When traveling Mexico you will discover that treasures are not always made of gold or diamonds. Treasures sometimes are also made of copper. And in the Mexican state of Michoacn you will understand why treasures are also made of this modest and noble metal.

Copper, the 29th element, is believed to have been mined for about 5000 years now, accompanying humanity and civilization through most of our history. In modern times copper is present mainly in the electrical and electronic industry. But that's not the only area of our modern lives where copper can be present. Since ancient times in Mexico, artisans have used copper as a valuable material to fabricate beautiful and intricate artisan pieces, among them there is one tradition of artisans that combine every day use and art in their precious pieces. They are dedicated to fabricate beautiful raw copper sinks in Santa Clara del Cobre.

The wonder of these sinks is that they are fabricated entirely by hand using the same ancient techniques of their indigenous ancestors. Even gas is forbidden to heat and soften the metal, they use only charcoal in small fires in the shops and helped by their inseparable hammer artisans give life and form to the copper plates placed into the fire. But the process won't finish there, after getting the desired shape of the plates, the sink surface has to be specially treated so that they will last and look like new for many years. For this purpose they use a process called "patination" which is done under heat and that gives the surface of the copper sinks its characteristic color and durability.

Many people may think that copper sinks are soft or fragile but that's not true. They are sturdy enough to substitute a regular, series made, stainless steel sink. Copper plates are sturdy enough that even bathtubs are fabricated entirely on copper. Thanks to the "patination" process they won't acquire a greenish color or get rusty with time and use.