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(Kitco News) – Silver is again in vogue among the European haute couture fashion houses; the bold look comes as the Silver Institute said that silver has become an important fashion accessory among retailers, which should continue supporting demand and prices through 2023.
According to fashion commentators, Paris Fashion Week, which wrapped up at the start of the Month, continued to feature a lot of unique mixed metal, gold and silver jewelry.
According to freelance fashion journalist Milena Lazazzera, some of the biggest names in jewelry have created a “cult status” for their two-tone pieces.
One of Italy’s most exclusive jewelry brands, Bucelllati intertwines gold, silver and white gold in its Ramage collection.
“But silver also adds ancient and precious nuances to jewelry creations,” Andrea Buccellati, the Milan-based creative director, told Lazazzera in an interview.
Meanwhile, Italian jewelry designer Bea Bongiasca said that gold and silver together add some excitement to people becoming bored of wearing matching colors. She also noted some practical elements of using silver.
“Firstly, I used silver in my creations because I wanted my jewelry to be light – and silver is lighter than gold. Secondly, with a piece that is half gold, half silver, I can keep the price more accessible,” she said in the interview.
Silver’s success at Paris Fashion Week comes as the Silver Institute sees healthy jewelry demand through 2023, even if levels fall from records seen in 2022.
The Silver Institute says it sees global jewelry demand falling by 10% as the Indian market “normalizes” in 2023.
The Silver Institute said it also sees weaker demand in the US due to growing concerns over the economy.
“In the US, a modest dip in consumption may occur this year due to economic concerns and normalized spending on travel,” the analysts said.
Although silver sales could languish in 2023, the Silver Institute said that the precious metal remains an essential pillar within the retail sector.
“Retailers said their silver jewelry sales as a percentage of their overall jewelry sales were on average 28% of their unit volume and 19% of their dollar volume,” the report said. “51% said silver jewelry is very important or important to their business; 27% said it is very important.”
The survey shows that the silver market is also attracting a younger audience. According to the jewelry retailers, 52% of their silver consumers are between 20 and 40 years old. The second largest consumer group representing 17% of total sales are those younger than 20 years old.
“Retailers said the best-selling opportunities with silver were female self-purchase (34%), while 26% said gifting, and 31% said millennials (ages 23 to 41). Just 9% said bridal party/bridal gifts or other, ” the report said.
Finally, jewelry retailers are expecting to see solid silver demand through 2023.
“88% of the retailers are optimistic that silver jewelry sales growth will continue for the next several years; 46% said they were very optimistic,” the report said.
In 2022, jewelry demand represented about 29% of the global silver market.
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