María Pérez

María Pérez

Maria has been a master jet artisan for 30 years. She started as a jeweler, but nowadays, working with jet is more important.

70´s

iain

Artisan

399

current,43.480178,-5.43423190753304;

Spain

María Pérez

TEXT

Maria has been a master jet artisan for 30 years. She started as a jeweler, but nowadays, working with jet is more important.

LAPONTE_PR_03

682

mariaperezazabache@hotmail.es

facebook,https://www.facebook.com/Azabache.maria.perez;instagram,https://www.instagram.com/maria.perez.azabache/;

605 01 27 70

fibre and textile crafts

Jet came into the artisan’s life by chance. She was starting out in jewelry making, and after settling in the village, Néstor Costales (the last master artisan of Argüeru) gave her a small raw jet stone. From that moment on, she began to get her hands dirty with it, and jewelry took a back seat. She taught herself how to work with the mineral, and after many years of practice, she has ended up teaching others

Yes, she conducts jet carving workshops in her museum-shop in Villanueva

Carmen Pérez Maestro

female

incomer

It is essential to recognize that the raw material is authentic Jurassic jet, understand its characteristics, and be familiar with the carving techniques.

She was born in the city of Gijón, but since 1997, she has been living in a small village with 15 inhabitants called La Madrera

She works with jet and silver.Sometimes she uses other gemstones to create her pieces.

full-time paid job

The jet is local, and the silver is foreign

The stone is fully utilized

She applies jewelry techniques to work with jet. Cutting, carving, and polishing are the processes followed to work the stone

She works with dental prosthetic tools, which operate with a micromotor, such as diamond discs and tungsten carbide burs

There is no special relationship with the tools. Although her favorite tools are the diamond disc and the thickest carbide bur.

Electricity

During the jet carving process, a very fine brown dust is generated. This is absorbed by small electric vacuum cleaners while working

Maria has a workshop in her house in the village, but she also has an educational space (in the form of a small museum), a learning area, and a shop in Villaviciosa

Unique jewelry pieces with precious metals, jet from Asturias, and other gemstones. Rings, pendants, necklaces, earrings, rosettes, bracelets, etc

For sale

In person at the store in Villaviciosa

Educational classroom-museum, workshops and jewelry for sale

It's not something that happens regularly, but there have been people who have brought her objects to repair

The people who attend the regular workshops are usually locals, while those who visit the educational classroom-museum are typically outsiders. People of all kinds purchase her jewelry

All the pieces that leave her shop come with a certificate stating that they are made with authentic Asturian Jurassic jet, handmade, and are unique pieces. However, it is not an official label, but rather one issued by the artisan herself.

The relationship she has with tourism is educational, as the place she has in the village houses an educational classroom-museum that is visited by both domestic and foreign tourists

"El azabache esta relacionado con el turismo por que es un bien cultural y es de la zona y la conjunción que hay en el local de Villaviciosa con tienda exposición y talleres de la asociación es lo que utilizamos para difundir y dar a conocer el azabache"

She is the president of the association 'Jurassic Jet of Villaviciosa,' which was founded in 2017 after serious disagreements with the jet artisan guild and in response to the uncontrolled invasion of foreign materials replacing genuine jet. The association is made up of artisans, geologists, gemologists, botanists, biologists, archaeologists, researchers, and others... in short, defenders of authentic jet and its cultural heritage. Their interest is investigative, educational, and informative. She collaborates with the University of Oviedo in their university extension courses

The challenges faced by this sector, from the lack of raw materials to the urgent need for training and greater institutional support.The high-quality Asturian jet, originating from Jurassic protopine trees and unique for its physical properties, is in a critical situation due to the scarcity of raw material. It has reached the point where artisans are forced to search through rubble piles since its extraction is not permitted. Another challenge facing the industry is the unfair competition from materials sold as jet, which in reality, are not. María Pérez insists that it is vital to differentiate authentic Asturian jet from lignite coming from Bulgaria or Argentina, which dominates the market. Lastly, there is the challenge of the continuity of the craft, as without raw material, it cannot continue

"La declaratoria de Bien de Interes Cultural (BIC) del azabache no es suficiente, hay que dar más pasos, determinar verdaderamente lo que es y no que no es (el verdadero azabache)".

http://www.azabachejurasico.com/ https://www.lne.es/villaviciosa/2025/01/15/cultura-azabache-joya-asturiana-lucha-113396508.html https://pegadosalatierra.elcomercio.es/maria-perez-maestra-azabachera-villaviciosa/