Which one is better to invest in silver jewelry or gold jewelry?

2021 has been a year littered with extreme events, including gold volatility. With gold prices skyrocketing to a record-breaking high of $2,067.15 per ounce in August 2020, more and more consumers have been purchasing platinum engagement rings and silver fine jewelry instead of the traditional gold jewelry alternatives. Even with gold’s current inflation, it is still the most popular choice for most jewelry buyers. But, as gold values remain at unprecedented levels, there is a big question on many people’s minds – is silver or gold a better investment?

As of today, silver is valued at $24.22 per ounce. This means silver is nearly 80X less expensive than gold, which is currently valued at $1,861.58 per ounce. So, when comparing these two precious metals, silver is without a doubt, more affordable. But to truly determine whether silver or gold is a better investment, we must compare these precious metals’ quality, longevity, and general characteristics.

Pros and Cons of Silver Jewelry

Silver is a naturally grey-white metal known for its stunning reflective surface, soft malleability, and outstanding conductivity. With all these characteristics, silver is the most versatile precious metal on earth. This incredible metal is used for electronics, mirrors, photography, antibacterial utensils and containers, medically like for teeth fillings and X-rays, and of course, silver is used in jewelry.

The obvious benefit of silver is its affordability, but silver’s most prestigious characteristic is the brilliantly bright, white appearance of the metal. When compared side-to-side, there is no doubt that silver is brighter than white gold. The shimmering light radiating from silver is how this precious metal got the title “sterling silver.” In modern day, sterling means “excellent and valuable,” but the earlier rendition of the word meant “like a little star.” And as anyone with sterling silver jewelry can contend, silver surely does shine like a star. the silver wrapping around the brilliant blue topaz gemstones looks like shooting stars bursting across the night’s sky.

Pure silver might be beautiful, but it is also very soft, making it easily dented and damaged. As a smarter and stronger alternative, the alloy known as sterling silver is used for most silver jewelry. The sterling silver alloy is made up of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals. If a jewelry manufacturer is legitimate, their sterling silver jewelry will be marked with some version of a “925,” indicating that their metal is in fact 92.5% silver, aka, true sterling silver. Red Nymph stamps its silver jewelry with a 925, so consumers can trust our brand. The addition of the alloys makes sterling silver almost as strong and scratch resistant as gold, while not ruining its hypoallergenic qualities, nor its bright white color. So, if you purchase sterling silver jewelry and care for it, that piece can easily last a lifetime and even get handed down for generations!

Disadvantages of Silver Jewelry

Unfortunately, even though sterling silver is more durable, the additional alloys make it more prone to tarnishing. This means that if you do not properly clean your sterling silver jewelry, over time, the once bright and shiny metal can develop a dark and dingy film. This tarnish is the result of the metals in the silver reacting to the oxygen, moisture, and chemicals in the air. So, even though all jewelry should be regularly cleaned, sterling silver jewelry requires a little extra attention. Your jewelry will also tarnish quicker if heavily exposed to everyday chemicals in makeup, lotions, perfumes, sweat, oils, and showers.

Tarnish might be unappealing, but it is nothing to freak out about. Firstly, tarnish does not corrode the metal like rust does. Tarnish is simply gunk that forms on top of the metal. Secondly, cleaning silver jewelry isn’t very difficult or expensive. For regular maintenance, purchase a silver polishing cloth and wipe-down your jewelry after each wear. Even though you should polish all the metal on your jewelry, focus on cleaning the parts of the jewelry that experience the most skin contact. the chain requires more polishing because those tiny links develop build-up quicker as they rub against your neck. Or, if your silver jewelry has a lot of build-up or features delicate diamonds and gemstones that could be knocked loose, take it to your local jeweler for a professional cleaning. Jewelers will make your sterling silver jewelry shimmer like the day you bought it!

Pros and Cons of Gold Jewelry

Gold is a very valuable vibrant yellow metal known for being the most malleable metal on Earth. Historians believe gold was one of the first metals truly utilized by man since it was easy to extract from the ground in the form of solid gold nuggets and it could be molded however they saw fit. Gold was most often used for artwork, currency, and most importantly, jewelry.

Even though 14K gold is made up of 41.7% alloy and 58.3% pure gold, it is resistant to tarnishing. Therefore, even though you should still clean your golden jewelry of natural build-up, it will not develop that dark film common to silver jewelry. Gold requires this higher ratio of alloys because it is the softest and most malleable metal on Earth. If jewelry was made with pure 24K gold, it would quickly lose its shape and become dented. Also, just like with silver, legitimate jewelry manufactures, So, 14K gold jewelry receives a “14K” stamp and 10K gold jewelry receives a “10K” stamp.

Since gold requires a higher percentage of alloys to make it strong and stable enough for jewelry, the metal can easily take on other colors. Gold is traditionally yellow, but its most popular color is white gold and its trendiest color is rose gold. White gold is created by mixing yellow gold with white alloys, creating a light cream-colored metal. For the final touch of bright whiteness, rhodium plating is added, just like with silver jewelry. This rhodium plating makes white gold the most durable of all three gold colors. On the other hand, rose gold is created by mixing yellow gold with more copper-colored metals and a touch of white, creating that signature pink tone to the once vibrant yellow metal. Rose gold is very fashion-forward, perfect for creating statement jewelry.

Offering a diversity of gold colors is a major benefit in the modern jewelry market since individuality and personalization are more important than ever to consumers. Additionally, each gold color flatters different skin tones and fashion styles better. With more options, consumers are generally happier with their final gold jewelry purchases.

Disadvantages of Gold Jewelry

The obvious disadvantage of gold right now is that the metal is selling at an all-time high. Meaning, if you bought gold jewelry today, the resale value of that jewelry will likely never increase unless something causes gold values to rise higher than $2,000 an ounce. Therefore, the value of any gold jewelry you buy now will only go down as gold prices stabilize back to the normal $1,200-$1,500 per ounce. Yet, most of us buy jewelry to last a lifetime. We do not buy jewelry just to sell it off for a higher price later. Therefore, unless you are investing in gold in the stock markets, the monetary value of the piece over time doesn’t really affect you. Instead, its personal value to you is what matters.

Is Silver or Gold a Better Investment?

There are obviously pros and cons to silver and gold, and no matter what the current market value is, each precious metal has its own consumer-base. Some people believe gold is far superior to silver, whereas others do not see any difference in the metals besides in their prices. This means, from a jeweler’s perspective, unless you know which consumer base your store tailors to the most, you should have both silver and gold jewelry available at your store.

But from a consumer’s perspective, with gold prices higher than ever, silver is a better investment for fine jewelry, especially for earrings and necklaces. Silver is almost as strong as gold, it can last a lifetime, and its main drawback, the tarnish, is an easily avoidable and solvable problem. Therefore, as of right now, silver’s amazing price tag, bright white color, and rhodium-enforced strength far outweigh its tarnish and difficulty to resize. That being said, no matter how much gold costs, if your heart is set on purchasing a ring or bracelet that you will regularly wear, gold is still a much better investment. These types of jewelry experience a lot of wear and tear and should be made with a sturdier metal that is easier to fix if damage occurs. And if you plan on keeping the jewelry forever, the slightly higher price will be well worth the years of shimmering sparkling beauty and love the gold jewelry will bring you. So, in the end, the answer to “is silver or gold is a better investment?” depends on the type of jewelry you want to buy, how often you plan on wearing the jewelry, and your personal perception of the metals. But whether you choose silver, gold, or gold-plated silver jewelry, you will be purchasing something stunning.