/2". Width is 1 7/16".

This classic bracelet by the famous Taxco silver artist William Spratling is an early design crafted in a beautiful combination of Sterling Silver and Copper. It measures 7 1/2" long by 1" wide and it weighs a heavy 74.2 grams. Hallmarked Spratling Silver, Made in Mexico a mark used in 1942. It has a fold over clasp and is in good condition with a few minor dings mostly along the bracelet edge. It has not been polished and retains a lovely rich patina. We are offering this bracelet 'AS-IS' and ...