Mexico is a land of rich silver mines. Their history dates before the coming of the Spanish in the 1400’s. Mexican Sterling Silver Jewelry had a renaissance in the late 1920’s, and the focus of the production was in the beautiful hill town of Taxco. William Spratling began his workshop there in 1929 and from that time a network of successful workshops grew, created by Taxqueno artisans.
Silver purity is rated in a percentage of 1000. Because it is very malleable, silver is …
Mexico is a land of rich silver mines. Their history dates before the coming of the Spanish in the 1400’s. Mexican Sterling Silver Jewelry had a renaissance in the late 1920’s, and the focus of the production was in the beautiful hill town of Taxco. William Spratling began his workshop there in 1929 and from that time a network of successful workshops grew, created by Taxqueno artisans.
Silver purity is rated in a percentage of 1000. Because it is very malleable, silver is blended with other metal, such as copper, to create hardness. Sterling is silver rated at “925” and above; the higher the number, the higher the purity of the metal. Originally silver jewelry was just stamped with this percentage number and “Mexico Silver” or “Silver Made in Mexico.” Beginning in 1948, the Mexican government instituted an Eagle stamp for jewelry made in the country. In 1979 this system was replaced by a letter-number system, identifying T for Taxco, M for Mexico City and so forth. This is followed by an initial for the silversmith’s last name and a number to represent his mark in his city’s assay office.
