Taxco de Alarcon

Gorgeous hues of blue and green accented by brilliant silver beads and findings make the perfect accompaniment to the fabulous handmade inlaid sterling silver and turquoise pendant that is the focal piece of this stunning one-of-a-kind designer necklace. The three unique strands of beads lie elegantly along the neckline making a graceful collar-style neckpiece that can be worn with almost anything. The vibrant colors and contrasting shapes and textures of the beads give energy and excitement to this contemporary necklace design while the distinctly Mexican pendant adds some culture and depth. This captivating handcrafted artisan necklace is sure to get lots of admiring glances and it will make a wonderful addition to any jewelry collection, as well as adding unlimited potential to your wardrobe.

Taxco, Mexico has been famous for its silver for hundreds of years attracting early Spanish conquistadors in the 1500’s, like Hernan Cortes who conquered the Aztecs and made remote Taxco a busy mining town spreading its silver across Europe by the end of the century. As other mines were discovered, the silver production in Taxco faded out and was more or less left undiscovered until the late 1920’s when the highway from Mexico City reached Taxco. There is a whole story behind the rediscovery, but basically a U.S. citizen, William Spratling, went to Taxco to study the culture of Mexico and discovered the lost art of silversmithing among the talented artist community present, and he helped the locals to rediscover their skills and artistic talent.

Anyway, Taxco is once again famous for its magnificent silverwork, creating some of the most highly recognized collectable pieces of silver artwork. The Taxco pendant in this necklace is made with sterling silver and inlaid with green and blue turquoise and pink shell. The pendant is stamped MEX925 on the back that indicates it is made in Mexico from .925 sterling silver and guarantees its authenticity.

The strand of green beads is a mix of varied tones of green turquoise and serpentine. The different shapes and mottled stones have a wonderful earthy and exotic feel to them, adding a deep-rooted natural flavor to the necklace. The middle strand is small heishi-cut natural blue turquoise and the outer strand is made up of carved dyed blue bone beads from Indonesia and small silver-coated terra cotta beads.

Unique squares of sterling silver end each side of the necklace and it closes with a large sterling silver lobster clasp. The innermost strand is about 15" in length and the attached sterling silver chain makes it adjustable up to 19". The pendant itself is approximately 1.5" long.