Nina Runsdorf hadn’t worked with silver since her teens, but last year, she launched Archive, a silver collection with designs rooted early in her career. “I found myself wearing bolder, more sculptural shapes, and I kept going back to those original samples,” says the New York-based jeweler. “That sparked the idea to reexplore the material.”
Archive has strong cross-generational appeal and has garnered an “incredibly positive” response, she confirms. It is also accessibly priced at $375 to $1,500, although her decision to introduce it, she stresses, stemmed not so much from the soaring price of gold as from “a desire to bring those [early] silhouettes back to life.”
Runsdorf is not alone in reintroducing sterling silver into her range for aesthetic and, in hindsight, commercial reasons. The addition of silver to UK-based brand Annoushka’s Knuckle collection last autumn marked the first time founder Annoushka Ducas had designed in that metal since she sold her Links of London jewelry business 20 years ago.
“Returning to silver now feels both nostalgic and energizing and marks a full-circle moment for me,” she muses. “I started looking at a silver collection to broaden our audience and speak to new clients — then gold prices started soaring!”
Knuckle in silver ranges from $515 for a ring to $3,300 for a chunky chain necklace. While Ducas doesn’t want to speak on behalf of her clients, “it’s great for me to be able to offer one of my favorite collections at a lower price.”
Bold choices
The cost of gold has been sounding alarm bells in jewelry circles since the price started rising last spring, reaching a three-year high of $5,624 per ounce at the end of January after staying under $2,000 for a long time. Sterling silver peaked at $120 per ounce at the same time, yet both slipped slightly as the dollar rallied at the beginning of March.
In the past few months, new silver collections have been appearing in the repertoires of several American brands. Spinelli Kilcollin is returning to it with the company’s .925 collection, although silver has long influenced the brand: Its very first piece was a linked ring — now a signature design — in sterling silver.
The white metal works beautifully in designs that have a clean, modern aesthetic appealing to a younger market. This is giving designers more opportunities to explore the material creatively.
“Silver has a timeless, classic quality as well as a storied history,” says Elizabeth Hooper O’Mahony of Elizabeth Hooper Studio in Dallas, Texas. “There is a beautiful subtlety to silver that you don’t get with gold, and there is a dimensionality to the metal that I find appealing.”
She, too, has noticed that silver has become more popular because of the “insane” gold prices, but points out that “historically silver and gold rise and fall together; the price of silver has gone up significantly.” Consequently, she is experimenting with mixed metals, a trend she has seen rise in popularity. “I make big, bold, sculptural pieces that can read too ‘loud’ in gold, which is another reason I like to use silver. It is casual and wearable, yet chic and elevated.”
Combining gold with silver is a signature for Wyld Box, a young brand that jeweler Rosanna Fiedler founded in Miami, Florida. Gold prices “accelerated” the moment she brought silver into her collection, although she has always been a fan of the latter’s “bold, almost rebellious energy.” Teaming sterling silver with 18-karat gold in her Doppia Luna collection “has allowed me to keep certain pieces more accessible, and that balance has been a huge advantage,” she says. “Retailers love that the collection feels elevated and luxurious but still hits a range of price points. It makes the line dynamic, easier to merchandise, and more enticing for a broader audience.”
One of the larger retailers tapping into this trend is Zales, which introduced silver into its Zales Essentials collection last spring and has “seen customers respond positively to it,” according to company president Kecia Caffie. Silver is building momentum with customers to such an extent that “we are expanding Zales Essentials’ silver assortment in spring 2026 to include gold-plated silver products.” The retailer is witnessing meaningful growth in this category for men as well.
As the cost of gold is unlikely to drop in a hurry, the experience of these brands and retailers indicates that now is the time to consider silver — a metal that not only offers a price advantage, but looks cool to boot.
Main image: Annoushka Knuckle bracelet in sterling silver. (Annoushka)