Silver or Gold?

I prefer to sell most of my jewelry set in silver. The value of my jewelry is in the gemstones, not the setting. This makes the items far more affordable, and you can always have a gold setting made for the gem at any time in the future. But, many of the gems deserve gold. I can arrange a gold setting with diamond or sapphire melee at wholesale.  Please email me barry@theshelterfunder.com for details.

In ancient Egypt, silver was valued more highly than gold. My, how things have changed.

Over time, gold became a commodity, placing it as an asset such as oil, lumber, etc. The price of silver is influenced more by consumption demand.

Paper money caused a problem. the value of paper money was based on gold reserves. President Nixon ended the convertibility  of paper into gold.

The price of gold was set in 1971 at $35 per ounce. But. As the $ was set to gold supplies, by the end of the decade, gold was at $850 per ounce. Prices have fluctuated wildly since.

The difference in the "value" of silver and gold has little to do with their value as settings for jewellery.... both are suitable. Silver is not as durable as gold, and for everyday wear, gold is  much better. Also, silver will tarnish over time. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with silver settings. Today, most silver settings are rhodium coated. Rhodium (which is more expensive than gold)  is the coating that gives "the look" to "white" gold. (all gold is actually yellow). Most people cannot tell the difference between white gold settings  and silver settings coated in rhodium. Most fake gems are set in silver or even silver plate, which has given many people the wrong impression; they tend to throw the baby out with the bathwater... and place less value on the stones if they are in silver. That really is a shame...the value should be in the stone... not the setting.