Silver is Dead: Long Live Silver

Ulysses Dietz | The Magazine Antiques | 5th May 2026

An ode to the fading appeal of silver. Silver’s widespread cachet came not just from its use as cash but also because it is pretty, malleable and durable. The cultural connection it once enjoyed has now “clearly weakened”. A major factor, it seems, is that few of us have servants to polish silver pieces when they tarnish. Further, in our eating out culture, the custom of afternoon tea (using the silver service) has declined. What is left is silver as a prized design material and as the carrier of stories from the past.