<h1>The Cultural Heritage</h1>
The business philosophy of pepita-de-Oro is to capture the mysterious and fascinating charm that advanced civilizations in Latin America such as the Inca, Maya and Aztecs - to name only the most famous - exert on us, and to immortalize in the timeless elegance of individually and skilfully hand-crafted, pieces of jewelry.<br>
Thinking of Perú, for example, probably pictures from the Inca Empire occur to us first of all. Who has not yet been fascinated by the gorgeous sight of the fabulous Macchu Picchu? And deservedly so, on the one hand because the Inca culture is regarded as the last great one among the many advanced civilizations of the Andes, which achieved outstanding edificial and artistic works as well as a high level in metal processing. On the other hand, the heyday of Inca culture would not have been possible without the rich tradition of previous advanced civilizations like the Chavin, Paracas, Huari, Mochica, Nazca and Chimú. When in the 16th century the Spanish conquerors’ visions of wealth came finally true in the form of gigantic quantities of gold, silver and gems, they were not interested in the artistic design and value of the pieces of jewelry found, they simply melted them down for the purpose of easier transportation.<br>
Until today, there is not any clear-cut image of the cultures and the ways of life of these people. Lacking written traditions as well as purely subjective records of the conquerors complicate research, which must rely on legacies like constructions, pictures and grave findings like metallurgic objects, textiles and artistic pottery as witnesses of their way of life.<br>
One thing is obvious: according to scientific discoveries metal processing represented a crucial impetus for the development of these civilizations. They cast, alloyed, colored metals like gold, silver, copper and tin masterfully turning them into extremely impressive articles of daily use and luxury goods. The property of such goods was an expression of the social, political, and religious position of the individual.