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Silversmithing has been practiced for centuries in Mexico. In fact, Mexican silversmiths taught the Navajo of the Southwestern United States their trade. But it took an American named William Spratling to see the opportunity to build on this legacy. He did this in 1931, when he established a retail outlet for Mexican jewelry near the silver-mining center of Taxco.

Spratling’s designs borrowed liberally from pre-Columbian motifs found on Mexico’s pyramid...

Some competitors were actively encouraged. In fact, the Taxco School, as it is known today, was formed largely from former Spratling employees such as the Castillo brothers, Héctor Aguilar, Antonio Pineda, and Valentin Viadurreta, who brought a Mexican eye to Art Deco. Naturally, these artisans and their shops became incubators for still more generations of silversmiths.

For those who could not make the trip to Taxco, U.S. stores took the step of importing these popular goods. At one point everyone from fashionable Gump’s in San Francisco to Montgomery Ward in Chicago carried silver jewelry (some decorated with obsidian or amethysts) and tableware by Taxco designers.

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Recent News: Mexican Jewelry

Source: Google News

En Taxco promete resolver el conflicto de los mineros
Milenio.com, February 8th

Andrés Manuel López Obrador, precandidato de las izquierdas para la Presidencia de la República, en su primer mitin en la gira que hace por Guerrero aseguró a los mineros de Taxco, donde desde hace años estalló huelga en las minas de Grupo México,...Read more

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Antiques and Arts Weekly, February 7th

A nine-piece sterling silver service by JE Caldwell & Co. took $7475, while a seven-piece Mexican sterling silver coffee and tea service, marked Taxco, brought $7,1870. Several choice watches crossed the block, led by a circa 1960s man's 18K yellow...Read more

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Florez said his wife thinks he's "nuts" for his obsession with Cisco Kid but enjoys coming on his trips to Western collector shows, where she likes to buy old Mexican jewelry from the '30s and '40s. She also collects santos, carved figures of saints,...Read more

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