William Spratling Amethyst Bracelet

From my personal collection, I present a 161-gram Amethyst Sol cuff bracelet by William Spratling. Why is this piece so important? This bracelet was designed by William Spratling, an architect from upstate New York who'd eventually made his way to Taxco, Mexico. At the time, Mexico was undergoing a cultural shift as depicted in the artwork of Diego Rivera. The discovery of pre-columbian art and artifacts combined with the current artistic aesthetic of the time proved to be essential sources of inspiration. Another source of inspiration beyond silver was the natural gemstones of Mexico. Other materials such as amethyst, turquoise, jade, and lapis among others. The amethyst gemstone in this cuff is of superior quality and has lasted several decades. In the case of this bracelet, the sun motif is a celebration of the esthetic of old-world Mexico and the amethyst gemstones that call it home.

Taxco, Mexico is home to a silver mine. For hundreds of years, the people of the area had to offer up their silver to another entity. Taxco silver was paid as tribute to the Aztecs, then three centuries of mining by the Spaniards. A period of prosperity arrived in the 1700s when Josè de la Borda arrived from Spain and began mining, but the town languished after Borda left. Access to silver was essential to the success of a renewed silver market. Please note that the silver standard in Mexico before 1978 fluctuated between .999 silver and .850 silver. In Taxco, the standard was high for silver and is often marked 980 - 950. The standard was above today's common standard of 925/sterling silver.

Upon William Spratling's arrival in 1929, Taxco was already a silversmithing town, but the trade had declined among the local people in the area. The idea behind setting up shop in Taxco wasn't initially about silversmithing, but by learning the trade William Spratling realized that he could earn a living and train other locals to earn a living as well. In the beginning, he trained about forty men in silversmithing and forty men in other shop tasks. In the world of Taxco silversmiths, Taller Delicias was the standard. Their pieces weren't for the faint of heart and were purposely weighted with ample silver. The weight of the item and its silver quality is a great way to distinguish between an authentic piece of Spratling's time and a piece from a later date.

William Spratling trained many of the silversmiths who went on to open their own workshops and created a name for themselves. Antonio Pineda, Los Castillos(brothers), and Hector Aguilar are among the titans of silver who began with Spratling. The support also extended to women. Margot de Taxco and Victoria Brilanti are among the notable women in Taxco silver.

I could go on, but I'll leave it here. This piece is a historic treasure and a museum-quality piece of jewelry. It is stamped by William Spratling and the design is featured in the book Mexican Silver by Morrill&Berk (p.39/III-19).

Be sure to message me for any additional questions or photos of the piece.


[Size]
Bracelet Length: 6 in.
Gap Width: 1.25 in.
Total Size: 7.25 in.