According to a 2010 Nielson study 87% of Jewelry retailers reported an increase in Silver Jewelry sales and reported silver accounted for 36% of all jewelry sales. Even more important,
97% of Jewelers surveyed believed the silver boom will continue for years.
Gold had always been historically popular for jewelry and accessories, is also expensive. The value of gold has increased at amazing pace. In 2001 an ounce of gold was about $300. Today in October of 2011 it’s about $1650. That’s an increase of over 5 times. With gold prices at such a premium, it places many items far outside the common budget.
Silver is also popular for many of the same items, but has always been considered somewhat less desirable and (dare I say it), cheap. From 2001 until 2005 the average price of silver never rose above $10. From 2006 to 2007 it crept up to $14 and from 2008 through 2009 the trend continued with values as high as $18. In 2010 through 2011 we’ve seen silver values skyrocket to over $35 an ounce. The value of silver, once flat for decades, has tripled in the last ten years.
You might think if the price of a piece of ‘inexpensive’ jewelry began to increase, you might think (in these tough times), sales would decrease. Not so, in fact exactly the opposite had happened.
We don’t usually see increasing prices and increasing sales at the same time. It’s usually the other way around. You might think that people are gravitating toward silver because same products in gold are now out of their budget. Although that may be true, I don’t think that explains all of it.
The phenomenal increase in the value of silver has also changed the public’s impression of silver. Silver jewelry and accessories, once thought of as something cheap, have now been elevated to something desirable and valuable.
Since as consumers, we all want products that are desirable and valuable, we now see silver in a new light – and that light is bright!
To see the latest trends in silver jewelry and accessories visit idyouco.com. When you purchase a gift for yourself or others from ID You & Co., you are giving the gift that gives again. 10% of all sales are donated to charity. For more information go to idyouco.com
By,
Alan Schiff for ID You & Co.