Native jewelry has a silver lining, says Waites

Probably suitable to follow a blog about turquoise with one about the other staple of Native American jewelry, silver.


If you haven't been paying attention to it or are not an investor in precious metals, you might not know that silver is currently at near record prices, the highest in 25 years.


How can the jewelry industry create so much demand?


It's not just jewelry that uses silver. The metal also is used in computers, cell phones and other electronics, and photography. When used in such applications it is very difficult to recycle, which means it is pretty much gone forever.


As a result, stockpiles of silver are disappearing while demand goes up.


On top of that, silver is in demand in jewelry in China and India, two huge and growing markets.


So, silver currently is about $13 per ounce.


What impact is this having on the creation of Native American jewelry? We haven't really seen a major move upward in cost yet. If the pattern follows gold, which also has soared in cost, the artists may just stop using it. Although it is hard to imagine what would replace it, since it is far more fundamental to Native American Indian jewelry.


We can say that, in the short term, the rise in silver prices has not been reflected in the prices of Native American Indian jewelry at pace-setting Native-JewelryLink. We have not raised our prices even as the cost of silver goes up. We don't price based on replacement cost, but rather based on the original acquisition cost. What we bought at lower prices stays those prices.


Click on the link to look at a wide selection of the finest in Native American Indian jewelery by a wide spectrum of artists from the very reasonable to the very high end.


Incidentally, if you are inclined to order from the web site, our secure order form is assurance that your credit card data is safe from prying eyes.


Thanks for your patient attention.