In 1985, having packed up his belongings and rolled the dice of fate, Joseph Mayer set out for the Great Klondike in Alaska in search of his fortune. There, he literally struck gold, and, funded by his findings, he established Joseph Mayer & Bros, Inc. in Seattle, Washington.

The company began rather humbly with the production of high-quality flatware, souvenir spoons, and wholesale jewelry. Within a relatively short time-span, however, Joseph Mayer & Bros., Inc. became a household name in the United States, assuming the mantle of one of the largest manufacturers of jewelry in the nation.

Over time, the company expanded its product line to include a wider array of jewelry; its employees’ utilizing their unique cultural heritages—Northwest Coast Native American and First Nations, Celtic, and Tahitian—to enhance the beauty and impact of the wares they produced. Though its name was eventually changed to Metal Arts Group, its artisans’ skills and dedication to quality craftsmanship remained unaffected.

In 2014, The TharpeRobbins Company (now Engage2Excel) bought Metal Arts Group. The manufacturing facility was relocated to Attleboro, Massachusetts. TharpeRobbins has, since its founding in 1892, been a prime producer of Olympic medals, military badges, World Trade Center 9/11 Medals of Honor and Heroism, and NASA medallions, to name a few.

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In 1915, Joseph Mayer & Bros, Inc. left its mark on its place of birth, building clock casings for the E. J. Towle Clock (also known as the West Earth Company Clock) in South Lake Union in Seattle, Washington. Done in the Beaux Arts Neoclassical style, the clock was later officially designated a City of Seattle landmark. In addition, as early as 1897, the year of its founding, Joseph Mayer’s company had been commissioned to design and build street cast-iron clocks for the city to be erected on the northeast corner of Dexter Avenue North and Harrison Street.

For over a century, the Metals Arts Group has produced an expansive and eclectic collection of prized jewelry and silver pieces. Some of the stylish wares that have sold in recent years include this vintage sterling silver Indian arrow cuff, this sterling silver Pacific Northwest Haida, this pair of Northwest Indian sterling silver wire drop earrings, this Northwest Coast sterling silver pendant brooch pin, this pair of Northwest stylized bear earrings, this Northwest Native Art stylized silver wolf bracelet, and this vintage sterling silver wide cuff bracelet.

Metal Arts Group has utilized the exceptional talents of a multitude of excellent silversmiths, which is why the collector seeking to sell or buy their products should note that certain pieces bear the maker’s mark of particular employees of the company.

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Identify your Metal Arts Group Marks.

Books and Periodicals

The Pacific Reporter, Volume 205, National Reporter System—State Series. St. Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing Co., 1922.

Web Resources

Metal Arts Group. “About Metal Arts.” Metalartsgroup.com.

“Summary for 400 DEXTER AVE / Parcel ID 1988201380 / Inv # 0.” Web6.seattle.gov.

Related Dictionary Pages: The Kalo Shop, Chicago, Illinois, Gusterman’s Silversmiths, Denver, Colorado, Hand & Hammer Silversmiths, Alexandria, Virginia.