by Carole A. Berk

Sigi learned his trade at an early age. By the time he was 23 he had opened his own shop. This was in 1952 and the height of the tourist trades in Taxco. Each year Americans would travel to Taxco and spend an extended period of time in this charming town. It was like an aphrodisiac to the returning tourists year after year. If Taxco was a draw, so was Sigi's shop where he worked and entertained the visitors. But it was essentially his silver designs and craftsmanship that held the people spellbound.

One has only to examine his jewelry to discover the wonderful combination of 50s design and technical aspects of his craftsmanship. For instance, all earrings made at that time had screwbacks. Sigi incorporated this element and added a hinge to the backing making for a more comfortable fit. His necklaces have the wonderful Modernist designs that can be seen in the American Modernist movement - bimorphous and boomerang shapes, along with organic forms of plants and fish. His use of oxidation is superb. Unfortunately, people who are not familiar with this technique try to clean it off thinking the piece is dirty. His design techniques are unsurpassed. He incorporates semiprecious stones with silver and gold to achieve technical perfection.

For Modernist design and superior craftsmanship Sigi is the one to collect. In my opinion his work is undervalued. The reason may be because many people prefer the traditional designs of his predecessors.