Wear a Margarito Melchor Cat

Our first collaboration in this new venture of wearables has been made possible through the kind participation of Margarito Melchor Fuentes. His cat carvings, which go back decades, together with the unique painting by his first wife, Margarita Perez Ruiz, represent one of the most identifiable contributions to Oaxacan Woodcarving and are an apt choice.

The technique of cloisonné enamelling requires a closed area that can then be filled with enamel. This means that each colour is surrounded by a metal border that is finally plated in 24K gold or silver nickel. This is fundamentally different to painting the woodcarvings.

So when Margarito chose the cat carving for this brooch, there was careful consideration of how it would wear and how the design details should be adapted for this miniaturisation. Several solutions were developed, and some will hopefully be produced in the future, along with different colour possibilities for the current design. While it is impossible to miniaturise the painting of woodcarvings because of the wall of metal between the coloured areas, we have been able to retain some of the detail. For example, the green pupils of the cat's eyes are only 0.75 mm in diameter.