Cufflink hallmarks

[KevinFlynn]

When going through some old moving boxes, I found some cufflinks that I inherited from an old friend of the family.

These look like they should be silver. There are stamps (on one of each pair).

They say

STERLING
3m
TAXCCMEXICO

and a couple of characters inbetween...

as well as a sign of a eagle (?) with a 3 in it.

These would probably be from the first half of the last century. Supposedly german, though does this say Mexico?
 
Does anyone know these hallmarks?

 

 

 

 

Edited January 6, 2019 by KevinFlynn
adjustment

[caloundracats]

Mexico is a a producer of silver so I would suggest they are in fact Mexican. I too have some 925 Mexican silver, but not cufflinks.

[KevinFlynn]

Thanks...

I have been wearing these to black shirts then and now, when I was in my dark wave phase.

They are now part of my stack (22.61g fine).

[Jordans]

Yes, it's probably Mexican silver. It must look spectacular on a black shirt. If you had a tie with a similar pattern to the cufflinks, it would look like an ensemble.

[stefffana]

Nice cufflinks.

The hallmarks are very clear:

Made in Taxco, Mexico, by Miguel Melendez. He used two marks for his jewellery in two distinct periods of his work life: a stylised m  when he worked as an independent silversmith and a stylised 3m after he started working for Margot de Taxco (Miguel Melendez / Margot = 3m).

We need to consider also that the stamp #3 is the symbol mark of Taxco City, present also inside the eagle mark, so make sense why he added 3 to his initial m.

Judging after your hallmarks type, the cufflinks were made between 1948 and 1955 (when the delineated eagle replaced the silhouetted eagle).

After 1979, the eagle mark was replaced by letter/number mark (not present on your cufflinks).

Very few informations about Miguel Melendez are here: https://www.925-1000.com/mx_mMelendez_X.html.

Do you still have them, @KevinFlynn?😊

Edited November 27, 2022 by stefffana

[KevinFlynn]

On 27/11/2022 at 11:37, stefffana said:

Nice cufflinks.

The hallmarks are very clear:

...

Do you still have them, @KevinFlynn?😊

Wow, many thanks 👍

Yes, I still have them, they are nothing that I would give away. I talked to my mother in the meanwhile - our family friend was a regular visitor to the Americas, which makes sense in this context.