William Spratling designed his brooch as a stylized spiral conch shell. Spratling was an American-born jewelry designer and a champion of Mexican silversmithing in Taxco, a mining town southwest of Mexico City. He founded a small store that hired and trained silversmiths to produce his designs, which were inspired by the Indigenous art of Mexico. Following their apprenticeships, Taxco artisans both worked for Spratling and established their own businesses.