Enrique Ledesma Mexican silver blue enamel Necklace

One of the most inspired Taxco modernists, Enrique Ledesma is not widely known as an enamelist yet he did create jewelry combining sterling with bright colored enamels. It seems that those pieces are rare and difficult to find but if one is lucky enough to come upon an example, the search is justified and the seeker duly rewarded! The necklace at hand, distinctly “machine age” in its constituting elements, breaks free of its functionalist constraints with the use of brilliant blue enamel. The color seems as if lit from within, the glaze above it giving it a semi-translucent appearance, the richness of the pigment breath-taking. Simple materials, simple geometry, fantastic sense of design…

Size / Weight: 16 3/4″ long (wearable; end-to-end 17 1/2″; can easily accept a sterling extension) by 3/4″ wide; 73.0 grams

Hallmarks / Date: fully and appropriately signed with maker’s name as shown as well as “HECHO EN MEXICO”, “925”, des. no 256 and Eagle 3 assay mark; 1950s-60s

Condition: very good vintage with stunning color in the enamel which is all there and in great shape showing only minimal expected wear around the edges of three or four links, great patina and no repairs noted – a fantastic, rare example of Ledesma enamel-work

Inv.#14889