How silver jewellery is redefining luxury, from Saint Laurent to rising indie labels

Big, bold and sculptural silver jewellery has dominated runways – take Maison Margiela, Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta as prime examples – as well as fashion analysis and influencer recommendations for the better part of three years now. Despite search volumes across platforms such as Google and Pinterest showing an increase in growth for silver-related jewellery terms, according to Instagram trend forecaster Style Analytics, silver isn’t simply a well-performing trend due to current interests. The precious metal has a rich global history dating back to prehistoric times. Extraction techniques to separate silver from its ores developed around the fourth millennium BC, securing its enduring value for use as currency, cutlery, crockery, cultural ornaments and personal adornments. While gold is generally considered the benchmark for fine jewellery, its price is at an all-time high of around HK$44,000 (US$5,657) per tael, driving consumers to look elsewhere. Sterling silver has long been appreciated for its shine, strength, accessibility and in certain areas, spiritual significance. Today’s designers continue to work with it to create luxury pieces that feel like art, honour silversmithing traditions and reinterpret historical designs. Addressing the former is Sophie Buhai, a Los Angeles-based designer reviving the modernist tradition in jewellery and blurring the lines between sculpture, adornment and object with her eponymous label. Working mostly with sterling silver, she has produced minimalist designs with maximalist effect since 2015. “[My jewellery] looked so different from what was on the market,” she says, referring to the daintier styles in gold and brass finishes popular a decade ago. “Fashion [today] has become more minimal with this idea of quiet luxury. Silver works well with subdued silhouettes and colours.” Buhai also equates the shift in interest to consumers wanting “humble materials” and pieces with greater ideas. “That’s what people are finding in luxury – not wearing the bank vault, but having the taste for wearable sculpture. It’s an intellectual pursuit.” For Aina Petrova, that pursuit runs deep with her desire to share the culture of the Sakha people (a Turkic ethnic group native to northern Siberia) via modern ethnic designs with her Prague-based label Ursuuna. “Silver has always been used in jewellery and attire for spiritual protection,” she says. “Learning to shape it feels almost like speaking an old language, but in my own way. “I often draw inspiration from traditional Sakha objects that carry spiritual meaning: charapchy (Arctic snow goggles), the Sakha knife, bastynga (head jewellery) and ilin kebiher (chest and back jewellery),” Petrova continues. “These items were made to protect and connect people to nature and their ancestors. I reimagine them in my work to give these forms a new life in the present.“[My clients] often tell me that my pieces feel powerful – ancient yet modern. I think they’re drawn to the energy behind the work, not just the aesthetic.” Similarly acknowledging silver’s innate energy is London-based Mongolian silversmith Mariia Khas, founder of up-and-coming jewellery brand Shuwuu. “Silver is a joy to work with: soft, responsive, emotional. It reflects what you feel when you work it – when I’m calm, the metal flows; when I’m anxious, it resists – like a mirror of your inner world.” “In Mongolian and Buryat (a Mongolian ethnic group native to southeastern Siberia) culture, silver is more precious than gold – not monetarily, but for its ‘soul’,” she adds. “People used it to purify food, protect spaces and pass on blessings.” Khas’ Arslan ring was inspired by the guardian lions at the gates of a datsan (Tibetan Buddhist university monastery). “All my life I’ve been searching for protection, and unconsciously I began to create it in [this] form. The name Arslan (meaning ‘lion’) also exists in Turkey and across Central Asia. It’s a reminder of the shared path of our nomadic cultures.” Sonia “Sonny” Rodriguez Benitez is a curator of shared culture with a deep appreciation of the historical and anthropological significance of silver jewellery. She sources period silver objects globally for her Amsterdam-based and online boutique Mano Vintage Jewellery, from rings and necklaces to pillboxes and cigarette holders. “I’m constantly influenced by different eras, styles and categories of silver items,” she says of her acquired pieces, which include exemplars of art deco, art nouveau, mid-century and modernist design. The period and country of origin are reflected in details such as the craftsmanship of hinges, closures, clasps and stamps. Rodriguez Benitez prefers pieces from older regions with histories of trade, empire and cultural exchange. “Generally I search for high-quality jewellery that has survived at least 100 years,” she says. Danish luxury house Georg Jensen has over 120 years of history, with silver as both its founding and collaborative material. Its eponymous founder contributed to pushing the boundaries of silver application and challenging design principles, especially with pioneering Swedish silversmith Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe in the late 60s. “For her, silver was a living, expressive material that moved naturally with the body,” says creative director Paula Gerbase. “The Torun bangle features the distinctive clasp of a curving hook and a loop that meet seamlessly, reflecting [Bülow-Hübe’s] idea that two halves are stronger together, and the principles of functionalism – where every element serves a purpose.” Georg Jensen reissued the Torun collection in 2022, and introduced the Vivianna Torun Celebration collection in 2024, acknowledging clients’ love for “pieces that embody both art and design [that] reflect the cultural moment in which they were created”. As Gerbase says, “There is very much a place for [silver] in modern households as we become more conscious of how things are produced … investing in pieces that will follow us throughout our lives.”

How silver jewellery is redefining luxury, from Saint Laurent to rising indie labels

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Bottega Veneta and Maison Margiela also helped spark the trend – but which indie designers are shaping silver’s revival?

Bottega Veneta and Maison Margiela also helped spark the trend – but which indie designers are shaping silver’s revival?