The gold versus silver debate has always been prevalent in the jewellery industry, with most people tending to opt for one metal over the other. Both silver and gold jewellery can add the final finishing touches to any outfit, and deciding whether it’s a silver or gold moment can be a small yet difficult decision to make. As the silver and gold jewellery markets continue to grow, both are providing an increasingly stunning array of jewellery pieces that people across the world desire.
So, what is the UK opting for when it comes to jewellery? Using Google search data collected between April 2020 and March 2021, we take a look at what terms the UK is searching for the most and least when it comes to silver and gold jewellery preferences.
REVEALED: The UK’s most searched for jewellery items
Data reveals there is a tie between the second most adored jewellery items, with several terms accounting for high average monthly search volumes of 40,500. These terms include ‘gold chains for men’, ‘gold earrings’, ‘gold hoop earrings’, ‘gold necklaces’, ‘gold rings’, ‘silver chains’, and ‘silver chains for men.’
Top 10 silver and gold searches in the UK
| Search term | Average monthly searches (Apr 20–Mar 21) |
| gold chains | 60500 |
| gold chains for men | 40500 |
| gold earrings | 40500 |
| gold hoop earrings | 40500 |
| gold necklaces | 40500 |
| gold rings | 40500 |
| silver chains | 40500 |
| silver chains for men | 40500 |
| silver earrings | 33100 |
| silver necklaces | 33100 |
With both gold and silver jewellery pieces making the top searches, the debate continues, though there is a clear preference towards the traditional look of gold jewellery, with ‘gold chains’ taking pride of place. Of course, there could never be a definitive answer as to which metal is the ‘best’; however, it is clear the UK has an eye for some jewellery pieces over others. Let’s take a look a closer look at the different jewellery types and see which metal more often takes the crown.
Chains and necklaces
As we can see from the data, everyone’s after a timeless chain to add to their jewellery collection. And in terms of gold versus silver, gold takes the lead. Gold chains have been bang on trend this year; they feature heavily in Cosmopolitan’s must-have jewellery trends. So, it’s no surprise that they’re racing ahead of the competition. Silver chains aren’t far behind, with an impressive average monthly search volume of 40,500, but there’s something about the timeless gold chain that you just can’t beat. The gold chain trend isn’t limited to certain parts of the UK either. In fact, ‘gold chains’ had the highest or joint highest search volumes in every region except for the South West, where they were pipped at the post by ‘gold hoop earrings’ which had 6,600 searches.
Earrings
Next up, we have earrings. In this category, gold prevailed again, with ‘gold earrings’ and ‘gold hoop earrings’ running away with the competition. A variation of ‘gold earrings’ appeared in the top five most searched for jewellery terms in every UK region, showing that we really can’t get enough! Although silver earrings didn’t prove quite so popular, it looks like our interest in them is still growing. In Northern Ireland, the term ‘silver earrings for women’ saw a growth of 743 per cent and the same term grew by 700 per cent in the South West.
Wedding rings and engagement rings
Although neither wedding rings nor engagement rings featured in the top ten jewellery searches, they’re both major players in the gold versus silver debate. After all, with most weddings having been cancelled or postponed over the course of 2020 and 2021, it’s no real surprise that wedding rings weren’t searched for quite as often (for example, ‘gold wedding rings for women’ accounted for just 1,300 average monthly searches). Despite this, the searches are bound to be back with a bang soon enough when the remaining restrictions lift, and big weddings are back on the cards.
Although it was a close call for both wedding and engagement ring, gold proved to be the overall winner yet again. The wedding ring-related term with the greatest interest was ‘gold wedding rings’ with 5,400 average monthly searches. ‘Silver wedding rings’ came in at a close second with 3,600 searches. Wedding ring popularity also varied between men and women. In most regions ‘gold wedding rings for women’ was among the searches with the highest growth, but in Yorkshire and the South West, ‘silver wedding rings for men’ saw bigger surges of interest.
As to be expected, engagement rings have been searched for a lot in recent months, and in this category, there is a clear winner in the debate. Gold engagement rings reign supreme, with 12,100 average monthly searches compared to only 4,400 for ‘silver engagement rings.’ There is something so timeless and magical about a classic yellow gold engagement ring, and this traditional style is still proving more popular than the more modern looking silver alternative.
Men’s jewellery
Just when we thought gold had it in the bag across the board, we come to men’s jewellery. In the battle between the two mighty metals, it looks like we have ourselves a draw. Both gold and silver chains for men proved extremely popular (with 40,500 average monthly searches each) while gold and silver rings for men were also tied in popularity (both with 27,100 average monthly searches). It seems we may have solved the gold versus silver debate in terms of women’s jewellery, but men across the UK seem to love both of these precious metals equally.
Over the last few months, we can see some clear jewellery trends. Not only can we now reveal that gold is the nation’s favourite, but we can also see which jewellery styles have grown in popularity and which have been forgotten by the public. Anklets, for example, saw the biggest decline in searches (-19 per cent for gold anklets and -33 per cent for silver anklets). However, with sunny holidays back on the cards, this classic summer jewellery style might see a resurgence soon enough. What we do know, however, is that if you want to be on trend this summer, stock up on glorious gold!
