Sharply Rising Silver Prices and What to Do About It
Picture Source AAARRRGGGHH!!! Was that you screaming when you reordered and found out what silver costs now? If it wasn't you, it might well soon be according to the silver price graph below. It's a huge jump of nearly 30% in the last month or so and it's still going up. The price of silver is now increasing at a rate faster than that of gold!
Last Friday, it was US$23.09 per ounce up from about $17-18. But some commodity analysts are predicting silver prices will hit US$100 either this year or next and US$250 by 2015. That is a staggering increase of over 1000%!
The situation comes as no surprise to those in the know. Back in 2007, Kevin Kerr (CBS Marketwatch) predicted, "Due to current supply/demand trends, the amount of silver above ground is projected to shrink to a critically low level in 2010. As supply shrinks, prices will keep rising steadily to new highs. Many in the investment world are unaware of this part of silver's story. Industrial demand has been outstripping mining supply for the past 15 years, driving above ground supply to historically low levels." The world had been relying on inventories and government stockpiles to get through the past 15 years but now they are exhausted.
It's like the issue we face with oil. We are not running out of oil just yet but we are now forced to get it from more difficult to reach sources. So it is with silver. Unless new mines are discovered, we are stuck with having to pay more.
Silver is not only used as money and for jewelry. It has many industrial uses. We need it for mirrors, medical devices, as catalysts in chemical reactions, in photovoltaic cells for solar-power technology, in rechargeable silver-zinc batteries, in household appliances and in high tech products such as cell phones and TVs. Many sharp investors will also be buying silver which will, in turn, fuel increases.
It's not looking good for jewelry artisans who work with silver.
WHAT TO DO
1. Raise your prices
If you sell jewelry, then prices will start having to go up according what you have to pay for the material. Otherwise, you won't be making any profit.
2. Buy in bulk
Whenever possible, buy in bulk whether or not you make jewelry for sale. If you work with a lot of silver, this makes sense.
3. Switch to alternatives
Some near silver colored metals include aluminum and stainless steel. Or you could use silver toned coated copper wire. For metal beads and charms, pewter or zinc might make more sense.
However, whether the buying public want alternatives is another matter. Some people will only go for sterling or fine silver jewelry. The question is, are they willing to pay higher prices in the future?
References
Global Resource Alert
Why the Silver Price is Set to Soar
More metal posts :
- Copper is not just for Jewelry
- There's Gold in Them Teeth
- Cadmium in Children's Jewelry from China is worse than lead
Original Post by THE BEADING GEM
Jewelry Making Tips - Jewelry Business Tips
Wow - I didn't realize that the prices had gone up so much. Glad I love copper. Turquoise is one of my favorite stones, which goes well with copper.
ReplyDeleteThese are the times I wish my customer base preferred other metals. It's so frustrating. Guess it's time to get creative. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm off work today...can you tell? I'm able to do what I WANT to do..visit my FAV blogs!!!
-Stephanie
That's one of the reasons I enjoy making refashioned and recycled jewelry--you are forced to work with what you have, rather like a giant metaphor for living within your means!!
ReplyDeleteAw gee, it made my day to know this is one of your fav blogs, Stephanie! Pearl
ReplyDeleteYes, the future is all about creativity with these kind of prices!
ReplyDeleteooo so I guess u heard me screaming.....
ReplyDeleteI was just about to order more head pins and realized that 1000 24g head pins went up by $20!!!
I haven't really decided what to do yet. I think I can withstand the cost now, but I may have to switch to alternative metals or just stop making jewelry.
Am I being green if I stop using silver?
Stopping making jewelry is rather drastic! I say there will be an adjustment period for both artisans and buyers alike.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you are going to be green if you stop either! There are plenty of non-green mining practices.
I know it's not used much up there, but here in my country (Argentina) there's a metal alloy that it's very widely used by artisans and some jewelers. It's called nickel silver, or German silver, or alpaca. It's an alloy of nickel, copper and zinc. It's harder than silver, but it's very workable and it's many, many times cheaper than silver. It's a bit darker than silver, but it has a very nice color.
ReplyDeleteGerman silver is available here. I think the reluctance to use it is due to the fact many people are allergic to the nickel component.
ReplyDeleteSilver plated materials is another alternative I forgot to mention.
Thanks for this info. I just started metalsmithing and didn't even think about the price of silver and the trend. I better get my bulk orders in now. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately with silver, when prices go up they never come down again. I'm sure the public would prefer jewelry made from precious metals but as you emphasized, the crux of the problem is "are they willing to pay for it"?
ReplyDeleteWonder if there is any silver on the Moon, if so it may become our next venue for mining.