Garnet and Crystal Dangle Earrings from Mexico, "Red Coquetterie"

"We're the Pacheco Gold and Silversmiths group. We learned this wonderful art from our father, Don Manuel Pacheco Pineda, who set up the workshop at home. All our lives, we observed his incredible and imaginative work. It seemed magical that he could transform a piece of metal into something as beautiful as a piece of jewelry.

"He inspired us so much that we decided to carry on with this tradition.

"We specialize in the filigree technique and use both gold and silver, which we complement with gems and other materials. We consider ourselves very selective as far as the quality of stones we use. Our gold and silver are alloyed to strengthen them, and we try to make every single piece of jewelry a special one.

"For us, beginning to create our own designs has been a marvelous challenge. Thanks to our father, we'd learned basic silverwork techniques. But learning to master new ones and acquire the necessary skills was challenging.

"Today in the workshop, there are ten of us who form a great team. Each of us works with a different technique — essentially, the one we most enjoy. In this way, we complement one another and the knowledge we each can bring to the team.

"We try to share our knowledge with those who want to learn. We find an enormous inspiration in trying to craft each design exactly as our father would. His memory and role model are always present. With practice, he could create very special ways of working. We strive to remain faithful to this principle.

"It's gratifying to us to know we can create any kind of design. And we are able to satisfy shoppers with our work.

"We want to maintain the quality of our jewelry and we hope people will be able to distinguish our designs in any part of the world."