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1931 was the year that William Spratling first encountered Taxco, Mexico; the most important Silver Mining town in North America. Pure Silver from Taxco was mined and shipped throughout the world. Spratling, from New Orleans via New York, traveled with an interesting crowd— he was inspired by his friend, the artist Diego Rivera, and he was a former room mate of William Faulkner and close friends with the American novelist John Dos Passos. He was a creative writer and architect from America and was enthralled by the richness, the beauty and the history of this magnificent mountainous village. Spratling envisioned an opportunity making Silver Jewelry and founded the first Taxco jewelry workshop within the hills of Taxco de Viejo on the outskirts of town. This workshop was the beginning and the emergence of the handcrafted Silver Jewelry industry in the Taxco region. Spratling insisted on special high quality workmanship and instilled a sense of pride within his special Siversmiths. Over the years his workshop produced some of the finest Silver Jewelry seen anywhere in the world. His customers included royalty, patrons of the arts, and famous upscale retailers such as Neiman Marcus and Saks 5th Ave. From this first workshop, the future of Silver jewelry in Mexico had begun. Generations of Silversmiths followed and almost a century later, his inspiration is felt throughout every piece of handcrafted Silver made in this village. In 1971 and Forty years after Spratling began, another New Yorker, and the founder of MW Samara Silver arrived on the scene in Taxco. Inspired by the Spratling tradition and working together with many of the Spratling proteges such as Juan Millan Brito, Miguel Garcia Hernandez, Joachin Barrera, Victor Carsi, Pablo Munoz, & the Porcayo family; he produced fine Silver jewelry in small selected workshops. Klaebu Silver, formerly MW Samara, continued the tradition of working with the finest Silversmiths in many of the handmade workshops in Taxco, Tehuilotepec,Taxco el Viejo, and the surrounding region. It has been Klaebu’s vision to make quality bench made Silver jewelry directly with the Talleres who are expert Silversmiths and in many cases relatives and descendants of the maestros from the original Taxco workshops. Our commitment is to create the very best avant garde, stylish, and classic designs, utilizing authentic .925 Sterling Silver. Every piece of jewelry from the Klaebu workshops are hand executed, polished, and fully inspected for quality.1950’s paintings by Emilio Alvarado of Taxco are from the Los Castillos Gallery and were brought to America in 1986. They are a tribute to the creative Silversmiths of Taxco de Alarcon. Thank you for shopping at Klaebu.
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Early Morning in Taxco Mexico