Handmade Silver Jewellery

Long famed for its silver mines and silversmiths the Mexican 'Silver City' of Taxco (pronounced 'Tasco') is one of the main sources of Mexican silver jewellery. Situated in the Sierra Madre mountains, to the south of Mexico City, half way to the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco, its cobblestone streets lead steeply up to the little tree-shaded Zocalo, this central square is dominated by the monumental Baroque cathedral of Santa Prisca.

Today Taxco is designated a National Monument to preserve its colonial heritage. Bougainvillaea, oleanders and jacarandas adorn the houses and walled gardens like a cluster of rubies set next to a piece of polished turquoise in a chunk of native silver, the town glitters like the jewellery for which it is famous. Its history, however, pre-dates the arrival of the Spanish.

It is believed that the Aztecs pioneered silver mining in the area. Following this, Spanish miners, eager to exploit the abundant mineral deposits, populated the town. It was during the 16th century that silver first began to be exported from Taxco and its riches supported the rapid growth of the Spanish empire.

In the early 1800s Taxco was again put on the map by a French prospector and miner Jose De La Borda who, quite by chance discovered a mother load of silver right underneath his new house and then built the nearby cathedral, with the motto "God gives to Borda, so Borda gives to God".

Taxco's current fame is due entirely to a New Orleans professor of architecture, Bill Spratling, who came to Taxco in 1929, following a decline in the silver industry, to write a book. Enchanted by the place, he stayed and trained the locals in the art of silver-smithing and handcrafted jewellery, reviving its earlier fortunes. These skills have been handed down through the generations and combined with the rich and vibrant pre-Columbian culture which inspires the unique jewellery we see today. Taxco produces some of the best, most imaginative, original and unusual handmade silver jewellery in the world.

Each piece of Mexicana Silver Jewellery is stamped '925'. This means that there are 925 parts of silver in every 1000 of its metal content. This is in conformity with the 925 marking on E.U. silver products, and the 925 content of Sterling silver. It is all 92.5% pure and that is as good as it gets!