Shining Silver

Once central to Kashmiri artistry, silver is finding new meaning in an age of technology and investment.

- Irshad Mushtaq

For as long as wealth has glittered, silver ‘has held its own among humankind’s oldest treasures.

Around 3000 BCE, miners in Anatolia, modern-day Turkey, first extracted silver from the earth. Since then, its glow has travelled through every age. It minted into ancient Greek coins, traded along Silk Routes, melted into jewelry, and harnessed in machines that define our present.

Silver is both old and new, sacred and scientific.

The metal carries stories within its shine in the valley. Long before financial markets became accessible, Kashmiri families stored value in silver ornaments. Delicate anklets, engraved plates, and heirloom vessels symbolized prosperity.

Srinagar’s silversmiths shaped the metal into art. Their craft survived political shifts and economic storms.

But in recent decades, silver has lost attention to gold, which dominates Kashmiri households as the ultimate store of value.

That preference is understandable. Gold’s scarcity and resistance to corrosion have always made it a safe investment.

Silver, by contrast, is more abundant and susceptible to tarnish. Its price has also been volatile. But what makes silver less glamorous in jewelry makes it more relevant in modern industry.

The metal’s unmatched electrical and thermal conductivity have turned it into a critical component of 2ist-century technology. Every smartphone, car circuit, and solar panel depends on it.