Good Morning, All. Buckle up! Silver is now trading at over $50 an ounce and headed higher. Looks like we’re all in for a wild ride!
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Well, I sure am glad I have a nice collection of jewelry that I really like. I kind of doubt that I’m gonna be buying much now. All of you artists have my deepest sympathy. I wish you the best in finding silver to work with.
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Yep. Silver has reached the point that most sterling is worth more in scrap than you could ever get selling it for. Time to start considering what to scrap and what is worth keeping. Not considering jewelry in this, just hollowware and flatware.
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Thank you @islandmomma .Finding silver isn’t actually a problem. The supply houses have plenty on hand. Ultimately, the question for artists, manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers is what are consumers willing to buy and pay for?
Having been here before, what I do know is there is going to be (and we are likely there already) a major shift in consumer behavior and big changes in the marketplace. What I want to know from buyers and collectors is how does this affect your outlook, and how do you think you’ll personally respond?
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If silver follows previous trends, it will crash back down to being manageable for craftspeople and consumers. It’s likely just a waiting game.
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Good question.
So, I had some 7mm bench beads in my cart from a particular seller that I needed in order to restring a squash blossom necklace that broke, and lost some bench beads. They were selling 100 for 107.00. Two days ago, I went back to purchase them, and they raised the price up to 131.00.
I walked away, not purchasing them. That was a ridiculous jump in price
If sellers all decide to follow suite, no sale from me.
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Santa Fe jewelers supply has 7mm for sale at $9.30 / pack of ten if you buy 10 packs.
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I’m in tune with @Islandmomma & @Phoenix7 in my outlook. I have more than enough jewelry to get me by. I’ll either stop buying right now altogether or be very, very selective when/if I do decide to make a purchase.
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I think the silver price will affect new jewelry prices more than vintage pieces.
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While it’s true that many so called “vintage sellers” are basically internet flippers with zero knowledge about the items they’re flipping, I disagree. If this trend continues their sources for low cost precious metals merchandise are going to dry up pretty quickly as opportunities to scrap entire inventories for quick turnaround become plentiful.
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That’s too bad such short sidedness. Quality jewelry is typically worth exponentially more than the metal value alone.
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Putting on my manufacturer’s hat for a moment, those relationships are rapidly changing. Not that long ago, sterling was five bucks and change, and gold around $400 an ounce at the local supply house, and it had pretty much remained that way for decades, (and this is when most of the jewelry currently on the market was made). Labor was a bit less than it is today, but not dramatically less. Now that gold is trading at $4,000 and silver at over $50, the cost and margin ratios are dramatically, and radically different than they were even as recently as a year ago.
What hasn’t changed is the basic equation of how much return a business (any business) has to generate from each dollar invested to keep the lights on and stay in business. On the supply side If materials values are increasing exponentially in relationship to labor and processing costs - by a factor 40% to 50% per year, while on the consumer side consumers are experiencing a net decrease in purchasing power of say 2 - 3% per year, the entire paradigm of cost/value relationships has at least for the foreseeable future, and possibly permanently, fundamentally changed. Unless there is a dramatic correction and soon, It’s hard to envision how many currently in the precious metals jewelry industry are going to survive.
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Thanks @StevesTrail ! I’ll go check them out.
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It’s crazy and i wonder where it will head to. Two things i’m starting to see more and more online are:
- folks mentioning that, when taking inflation into account, silver has a long way to go before reaching the peak from the 80s.
- jewelers mentioning that they are starting to consider using other metals in combination with silver, like copper or bronze.
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I thought the Hunt Brothers were dead? I pay for what I like and for the work that goes into it, so the raw material cost is secondary…I would understand if silversmiths have to raise their prices…better than cutting corners. Now, if I could talk my wife into selling her family set of Royal Danish…known as the “Garofalo Spite Silver”…it’s a long story.
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I read that banks were shorting silver and if it goes higher, they will have to cover. 
I like short squeezes when I am long. BUT..I don’t want to see any jewelers go out of business. No one is trusting their fiat currency.
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Interesting. I would have thought most of the short interest would have been squeezed out already, but looking at the near vertical increases maybe not. When you get right down to it, pretty much all modern currency is fiat currency. Aside from industrial value the same can be said for precious metals. Ultimately, anything is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
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I purchased 6.6 grams of 92%Au nuggets today for half of melt. Owner “needed” $ for gaming. I love it.
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Completely agree with you about the cost of running a business. My family had one for for nearly a century, and most people had no clue what was involved in keeping the doors open. I’m pretty sure the stress of it is what gave my dad his massive heart attack, and then the rest of us were very sad a few years later when we had to close, but that was better than going bankrupt. I’m saying this, because I completely understand when people have to raise their prices because of costs.
Anymore I generally only shop for Native American jewelry a couple times a year, and I save up for it. I will continue to do that. If I have to spend a little more and/or buy a little less I’m fine with that, but then I am buying strictly to wear, not to invest or resell.
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My husband said he still wants to hang on to the silver dollars that my dad left me. We’ll see 
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