Design 5702 pendant

Numbered designs stamped on the reverse are the identifiers of Margot van Voorhies Carr's workshop system, and design five-seven-oh-two — a pendant in enamel on sterling — falls toward the later end of the sequence she built over nearly four decades. Morrill (1994, p. 15) notes that in the Taxco school's numbered systems, the smaller the number generally marks the earlier piece, situating this design within the sustained production of her independent taller rather than its founding years.

What that number marks is a system of unusual rigor. Morrill (1994, p. 168) records that Margot designed everything her company produced and wrote a book providing specific instructions for each piece, including the number of dies, color choices for enameling, and the process of assembling and finishing. Her drawings served as templates for the enamelers, and her specifications for pieces like brooches and pendants extended to where the clasp or loop was to be placed on the reverse — discipline that carried through to what Morrill describes as "a high level of workmanship for every piece she signed." The enamel-on-silver work itself had roots at Los Castillo, where the technique was first initiated; Margot subsequently perfected it and developed it into one of her major jewelry lines (Morrill 1994, p. 166).

Pendant examples from the numbered line are a direct point of contact with the color range and production rigor she sustained across the full span of her studio years.