Company´s History

In 1947, Mrs. Rosa Quevedo, along with her daughter Tere Calvo, started a family business in Oaxaca opening the first jewelry shop in town. At that time, it was common to find jewelry at the finest drugstore or clothing store, but there was not a specialized shop for jewelry in Oaxaca.

The store was named "Joyería Rosita." Mrs. Quevedo and Mrs. Calvo had a strong entrepreneur spirit, and decided to also open a small jewelry workshop, where they started to develop gold filigree pieces and original designs with gold and silver. The beauty of the designs and the quality of the handcrafted work was widely appreciated in Oaxaca and initiated the reputation that ORO DE MONTE ALBAN has today. Once the store was well established in later years, Mrs. Quevedo and Mrs. Calvo decided to show the pride they had for traditions of the Zapotec and Mixtec Civilizations.

They researched information about the jewels found in a major discovery, made by the Mexican Archeologist Alfonso Caso, at the archeological site of Monte Alban, in Oaxaca on January 6th, 1932. Mr. Caso had discovered a Mixtec-Zapotec Tomb, named "Tomb No. 7", with a treasure of jewelry and ceramic pieces as an offering to the Priest buried there.

In 1985, Mrs. Quevedo and Mrs. Calvo, obtained the authorization of the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico, to reproduce the Pre-Columbian Jewelry and started hiring experienced craftsmen to do this remarkable work.

Also in this year, Mrs. Tere Calvo, with her two sons and daughter in law, decided to create ORO DE MONTE ALBAN. Now, this proud Oaxacan company, has become an international showcase of the handcrafted jewelry of our ancient civilizations.

Our Mission

ORO DE MONTE ALBAN is dedicated to create excellent quality replicas of the masterpiece jewels made in silver and gold by our Mixtec and Zapotec ancestors using ancient techniques. Our ancestors made these jewels to venerate their Gods. Nowadays, we elaborate these jewels to show the world our cultural heritage and the art of the Mixtec and Zapotec cultures. All our products are high-quality jewels made by our craftsmen in our workshops in Oaxaca.

Oro de Montealban Logo

Local artist Héctor Jara designed our logo. He combined three elements commonly used in the Mixtec and Zapotec Cultures: The "Gold" Sign from the Zapotec Culture. The "Precious" Sign from the Mixtec Culture. The false Filigree from the "Chimally Shield", a Mixtec Jewel. The logo reflects our company's philosophy: "We have survived through time working with precious gold in a very sensitive way."

Oro de Montealban Elaboration Process

To follow the same principles as our ancestors, we use the technique called "Lost Wax Casting Process" to make our jewelry pieces. In this technique, one, or several wax layers, are fastened to a conical wax sprue inside a metal flask.

The metal flask is then covered by a heat resisting plaster called investment. Once the investment is dried, the flask is heated inside an oven to a temperature of 1300° F. Due to the temperature, the wax is "lost" or "burned out." The investment then keeps the shape of the wax.

The gold is heated inside a crucible, by a torch at a temperature of 1655° F. The investment is then filled with the molten gold by centrifugal force. Once the basic jewel is casted, it is decorated and polished by the hands of our expert craftsmen.

If you are ever in Oaxaca, you can visit our workshops and see by yourself, how the "Lost Wax" technique works.

Ask for more information about our workshop tours at info@orodemontealban.com.

Shop Videos

Click here for Part 1 of the Video 6 MB

Click here for Part 2 of the Video 6 MB

USA Office

201 East Commerce Riverwalk 200 78205 San Antonio, Tx. Tel:(210) 224 8960 Fax:(210) 224 8970 Toll Free 1 888 299 3318