The Stellar Origins of Your Silver Jewelry

Dana here from Honey Bee Metals.. I don’t think I ever wore gold jewelry. Since I was a child, I have been drawn to silver. Jump 30 years ahead to the beginnings of my jewelry making path, and the first task in metalsmith class was to melt down some scrap silver. Well I was mesmerized…hooked.

If you are like me - drawn to silver, read on!

Every piece of silver jewelry carries within it a story that spans billions of years and reaches across the cosmos. When I found this out, it really was an AHA moment. I think I said ‘wow’ in my head for about 3 days.

The silver in your favorite earrings, rings, and necklaces - the silver pieces I make from sterling silver sheet and wire that I purchase wholesale - didn’t originate here on Earth – it was forged in the nuclear furnaces of ancient stars. Deep within red giant stars, over millions of years, a process called slow neutron capture gradually transformed lighter elements into the precious metal we treasure today. Some silver was even born in the most dramatic events the universe has to offer: explosive supernovae and violent collisions between neutron stars that scattered this stellar treasure across space.

This cosmic silver eventually found its way to Earth during our planet’s formation 4.6 billion years ago, becoming embedded in the rock and ore deposits we mine today.

An amazing thought: every time you wear silver, you’re carrying a piece of the cosmos with you. The metal that adorns your neck or graces your fingers once burned in the heart of a star, traveled through the vastness of space, and waited billions of years to become part of something beautiful.

Silver jewelry makes you a walking testament to the incredible journey of matter through space and time on this amazing earth.