Felipe Martinez, founder of Piedra Y Plata (Stone and Silver)

Felipe Martinez, who was trained as a sculptor, opened Piedra Y Plata (“stone and silver”), in Taxco, Mexico in 1950.  Martinez’ work was quite distinctive, and his shop became known for pieces using indigenous Mexican stones (either inlaid or set in bezels) and geometric patterns.

Penny Morrill and Carole Berk, in Mexican Silver 20th Century Handwrought Jewelry & Metalwork, wrote, “Because of his interest in sculpture, each piece of jewelry is a unified composition. Martinez integrated the materials he used in order to emphasize the totality of the piece.” 

In Mexican Jewelry, Mary Davis and Greta Pack write, “As might be expected of a designer whose main interest has been in stones, his jewelry is simple in design and the stones are set in unexpected ways, long flat stones set between bands of silver, diagonal rope effects of alternating bands of silver and malachite, stones cut in unusual shapes in settings obviously designed by a sculptor.”

William Spratling noted that Piedra Y Plata produced original work that was recognized beyond Mexico.

Because he produced jewelry for just a few years, Martinez’ work is very rare – if you are fortunate enough to find a Martinez piece, treasure it! Here is a lovely example of Martinez’ work, a bracelet he created even before opening Piedra Y Plata:

Photograph from the archives of One Of A Kind Antiques

The photograph below (courtesy Skinner/Live Auctioneers) shows a signed Piedra y Plata/Felipe Martinez sterling silver and diopside suite, comprising earclips, necklace, and bracelet. The suite sold in December 2008. The starting bid was $ 275, and it was estimated that the suite would sell for $ 400-600. However, the winning bid was $ 1,700!