An original AB Design featuring Mexican fire opals — Photo courtesy of AB Designs

Los Cabos has no shortage of jewelry stores. There are so many shops specializing in Taxco mined silver and Mexican Lindo style adornments that you can scarcely walk a block in downtown Cabo San Lucas without passing at least one. Despite this surfeit of stores, however, hand-crafted, custom-made jewelry is actually something of a rarity here. Most local jewelers source their wares from the mainland. AB Designs is one of the few producing original creations.

Although originally from Mazatlan, Angel Barrera and his family have been making jewelry in Cabo San Lucas for nearly 15 years, using a technique called lost-wax casting. This process, also called investment casting, dates back thousands of years and is a time-honored way of creating original jewelry and sculpture. Barrera's collection primarily consists of gold and silver rings, earrings, pendants and necklaces, with most pieces featuring settings of fire opal, chryssocola or factory tanzanite.

Angel Barrera specializes in hand-crafted jewelry using lost-wax casting — Photo courtesy of AB Designs

AB Designs is located on Miguel Hidalgo, half a block from the town square, Plaza Amelia Wilkes. The custom creations are on display in the gallery next door to Barrera's workshop. AB Designs welcomes ideas from clients, and because Barrera specializes in express work, custom-made jewelry can sometimes be completed in as little as 24 hours. Matching pieces for destination wedding parties and other large groups requires a bit more turnaround time. AB Designs also provides cleaning and authentication services.