Antique Moonstone Encrusted Silver Jewelry Vanity Odds & Ends or Trinkets Box

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Antique Moonstone Encrusted Silver Jewelry Vanity Odds & Ends or Trinkets Box:
$585.00

This box was purchased in Mexico over sixty years ago, but I cannot tell you whether it was made there or somewhere else.
It is made out of silver and encrusted or bedecked on five of its six sides with rows and rows of gorgeous moonstones. If I have counted correctly, there are 83 moonstones in total. All of them have lovely gray and white undertones. A few have blue shine.
The height and shapes of the moonstones differ one from another, giving this lovely little box a very hand hewn feel. Indeed, that might be what I love most about it. There is clearly a geometry to the way in which the moonstones have been laid out on the five box sides to which they have been attached. On the other hand, there is also an anarchic look to the moonstones\' arrangement. It is as though the lines or columns of moonstones form mountain ranges, in which each of the mountains is a different size and height and faces a different direction. If you look closely, you can see this abstract and irregular topography to the box in each of the photographs. It is probably most readily apparent, however, in the 5th, 7th and 9th photos.
In addition to the moonstones, the artisan has placed little silver caviar beads between the stones. He also added a little hand fashioned silverlip on the front of the box\'s lid. The box opens and closes easily. There is no lock, however, and no click-mechanism. Please remember that it was handmade, not machine made.
There is a little handwritten label on the bottom confirming that the gemstones on the box are \"Moonstones.\" The label is original to the box and has been on it since it was first purchased.There are no hallmarks on the box and it is not signed. If indeed it was made in Mexico, that suggests that it was made prior to 1948, when the Mexican eagle mark identification system was instituted.
Approximate Measurements:
Width of box: 4 1/4 inches
Height of box: 1 3/4 inches
Depth of box: 3 1/4 inches