Carlos Diaz Silversmith

Crafting Art in Precious Metals

by Diane Dittemore

To say that jewelry artist Carlos Diaz is a Tucson institution is an understatement. Over the last sixty years plus, generations of clients have purchased silver and gold products of Carlos Diaz’s workbench, from wedding rings and modernist necklaces to royalty crowns, communion chalices and even a church tabernacle.

Carlos Diaz celebrated his 97th birthday in April 2024, and still comes daily to his shop on North Campbell Avenue in Tucson. Having given up jewelry making in 2023, Diaz as paterfamilias watches with pride as his descendants carry on the family business, Carlos Diaz Silversmiths, which he opened in 1958.

Carlos Diaz Naturalization Portrait, 1965 Carlos Diaz Silversmiths Collection

Carlos Diaz was born in Bogota, Colombia, on April 14, 1927. An orphan, he was raised by his grandparents. His grandfather, he recalls fondly, taught him to read, write and do mathematics. Diaz was introduced to silver work by his uncle Eutemio Urrego who was a craftsman for Plata Martillada de Gutierrez Vega, a workshop that specialized in high-end repoussé and chased silver hollow ware. Diaz apprenticed with his uncle at this factory, and then later for Gastón Avenel, a French smith whom the factory owner Eduardo Gutierrez employed. “Of course I loved to work with him,” Diaz remembers. “He was really talented at repoussé work and I learned a lot.”

Upon Avenel’s suggestion, at age 17 Diaz attended night art school in Bogota, where he studied life drawing and other techniques. His days were spent working in the plata martillada factory.

On a contract arranged by the shop owner, Diaz went to work in Quito, Ecuador in 1951. He was accompanied by an American worker from the factory named James Madson. Neither of the men was happy with the situation in Quito, and Madson convinced Diaz to accompany him to New York City, where Madson promised to find work for the two of them, using photos of Diaz’s work by way of introduction. Arriving separately in Miami on the way to New York, Diaz had a shock. “I was supposed to meet Jimmie at the airport and when I got off the plane, there was no Jimmie!” Eventually the two connected, but not before Madson had abruptly changed his plans. Instead of New York City, he had set his sights on coming to Tucson. Diaz recalls protesting, “Why would I want to go to Mexico? I want to stay in the United States.”

Carlos Diaz crafting City of Tucson seal, May 10, 1972. The seal was commissioned as a gift to Tucson’s sister city, Guadalajara, Jalisco. Tucson Daily Citizen Photo By Manuel Miera, Courtesy Arizona Daily Star Archive

“We drove from Miami to Tucson in 1953, hauling a trailer. Madson’s family was with us. When we first arrived, I was not impressed with Tucson! I saw no greenery, no fruit trees, only cactus! But after a while, Tucson grew on me. We lived in trailers at a park in South Tucson.”

“One day I was downtown and noticed a store, Thunderbird Shop, across the street from the National Bank, the. I went in and spoke to the owner Frank Patania, Sr. I asked about being hired as a silversmith. He then gave me a 6×12 sheet of silver and instructed me to make something with it. I returned with two repoussé decorated boxes, using the tools I had brought with me. He described my work as ‘nice,’ but I didn’t fully grasp the meaning at first. Once he clarified, I was offered a job. So, I began to work making repoussé and chased silver boxes. The first Christmas, Frank gave me a bonus of $10 and I was thrilled.”

Frank Patania, Jr., remembers when Diaz came seeking work. “I don’t know how he had learned about the Thunderbird Shop. He was very personable, spoke Spanish and I thought I could serve as a translator, but Dad had understood enough to know why Carlos came in. Carlos had brought some of his work and Dad was quite impressed. His work mostly was done by the repoussé technique, a technique we didn’t usually use, but it showed that Carlos was a very fine craftsman, and Dad hired him on the spot.” Over the years Frank has stopped by occasionally to visit Carlos. “We are always happy to catch up with each other’s doings.” Working for Frank Patania introduced Diaz to a modern vocabulary of silversmithing, where innovative concepts, materials, and traditions became integral to his craft.

Carlos Diaz Modernist Silver Concho Belt, c.1965 Hallmark “Handmade Carlos Diaz” Photo by GM Vargas for Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation

While working at the Thunderbird Shop, Diaz also had a night job, as a busboy at the Flamingo Hotel on Miracle Mile. “They loved me there,” Diaz recalls. Diaz continued working for Patania at the Thunderbird Shop until he was able to strike out on his own. In 1956 he rented space inside the Olsen Dairy Market. Two years later, Diaz moved into a shop he had built by himself at 708 West Grant.

The Native American jewelry traditions of the Southwest influenced Diaz, helping shape his artistic vision with these forms and materials becoming hallmarks of his own unique style. Carlos escaped Tucson’s slow summers and worked along with his friend Elias Martinez demonstrating and selling jewelry at Miller Curio in Estes Park, Colorado. The current owner Toni Miller recalls, “In the 1960s, Carlos and Elias demonstrated at my parent’s store after a Navajo jeweler who had worked for us, Tom Bahe, had left. My parents were delighted to have them. The two demonstrated in the window, facing outward. The customers were thrilled.” Elias’s work was based on traditional Navajo styles, while Carlos’ style was more fluid. You could never confuse Carlos’s work with Navajo jewelry.

Diaz traveled to Europe, where he visited Copenhagen and met the renowned Danish silversmith Georg Arthur Jensen, founder of Georg Jensen A/S. Jensen’s work strongly resonated with Diaz, complementing the modernist design language he had developed under Frank Patania. This encounter had a lasting influence on Diaz’s artistry, which he brought back to Tucson, further enriching his craft.

Carlos Diaz at the counter of his 728 W. Grant Road Store, May 10, 1972 Tucson Daily Citizen Photo By Manuel Miera, Courtesy Arizona Daily Star Archive
Carlos Diaz at the counter of his 728 W. Grant Road Store, May 10, 1972 Tucson Daily Citizen Photo By Manuel Miera, Courtesy Arizona Daily Star Archive

In 1982, Carlos Diaz Silversmiths relocated to its current location on Campbell Avenue. After his move to this new location, instead of heading to Colorado in the summers, Diaz frequently sold his jewelry at dude ranches in the Tucson area, including the Tanque Verde Guest Ranch and Wild Horse Ranch.

Carlos Diaz, Gold Mesoamerican figure brooch Carlos Diaz Silversmiths Collection, Photo by Max Mijn, Courtesy Arizona State Museum, The University of Arizona
Carlos Diaz Silver Necklace Tucson Daily Citizen photo by Yoni Pozner 8/5/1995, Courtesy Arizona Daily Star Archive
Carlos Diaz Silver and Turquoise Pin Carlos Diaz Silversmiths Collection, Photo by Max Mijn, Courtesy Arizona State Museum, the University of Arizona
Carlos Diaz, Silver Necklace Carlos Diaz Silversmiths Collection, Photo by Max Mijn, Courtesy Arizona State Museum, The University of Arizona

“It was 1987,” Carlos recalls. “I was in the shop and these two people came in. I waited on them, having no idea who they were at first. The woman, who seemed so down-to-earth, was looking for a gift for one of her friends, and she ordered a silver cigarette case.” It was Elizabeth Taylor, and her companion was George Hamilton. They were in town shooting the movie, Poker Alice, at Old Tucson. The gift was for her co-star Tom Skerritt. Taylor also apparently admired their display of Mexican jewelry from Taxco. “I was amazed when she bought up all the jewelry I had in that case! I had never sold so much jewelry at one time,” Carlos recalls.

“A Hollywood director named J. Watson Webb steered all sorts of stars to my shop. I sold to Ann Margaret, Lee Marvin, Robert Wagner, and many others. Through the years we started to have all these important people come in, order things, and send payment after receiving them. I was amazed!”

Carmen and Carlos Diaz, Elizabeth Taylor and George Hamilton, 1987 Carlos Diaz Silversmiths Collection

In addition to his commercial work that captured Hollywood’s attention, another notable aspect of his portfolio was ecclesiastical commissions. These significant pieces adorned religious leaders and altars, becoming integral to sacred spaces. Today, a portrait on the front wall of the shop is Episcopal Bishop of Arizona, Jennifer Reddall, wearing a Diaz silver and turquoise cross. To the right of the entrance hangs a portrait of former Tucson Catholic Bishop Moreno; his official ring and cross were another Diaz commission. Major commissions include an elaborate repoussé tabernacle for St. Philips in the Hills Episcopal Church, and communion chalices adorned with Mediterranean coral and Bisbee turquoise, for Grace Episcopal Church. “I have through the years made crosses, Stars of David, and other religious jewelry and silver pieces,” Diaz noted.

When asked what work he is most proud of creating throughout his career, Carlos Dias points to a sterling repoussé chalice with the images of four saints made for a special member of the Carmelitas Descalzos in [date], that now resides in an art museum in Valencia, Spain.

Chalices for Tucson’s Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, late 1960s Photo by GM Vargas for Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation
Carlos Diaz, Sacramental Cup and Plate, c.1985 Carlos Diaz Silversmiths Collection

The Diaz jewelry business has always been a family affair. Neptali Galarza, the brother of Diaz’s first wife, apprenticed with him in Tucson, and one of his three daughters from that marriage also followed in his footsteps. Carmen, his beloved wife, whom he met in 1983 at the Club España de Tucson, became an integral part of the store, assisting with customers and handling the office. Today, Carmen’s two children, Maria Creighton and Antonio Baker, carry on the shop’s operations. Maria, who started out working in silver, is now the manager, while Antonio is a silversmith. “I learned everything from Carlos,” Antonio proudly says, having worked alongside his stepfather since the age of seventeen. Maria’s son, Enrique Creighton, has also become a jewelry artist, learning from and being inspired by his grandfather’s work as he continues to develop his own designs.

Saint Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church Silver Tabernacle Illustration By Warren Edminster, Carlos Diaz Silversmiths Collection
Saint Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church, Silver Tabernacle Photo by GM Vargas for Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation
Saint Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church, Silver Tabernacle Photo by GM Vargas for Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation

In a 1987 Tucson Citizen newspaper profile, writer Tim McIntire wrote: “Some might call Carlos Diaz an alchemist. He converts common dreams into gold and silver objects which many Tucsonans find enchanting. But Diaz, 59, believes the real enchantment comes from good design and traditional craftsmanship.”

These two elements, good design and craftsmanship, continue to be hallmarks of Carlos Diaz Silversmiths creations. Diaz cites many influences on the style of jewelry and other silver and gold works he has created over the last six decades. He brought to Tucson his strong background in repoussé and chasing learned in Colombia and Ecuador, home to metalworking traditions that extend back thousands of years.

“Working at the Thunderbird Shop introduced me to Patania’s beautiful jewelry designs. I was inspired by Native American silversmiths who worked with the Patanias, and Ron Henry, a Navajo jewelry artist friend in Tucson. Elias Martinez, a Mexican artisan from Scottsdale, taught me to cut turquoise, a stone I came to love working with. We became best friends, like brothers, he recalls wistfully. Everywhere I traveled, in Europe, South America, and other parts of the world, I drew inspiration from the jewelry I encountered. I also listened to my customers when they would commission special pieces.” Diaz has drawn from these varied sources throughout the decades, and passed along his passion for creating beautiful works to his descendants.

You can visit Carlos Diaz Silversmith online or in person at 2815 N. Campbell in Tucson.

Diaz Family, 2024 Photo by Max Mijn, Courtesy Arizona State Museum, The University of Arizona
Carlos Diaz, 2024 Photo by Max Mijn, Courtesy Arizona State Museum, The University of Arizona

Carlos Diaz Hallmark

Carlos Diaz Silversmiths stamped their work “Carlos Diaz” from 1958 to 1982. They then switched to “By Carlos Diaz,” which is still in use today. The word “Handmade” was at times added as well.