Types Of Mexican Jewelry

Because it contains the richest silver mines in the world, Mexico provided fertile ground for jewelry making. From the time of the Aztecs and the Mayans, jewelry has played a prominent role in Mexican culture. Today, as this famous Mexican silver continues to spread around the world, it brings with it the influence of Mexican jewelry design. Indeed, Mexican jewelry itself constantly evolves--new styles are recycled with the old and present the customer with a wide range of choices.

Early Aztec Jewelry

For early Aztecs in Mexico, jewelry symbolized more than just fashion. Jewelry makers were in charge of creating masques for all the special religious ceremonies. Because the people didn't read and write, the ceremonies conveyed the religious traditions and information. Therefore, jewelers took their roles as religious instructors seriously and studied the calendar carefully when designing a new mask. They also considered the tastes of the nobles when designing, a concept not much different than modeling after celebrity preference today.

Materials

While the majority of Mexican jewelers construct their wares out of silver, Mexican jewelry has long made use of a range of interesting materials. For instance, tin or gold is sometimes used in place of silver and turquoise and glass beads often create dazzling color. For centuries, jewelers in Mexico have also relied on coral and abalone. They usually set these shells as inlays or place them as cabochons (large un-faceted cuts) in simple bezels. Even leather and dried flowers are employed as accents in Mexican jewelry.

Forms

Both the past and present influence current styles of Mexican jewelry. When visiting jewelry shops in big cities, tourists will most likely find stereotypical Mexican jewelry seen in the movies and on TV. However, simple handmade shapes can sometimes be found right next to complex urban designs. Rings with stone insets, studded bracelets and dangling hoop earrings all remain some of the most popular forms.

Dating Mexican Jewelry

Collectors have coined the term "pre-eagle" to refer to the creative, hand-constructed silver jewelry made in Mexico before 1948. This is because the year 1948 saw the origins of the eagle stamp in Mexico which was subsequently used to mark all silver pieces. Indeed, all pieces made up until 1980 bear the eagle impression. During the period between 1930 to 1950, artist colonies cropped up in Mexico and started a revival of Mexican jewelry design.

Silver Quality

The most notable of these artist colonies was that in Taxco in the state of Guerrero. Although Mexico City and Gaudalajaro also boast silversmith communities, Taxco remains the center of Mexican jewelry today. Indeed, if you are buying a piece of Mexican jewelry, the stamp "Taxco" indicates that it comes from the city and is very high quality. The term "alpaca" on the other hand, tells you that the jewelry does not contain any actual silver. Because Mexico has such a rich supply of silver to mine, many Mexican jewelry pieces actually contain more than the standard 92.5% silver. Stamps of 940, 950, 960, 970 and 980 all mark higher purities.

Tags: Mexican jewelry, Mexican jewelry, artist colonies, jewelry design, Mexican jewelry design