Collections

Filigree is a beloved metalwork technique that probably originated with the ancient Greeks in the 5th Century. Silver seems to have been the favorite metal for filigree, as early as then, silver being more pliable than gold.

Essentially, filigree is a way of splitting silver wire into the thinnest possible strands — and then, within a thicker, studier silver frame, arranging the finer strands into pleasing arrangments.

Filigree was brought to Spain & Portugal by Arabs in in the 8th Century, and then to the Philippines by the Spanish in the late 1500’s, in the form of religious jewelry. In Baguio, where our production takes place, filigree was practised strongly by the workshops of the Beligian nuns at St. Louis University. It is from their training of generations of silversmiths that Baguio developed a deep capacity for silversmithing, and especially filigree.

The craze for filigree in the Philippines originated in the 1950’s and peaked at the end of the 1980’s. Today, the few existing filigree mastercraftsmen are old, but happy to find work.

We are lucky to be working with two that are masters of two techniques that especially fascinate us: “spider coil” & “double-coil”. Double Coil is achieved by spinning pure 1000/1000 silver closer than a spider web, creating a metal field with gossamer translucency. Our filigree collection is based upon contemporizing these two ancient techniques.

Murano glass, white sapphires, & handpainted pearls—these are a few of our favorite things. Filigree, glassblowing, & hand-painting are not new techniques, certainly — but our simplifed shapes, modern composition, & striking juxatpositions of precious metals with stones — these bring them into relevance for today.

Cordillera

Basket-weaving, wood-carving, silver & gold-panning & smithing, tatooing, weaving textile on a loom: these are deep traditions among the Filipino Cordillera mountain tribes. The jewelry in this collection pays homage to these inspiring practices. In the case of our Cordillera Bracelet, this kind of bracelet is typically woven from plant materials, such as water-bamboo or rattan.

Loving this folk form, we re-imagined it in gold and silver, yet endeavored to keep the pliability of the original plant version. Hand-woven as a tube that winds around & terminates in a hammered toggle on on end, and two slim straps on the other end, 18 Karat gold or 925 sterling silver are milled, then cut into strips, and then woven by hand as if they were still the original water bamboo. This is actually basket-weaving technique transposed into precious metals.

Custom-made, we create the gold version in 18 Karat Yellow, Red, & Pink Gold.

Tourmilated Quartz & Vermeil Sterling Silver. The Big "O" Series is based on the primordial geometry of the circle, juxtaposed against the linearity of emerald-cut gemstones. Here a large, emerald-cut Tourmilated Quartz suspends our Big "O" via an infinity "lemniscate" symbol.

Earrings

Excavated Gold

Furniture

Contemporary Furniture Crafted from Beautiful Philippine Hardwoods.

Isabel Stars

THE ISABEL STAR

The artisinal Caro Wilson Isabel Parol is made by hand for us in Bicol, in two
of our favorite sustainable materials, bamboo & abaca twine.

The twine is woven onto the bamboo frame in a semi-wet state & requires
7 days of sun-drying. The bamboo is treated against wood-borers & should
provide years of enjoyment with reasonable care.

These stars are capable of outdoor use.

To store, fold the tails on the top of the stars.

Janet Stars

Lighting

Signature Lighting Designs finely Crafted from Extraordinary Materials

Lizzie Stars

The modest, sustainable materials of bamboo & abaca are at the heart of our third Holiday Collection.

Seemingly fragile, but actually amazingly strong, abaca — woven as sinamay or gumon — is used to expose the structural bamboo frame. In a reference to embroidery, at the five crossing-points of the star, abaca twine lashes the bamboo together, forming crosses, alluding to the destiny of the holy child.

To store, fold the tails onto the face of the star. If the sinamay gets crumpled, use a warm iron with a clean T-shirt on top to flatten it.

Loly Star

2024 Collection "Loly Star" which introduce Raffia material to our traditional palette of Bamboo & Abaca

Mariquit

"Mariquit" is a Tagalog word that combines the concept of beautiful with delightful & charming. Our reworking of 19th Century Creolla earrings does just that.

We purchased a collection of 19th Century “Creolla” earrings in silver. Made in Ilocos, a center of jewelry making from the 1500s, the workmanship on these earrings is extraordinarily fine.

These were very fashionable in their time, until the outbreak of World War II. After the war, women put aside the things of the past, instead favoring jewelry that reflected the optimism of peace & looked towards the future. Today, the past is again fascinating & relevant, partially because the masterful hand skills that made these Creollas no longer exists, making these artifacts not just exquisite, but rare.

Originally these Creollas would have been fastened onto the ear by opening & closing the clasp, with the earrings’ orientation perpendicular to the jawline. We modernized the mounting by closing the clasp, using it as the balance for an S hook.

The juxtaposition of 19th Century craft with stones such as Star Ruby, Tourmilated Quartz, Lapiz Lazuli, Amethyst, and Pearls, gives new life & fresh style to an classic standard.

Mini Stars

The Mini Stars take our collection to a delightful, smaller scale, to juxatopose with our larger stars. The Minis measure 7 inches from point to point.

The Isabel Stars are about texture & boldness. We have 4 Mini Isabels: Christmas Red, Christmas Green, Bleached, & Baby Blue. Dimensions are: 7" x 7" from tip to tip of star, with a 22 inch overall height from tip of star to bottom of tail.

The Lizzie Stars are about transparency & color harmonies, and we have 8 Mini Lizzies, in various colorations of bamboo & abaca gumon/sinamay, as shown on our website. Dimensions are: 7" x 7", with a 20 inch overall height from tip of star to bottom of tail.

Necklaces

Parols

Pinecones

Rings

Shells

Solid/Stripe

Talisman

Jewelry is so often associated with vanity or sensual pleasure; but one of jewelry's most significant reasons for being is spiritual. Forms depicting symbols of the divine bring us into the realm of connectedness or mindfulness of the world beyond the physical. They cloak the believer with protection, a constant reminder that our efforts are buttressed by powers beyond the material.

Our collection of Thai Buddhas and Filipino anting-antings is built around castings in sterling silver from orignal antiques. The originals are castings themselves, most often in brass. So we are continuing a long tradition.

The Caro Wilson Napkin Collection

Our collection celebrates the long tradition of Filipino hand-loomed cotton.
Our cotton is grown in the Philippines, usually in Ilocos & Iloilo, and we send
it to selected weavers in different parts in the country, for instance, Abra, Aklan
& Bacolod. The idea is to have a collection of textiles on your tabletop that
reflects local hand-weaving traditions.

Tote Bag

The Caro Wilson Billy Bag is a tote bag for the accoutrement of your busy life — groceries, or your gym paraphernalia, or for the beach when you need a carry-all for towels & wet things. (Yes, Billy can get wet.) A side pocket on the inside provides a safe space for your phone, keys, & wallet.

A truly sustainable carry-all tote, the Billy Bag is handmade in Bicol, of heavy-duty Abaca. You might be surprised at how much weight it can carry!

Trays

Masterful Craftsmanship of Extraordinary Materials elevates Folk Forms into Luxury Trays

COLLECTIONS

PAROLS

SHELLS

PINECONES