On Gold and Silver: Matter, Memory, and Meaning
Collar of Senebtisi
Gold and silver are remarkable materials. Both are elements formed in the hearts of ancient stars, arriving on Earth long before human hands learned how to shape them. Their stability, malleability, and resistance to corrosion have made them precious across cultures — they were valued for their ability to endure, to hold form and lustre over vast spans of time. They have marked rites of passage, adorned the sacred, and been passed from hand to hand as objects of memory and meaning.
Silver is an extraordinary metal. It is the most conductive of all elements, highly reflective, and naturally antimicrobial. These qualities have made it invaluable not only for jewellery and ritual objects, but also in medicine, technology, and science. Gold is also remarkable as it is both dense and soft, able to be drawn into fine threads or hammered into near-transparent leaf, while remaining untarnished by air or water.
Beyond their physical qualities, gold and silver have long been associated with deeper, symbolic meanings. In alchemy, silver is connected to the moon and the feminine principle. Alchemists use the symbol ☽ to represent it, associating it with clarity, intuition, and transformation. Silver conducts energy and wearing silver jewelry can help amplify your intuition and psychic sensitivity. It’s believed to absorb negative energy from its surroundings and thus many cultures used silver amulets for protection against evil spirits.
Of late I have been working more with fine (pure 999) silver, and I can feel the difference in the energy that it carries. Sterling silver (925) has more copper in it to make it harder and more scratch resistant, which can be useful. Other metals can also be added to gold to make it harder — the purer and softer the gold, the higher the carats denoted, e.g. 9ct vs 24ct.
Gold has always carried the energy of the sun - warm and radiant. Gold is often associated with divinity, enlightenment, and higher consciousness. Its radiant color and rarity make it a universal symbol of purity, wisdom, and spiritual awakening. Its colour alone evokes warmth and life, and its resistance to tarnish has made it a symbol of constancy and continuity. Where silver whispers, gold shines; where silver reflects, gold radiates.
Jewellery, to me, is not simply decoration. It is a meeting point between material and meaning, between the ancient and the present moment, between the physical and the ineffable.