Margot de Taxco Mexican silver and enamel "around the world" Charm Bracelet
I have had this Margot de Taxco Mexican silver charm bracelet for a while trying to decide how to deal with it. You see, to the purist, the most austere of collectors, the bracelet with its silver enamel "countries of the world" charms is a … charming hybrid - but a hybrid nonetheless. That same collector will easily recognize the bracelet part as probably being out of Margot's "musician putti" series, the "putti" long gone and replaced with the travel charms that now adorn it. And this might pose a problem... Yet to the lover of jewelry with both a good signature and a story to go with it, this is a wonderful find. What exactly happened here? Was the bracelet bought in Mexico in its original form, enjoyed as such and then passed on to somebody else who decided to turn it into a wearable memento of their "Grand Tour"? Or might the original owner have asked to buy the bracelet alone, without its "musician" dangles that is, intending to put it to the use we are witnessing today? So many questions, so many possible answers, so many lives touched, so many experiences lost to us - and one beautiful, fascinating Margot bracelet...
Size / Weight: 7" long by 1/4" wide; longest charm adds a 1 1/8" drop to the chain; 38.1 grams
Hallmarks / Date: fully signed with Margot's name as well as "STERLING MADE IN MEXICO", des. no 5441A and Eagle 16 assay mark; all charm are marked "STERLING"; 1950s-60s
Condition: excellent vintage with great patina, with the enamel all intact without chips, cracks or breaks and no damage or repairs noted except for some slight wear in the surface glaze of one or two charms, visible only upon close inspection with a jeweler's loupe
Inv# 15147
I have had this Margot de Taxco Mexican silver charm bracelet for a while trying to decide how to deal with it. You see, to the purist, the most austere of collectors, the bracelet with its silver enamel "countries of the world" charms is a … charming hybrid - but a hybrid nonetheless. That same collector will easily recognize the bracelet part as probably being out of Margot's "musician putti" series, the "putti" long gone and replaced with the travel charms that now adorn it. And this might pose a problem... Yet to the lover of jewelry with both a good signature and a story to go with it, this is a wonderful find. What exactly happened here? Was the bracelet bought in Mexico in its original form, enjoyed as such and then passed on to somebody else who decided to turn it into a wearable memento of their "Grand Tour"? Or might the original owner have asked to buy the bracelet alone, without its "musician" dangles that is, intending to put it to the use we are witnessing today? So many questions, so many possible answers, so many lives touched, so many experiences lost to us - and one beautiful, fascinating Margot bracelet...
Size / Weight: 7" long by 1/4" wide; longest charm adds a 1 1/8" drop to the chain; 38.1 grams
Hallmarks / Date: fully signed with Margot's name as well as "STERLING MADE IN MEXICO", des. no 5441A and Eagle 16 assay mark; all charm are marked "STERLING"; 1950s-60s
Condition: excellent vintage with great patina, with the enamel all intact without chips, cracks or breaks and no damage or repairs noted except for some slight wear in the surface glaze of one or two charms, visible only upon close inspection with a jeweler's loupe
Inv# 15147
I have had this Margot de Taxco Mexican silver charm bracelet for a while trying to decide how to deal with it. You see, to the purist, the most austere of collectors, the bracelet with its silver enamel "countries of the world" charms is a … charming hybrid - but a hybrid nonetheless. That same collector will easily recognize the bracelet part as probably being out of Margot's "musician putti" series, the "putti" long gone and replaced with the travel charms that now adorn it. And this might pose a problem... Yet to the lover of jewelry with both a good signature and a story to go with it, this is a wonderful find. What exactly happened here? Was the bracelet bought in Mexico in its original form, enjoyed as such and then passed on to somebody else who decided to turn it into a wearable memento of their "Grand Tour"? Or might the original owner have asked to buy the bracelet alone, without its "musician" dangles that is, intending to put it to the use we are witnessing today? So many questions, so many possible answers, so many lives touched, so many experiences lost to us - and one beautiful, fascinating Margot bracelet...
Size / Weight: 7" long by 1/4" wide; longest charm adds a 1 1/8" drop to the chain; 38.1 grams
Hallmarks / Date: fully signed with Margot's name as well as "STERLING MADE IN MEXICO", des. no 5441A and Eagle 16 assay mark; all charm are marked "STERLING"; 1950s-60s
Condition: excellent vintage with great patina, with the enamel all intact without chips, cracks or breaks and no damage or repairs noted except for some slight wear in the surface glaze of one or two charms, visible only upon close inspection with a jeweler's loupe
Inv# 15147