Federico Jimenez Turquoise Cross Ring, Signed Oaxacan Sterling Silver, Adjustable
A turquoise cross ring by Federico Jimenez, four teardrops and a round centre stone framed by a scatter of small round cabochons, all on a deeply oxidised silver ground.
Specifications
- Metal: Sterling silver
- Artist: Federico Jimenez, Mixtec heritage
- Made: 2026
- Weight: 16 grams
- Stones: 17 turquoise cabochons, round and teardrop, bezel set
- Face: 28 mm across (1.1 inches)
- Sizing: Adjustable, US 6.75 and upward
Hallmarks
- FJ, the artist's mark
- Sterling
Both marks are struck on the back. FJ is the maker's mark; Sterling is the silver standard.
About the Piece
The face is built as a cross: a round cabochon at the crossing point, a teardrop pointing outward along each arm, and clusters of small round stones filling the ends. Seventeen stones in all, each in its own plain bezel, and the count is what makes it read as a piece of goldsmithing rather than a single-stone ring.
Between the stones the silver is oxidised almost black. That is a deliberate choice and it is what makes the blue carry: against bright polished silver the same stones would look washed out, and against a dark ground they read as saturated.
The stones are Sleeping Beauty and Kingman turquoise, the clean bright blues rather than the heavily webbed material. At 28 mm across, the face covers most of the width of a finger.
Federico Jimenez is an Oaxacan designer of Mixtec (Nuu Savi) heritage who moved to Los Angeles in 1967 and began making jewelry in the 1970s. His work is bold and sculptural, drawing on pre-Columbian Mixtec goldwork, Mexican colonial silver and Southwestern design at once. He has curated for the UCLA Museum of Cultural History and the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, his work has been shown at Mexico's National Museum of Anthropology, and his memoir was published by the University of Arizona Press in 2021. This piece is stamped FJ and Sterling on the back.
Styling
The band is adjustable, so it starts at a US 6.75 and opens from there. Ease it wider with gentle even pressure rather than forcing one side, and adjust as few times as you can. Worn alone on an otherwise bare hand, since the face covers most of a finger's width.
Condition
Excellent. Newly made and unworn, with the deep oxidised finish the maker applies to the stamped recesses.
Please review all photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the description.
This listing is for one ring only.
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