What The Hell Is Going on with Silver Right Now?
If you follow jewellers online, you might have noticed us all putting out apology notices pretty regularly, since about October 2025, for putting up our prices to keep up with the sudden rise in silver costs.
As silver is at an all-time historical high price and its value increases day-by-day, I think it’s really important to take a look at a few reasons why this is happening and also look at what the future looks like for jewellers and jewellery-lovers alike.
When I started Campfire & Compass, in 2017, silver was £0.47 per gram.
5 years later, in 2022, it was still only £0.53 per gram.
In January 2025, it had risen slightly to £0.77 per gram and by December 2025 it was suddenly £1.71 per gram which is a huge 122% increase in just 1 year.
Just 3 weeks later, today, it’s £2.17, another 27% increase.
If you’re struggling to keep up, the cost of silver is over 4x more expensive per gram since I started making jewellery and most of that increase is just from the past 6 months.
So, Why Are Prices Soaring?
1 – Technology (AI, Solar, EV Boom)
Silver is the most efficient electrical and thermal conductor of all metals in the world, and with the recent demand for AI data centres, electric vehicles and solar energy, the demand for it has increased at a rate we can’t keep up with.
50% of the worlds silver demand is for the tech sector and, for the past 5 years, the demand has been higher than supply, driving prices up.
2 - Global Politics
Like gold, silver is a hard asset. That means during times of political and economic instability, sovereign nations invest heavily in silver to preserve wealth, triggering stockpiling and competing on what they’re willing to pay for it.
In November 2025 the US declared silver a Critical Mineral, triggering stockpiling.
In January 2026 China, the worlds 2nd biggest exporter, announced strict export controls, triggering stockpiling.
In December 2025 concerns about Donald Trump imposing more tariffs triggered stockpiling.
Russia has confirmed that it’s allocating funds to invest in silver reserves which is, I guess, stockpiling.
What Can We Do About It?
Sadly, we can’t do anything about the price, but what we can do is change our attitudes towards silver.
I’ve been thinking a lot about it lately and it’s made me wonder why silver was ever as affordable as it has been in the first place, and it’s commonly understood that the cost of silver has historically been suppressed for about 6 decades.
Silver is:
• Infinitely recyclable
• Medicinal (anti-microbial and used in medical technology)
• Malleable & Versatile
• Beautiful
• Technologically advantageous (Electronics, photography, machinery)
So why were we ever able to buy it at 10p a gram in the 2000s?? Why was it on the racks with costume jewellery at Topshop and New Look?
I think it’s time we start looking at silver the way we look at gold. It’s gorgeous to work with, lasts a lifetime and – as we’re seeing – it grows in value over time. We shouldn’t stop buying silver jewellery, but we should start taking proper care of it and giving it the respect it deserves. If you’ve got loads of old silver jewellery you don’t like/wear anymore there’s never been a better time than now to make some money from it.
So, What Now?
Some of my designs have been around since I started C&C in 2017- back when we thought of silver as just a material for fancy fashion jewellery – and while I still love them, they just aren’t good enough to warrant the price tag they’d need with today’s silver prices so they're being discontinued.
Silver has evolved and so have my skills as a jeweller.
Many of my designs are now heavily discontinued and won’t be returning. In about a month, whatever is left from the discontinued designs will be melted down or sent of for scrapping so I can afford to invest in something different.
Maybe, one day, I’ll revisit those old designs and make them a bit extra – but more importantly I’ll be making all of my jewellery a lot smarter from now on. That means with a lot more thought about creating less waste and taking less time to recreate them (which means those savings get passed onto customers) and it also means I might end up moving predominantly to a made-to-order system.
I imagine you may see some jewellers incorporating more affordable metals like brass, bronze or German silver (watch out for that one as it contains nickel) into their work, but that’s not on my radar. I'm thoroughly addicted to silver and in this for the long haul.
Thanks for sticking with me,
~ Riley
Sources:
https://www.instagram.com/themarkethustle/
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62vn22523xo
https://goldsilver.com/industry-news/article/why-silver-prices-are-rising-and-what-comes-next/
https://www.kitco.com/opinion/2025-03-20/mechanics-silver-price-suppression
https://www.chards.co.uk/silver-price/gram/gbp/all-time