Silver trends are all the rage right now in fashion magazines. Designers are blackening it, combining it with base metals (copper and brass) and even pairing it with diamonds!
Add a bit of silver to base metal designs and you can raise your price far over the value of the cost of goods difference in materials.
Although silver market price reached all time highs in 2011, the growth of silver sales is number one in the jewelry industry.
Here are a few interesting numbers:
- the high for 2008 was in March $20.92
- the high for 2009 was in December $19.18
- the high for 2010 was in December $30.70
- the high for 2011 so far was April $48.70
Each quarter of the year, the Nielson Global Consumer Confidence Survey reaches out to more than 50 countries throughout Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North America to gauge their economic outlook and confidence in the job market, status of their personal finances and readiness to spend. This February along with National Jeweler, they fielded a survey on 2010 sales results.
According to the survey, of over 340 retail jewelers representing approximately 4,000 stores, they found the following interesting facts:
- 87% of jewelry retailers said their silver jewelry sales increased in 2010
- 52% said their silver jewelry sales increased between 11 and 25%; 28% of those saw an increase over 25% for an average increase of 23%
- Retailers rated the following categories as giving them the ‘best’ maintained margin:
- silver jewelry 57%
- diamond jewelry 20%
- bridal jewelry 15%
- gold jewelry 4%
- platinum jewelry 4%
- silver jewelry generated an average 36% of unit volume and 28% of dollar volume
The best price points, with the greatest amount of sales in silver jewelry is the $100-500 (38%) and under $100 (55%).
97% of the jewelry retailers said that the current silver boom will continue for the next several years.
Michael DiRienzo, Silver Institute Executive Director stated, “Based on retailer feedback and the momentum behind silver jewelry, 2011 promises to be another sterling year for jewelers.”
Will you continue to create in silver?
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with the price of gold going sky high…. this is the perfect opportunity to let your passion out in silver… I have been holding back on my silver… but I’m looking forward to letting go … and working out my ideas… selling and loading up on silver while its still affordable… thanks for all your wonderful support and contributions
This article was great, and has inspired me to start using all the silver I have been hoarding and then get some more!! If you look at what the cost is compared to what you can get for that very nice piece of jewelry, Silver is the only way to go right now.
Thanks for all the information.
Pat
Another silver hoarder here! This article, however, may have been the final push I needed to finally relax my hold and start letting go…at least a little bit! Thank you for always providing such a wonderful combination of both business and inspirational articles!
I love silver and will always use it in my designs. I do like the look of mixed metals and have had some success with using them in my work. I actually think the upswing in the pricing has helped me to take the metal more seriously, and the clients seem to be responding in kind. Thank you for your articles, and for always having a positive attitude to share and nudge me along.
I love making pieces in silver. About 2 months ago I also let go of hoarding my silver and started to work on a new line. I am so glad I did. My customers like my new designs and are purchasing them before I can get them on the website.
Tonya thanks so much for everything you are doing for the community!
Your article reports that the “retail” stores are showing higher sales, people increasingly purchasing silver (over gold) which makes total sense. If they purchased gold last year, they are turning to silver. These “retail” stores are the ones we find in malls – not where I sell my products.
The smaller businesses and crafters are still struggling. In our area (NE), many of the bead stores and other small business have actually gone out of business. I’d love to hear more about the individual crafter’s experiences. How are you coping with decreased business – at brick and mortor sites, craft shows and online?
Thanks for the opportunity to comment and ask questions.
Thanks so much T for this informative bit!
Time to start hoarding silver now?
While I am encouraged by the article, I was even more encouraged by your words of wisdom in your newsletter today, Tonya, even if I haven’t felt a “trickle down” effect to my sales this year yet.
As Charna says, artisans are struggling here – at the market I do in the summer we are loosing vendors due to low sales. (I am in Victoria, Canada) On the plus side, the stuff I have on consignment is doing better this year and my own sales are a bit ahead of last year.
I will continue to work in silver, but am now exploring mixed metals more (and am quite excited by the possibilities).
So, I will be going for it…new possibilities, new challenges, new creations. So much fun.
Leona
Thanks for the info, Tonya! You’re always my “go to” person for great jewelry info and inspiration.
I am also a silver hoarder. I hoarded my silver when the price was much lower and I’m glad I did! The painful part is replenishing my stock. I’m in Michigan and our economy is worse that that of the rest of the nation. I’m presently trying to expand my internet presence, so that I might find customers who are out of my immediate area. Still looking for the right market!
It’s good to know that there are people who are still spending their hard earned dollars on quality sterling silver jewelry. It’s the medium I most enjoy working with!
Excellent points! Nice to know what the high was for the year. I am definitely using less silver for now — being more strategic about it. Oh! For my college days when silver was so cheap you didn’t even think about it!
Thanks so much Tonya for another great blog full of information that enlightens all of us. You are always there to support and assist and it is greatly appreciated!! Sally
Silver has always been my favourite metal and has, in my eyes, far outshone and out-sparkled every other metal including gold. In my role as consumer I still gravitate to a wonderful piece of jewelry crafted in silver despite the rising costs, and assume that customers will do the same for the pieces we create.
I have started to work in copper lately with silver as an accent to it. But in the stores where I have my silver creations I have experienced an increase in sales. Even for my higher end stuff. Go figure!
So Miss Tonya, you are spot on about what is happening. People still need to posses something of value and gold has just gotten too expensive so now they are turning to our beautiful silver creations..
I think there are still lots of people with money to spend. The trick is to get to them. I try to combine base metals and silver so that people can enjoy my jewelry without spending a fortune.