Onyx and Silver Collar Necklace

Built from a run of semi-circular links that close on a single bezel-set stone, this collar necklace shows how Héctor Aguilar could make a strong statement from the rhythm of repeated silver elements rather than from ornament. The interest lies in the cadence of the links themselves and the way the dark stone anchors the design at the front.

The necklace dates to about 1945, the heart of Aguilar's independent Taxco production. Its sterling links carry the marks of his shop, the circling MADE IN MEXICO STERLING stamp with the conjoined HA, and they meet a box clasp that integrates cleanly into the line of the collar. Onyx supplies the one note of contrasting color against the silver.

The combination of heavy sterling and a single hardstone accent is consistent with the material logic of Aguilar's workshop, which favored bold form and the play of silver against a contrasting element over gemstone abundance. The semi-circle link is a structural idea, not an applied decoration, and the piece reads as an exercise in proportion.

Passing earlier through the holdings of Carole A. Berk, Ltd., the necklace is a representative example of Aguilar collar work from the mid-1940s.