Plata NM, poured in Albuquerque
Steve Ballejos casts silver and gold from a mold he made. One of one, plus 925 chains. We’re proud to have the shop on the page.
Duke City Live · October 18, 2026 · 3 min read
Steve Ballejos makes Plata NM in Albuquerque. The name is the shop. The work is silver and gold, poured here.
He makes the mold. He casts that mold in investment plaster. Then he pours the silver or the gold into what the plaster gives him. Break it out. Clean it. Finish it. That is how a cast piece gets made. Some pieces snarl. Some stay quiet. They start the same way.
I make everything from scratch.
On the bench: an oso, a lobo, a Guadalupe, a toro. One of one. Beside the casts, the case carries 925 sterling chains — Cuban, rope, Franco, box, Figaro — and rings and pendants set with cubic zirconia and moissanite. A cross. Praying hands. A skull. Something for the neck and something for the hand. He carries something for everyone.
He said it plain. There is something about working with silver and gold that leaves him fulfilled. He is trying to make a name. Plata NM is the name. The shop is platanm.net.
Plata NM sponsors this magazine. We’re proud of it.
