Taxco at a glance

The colonial style town of Taxco, formally Taxco de Alarcón, is as well known for its sterling silver jewelry, silver ware, and   other goods as it is for being a charming and secluded mountain tourist and art center. With its steep and narrow cobblestone streets winding through historic white stucco buildings with red tile roofs, you get a sense of being in a place that time has passed by. Taxco has been declared a national monument and one of the "Pueblos Mágicos" or Magic Towns for its natural beauty, cultural richness, traditions, folklore, historical relevance, cuisine, art crafts, and great hospitality.

Taxco is located in the state of Guerrero in Mexico, about 105 miles south west of Mexico City and its history has always been tied to silver. Taxco was first mined by the Spanish, looking for tin, in the early 1530's when silver was discovered and quickly depleted.

Silver would be discovered again two centuries later in the 1740's by José de la Borda. The mining continued even though the town would change hands several times, due to various conflicts, between 1815 and 1916. In the early 1920's, American architect and Tulane University professor, William Spratling, moved to Taxco to write a book and later set up a silver work shop. His work shop eventually evolved into a factory and his silver jewelry was exported both in Mexico and internationally. The popularity of Taxco silver jewelry grew steadily and experienced a boom in the United States during World War II, when imports from Europe were rare. Many of the artisans that worked for Spratling opened there own silver shops. Today there are literally hundreds of silver shops operating in Taxco, and the identity of Taxco as the silver mecca of Mexico lives on.

Owning a genuine hand-crafted sterling silver piece of jewelry from Taxco is something that means more than owning a piece of jewelry bought at the local mall or jewelry store. Buying Taxco jewelry supports this wonderful community and its artisans and gives you jewelry with a story.