The Price of Sterling Silver Has Gone a Bit Mad.....
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If you've noticed that some of my jewellery prices have changed recently, I wanted to explain why, openly and honestly.
Short version?
The price of sterling silver has gone a little bit insane.
And unfortunately, that affects anyone who works with solid precious metal.
What's actually happened?
Over the last few weeks, the cost of sterling silver silver wire has risen dramatically.
To give you a real example:
- In December, I bought sterling silver wire for around £200 for 100grams.
- Today, the same amount of wire costs more than double!
That's not a small increase, it's a Huge jump in the raw material I use to make every necklace.
Because my jewellery is made from solid sterling silver wire (not plated, not hollow and not always lightweight), the metal itself makes up a big part of the cost.
So when silver prices rise, the cost of making each piece rises too.
It seems to be following a pattern of spiking, stabilising, dropping, rising again and spiking again. For example
- 2011: huge spike
- 2013-2019: much lower
- 2020-2021: spike
- 2022-2023: drop
- 2024-2026: spike again (what we are seeing now)
So there's hope that prices may drop again, but with the rise of technology needing silver components, there is a much higher demand for silver than ever before, pair that with manufacturing costs to mix metals to make the sterling and then produce it as a wire....
Why not just absorb the cost?
I wish I could, truly.
But handmade jewellery isn't like mass produced jewellery.
Every piece I make is bent, shaped and finished by hand, using a significant amount of precious metal.
If I kept my prices the same while silver costs doubled, I'd eventually be selling pieces at a massive loss, which sadly isn't sustainable for a small independent maker.
I want to keep making my jewellery, not slowly price myself out of it.
What does this mean for my jewellery?
Some prices have increased, including all the sterling silver.
And I will no longer be offering fine silver (apart from to sell what wire I have in stock, look out for the limited edition category on the shop coming soon).
I've tried to keep changes as gentle and fair as possible, spending hours pouring over a very complicated spreadsheet to find the best price I can offer the sterling at. My aim is to always balance:
- The real cost of materials
- The time and skill involved
- and what feels reasonable and respectful to my customers.
A small silver lining
There is one positive side:
When you buy a piece of solid sterling jewellery, you're not just buying a design, you're buying a precious material that genuinely has value.
My necklaces are not mass produced or disposable. They're made to last and the metal itself is becoming increasingly valuable.
What does the future look like?
To be honest I'm not sure as far as making my jewellery in sterling silver goes!
For a small maker like myself, if the prices continue to rise as they are, it is going to become unsustainable for me to keep offering my jewellery in sterling. I will continue to make it in silver plate and copper, but it maybe time I started to make jewellery with different materials, which will be much more affordable for everyone to enjoy, so watch this space as I get my creative juices flowing....
Thank you
If you've supported my work, bought a piece, shared my jewellery, or simply followed along, thank you.
If you ever have questions about pricing, materials or how my jewellery is made, I'm always happy to explain. Transparency matters to me.
And if silver prices ever calm down again.... I promise I'll be just as happy as you are and will adjust accordingly.
Tammy