2025 is now drawing to a close.

This year, among the inquiries we received from customers, the topic of "rising precious metal prices" was raised as frequently as interest in the design and history of the items themselves.

With news outlets and newspapers reporting daily that gold and silver prices have been hitting record highs, it has been a year in which precious metals have drawn attention as tangible assets, even among those who had previously little familiarity with antiques.

The silver tableware and pocket watches we carry are more than mere objects for appreciation; they also possess value as precious metals in their own right.
This time, while outlining the background of the price fluctuations that occurred in 2025, we would like to explore how they are connected to the market prices of antique products.

1. Market Price Movements of Gold and Silver in 2025

In short, the precious metals market in 2025 was a year that recorded "historic highs."

Gold Price Trends

First, regarding gold, it was around 15,000 yen per gram in January, but it continued to rise from the beginning of the year at a pace that far exceeded expectations.
As of December 24, 2025, the day this blog is being written, it has reached an all-time high of over 25,000 yen per gram.

It is a surge so dramatic that it feels like a distant memory when we were still surprised by the figure of "10,000 yen per gram" just a few years ago.

(Reference) Tanaka Precious Metals Gold Price Trends

Silver Price Trends

And the real star of 2025, even more so than gold, was silver.
Because silver has long been more abundant and less expensive than gold, it has been positioned at a considerably undervalued level relative to gold in the index known as the "gold-silver ratio."

However, in 2025, that dynamic completely changed, and silver's rate of price increase showed a momentum that greatly surpassed gold at certain points, achieving a record-breaking surge.
Among investors, it was even whispered that silver, which had previously been overshadowed by gold, had awakened as a "sleeping giant."

What was around 170 yen per gram in January continued to rise throughout the year, just like gold, and has had an even higher rate of increase than gold since September in particular.
As of December 24, 2025, it has exceeded 400 yen per gram, more than doubling in price in a single year.

(Reference) Tanaka Precious Metals Silver Price Trends

2. Reasons for the Rise in Gold and Silver Prices in 2025

Why did such a surge occur in 2025?
The reason is by no means due to a single event, but rather the result of a combination of complex factors on a global scale.

Shift in U.S. Monetary Policy

First, the most significant impact came from the shift in U.S. monetary policy.
The starting point was the Federal Reserve (the U.S. central bank) easing its previously strict policies aimed at curbing inflation and turning toward "interest rate cuts."

To explain a little more technically, when bank interest rates fall, it becomes harder for people to grow their assets by keeping cash in the bank.

On the other hand, while precious metals such as gold and silver do not generate interest just by holding them, they have the property of retaining their value even if the value of currency (money) declines, because the metal itself has value. This is called an "inflation hedge."

2025 can be said to have been a year when trust in paper money wavered globally, and money from around the world flowed into gold and silver, which are relatively "tangible real assets."

Geopolitical Risks and the Weak Yen

Furthermore, the ongoing instability in global affairs, so-called "geopolitical risks," added fuel to the fire.
As tensions in the Middle East and Europe remain unresolved, investors purchased gold and silver as "safe-haven assets for when something happens."
In Japan, the ongoing trend of the yen's depreciation has also accelerated the price increase in Japanese yen terms.

Silver's Unique Industrial Demand and Supply Shortage

And as a reason unique to silver, the structural changes in modern society cannot be overlooked.
Silver is essential for realizing the decarbonized society that is currently being pursued worldwide.

Silver, the metal that conducts electricity most efficiently, is used in large quantities in the conductive parts of solar panels and the electronic control units of electric vehicles (EVs).
Furthermore, a lot of silver is also being used in data centers, power plants, and semiconductor manufacturing accompanying the recent "AI boom."

In 2025, while this demand exploded, a "supply shortage" became pronounced, with supply from silver mines failing to keep pace.
Silver is often mined as a byproduct of other metals (such as copper and zinc), and there are circumstances where it is difficult to immediately increase production just because the demand for silver has risen.

In other words, silver has been recognized for its value in both its role as a "defensive asset" and its role as an "offensive industrial material" essential to the latest technology.

3. Connection to the Market Prices of Antique Gold and Silver Products

This surge in the precious metal market has had an extremely direct impact on the market for antique products we offer.

Three Elements Comprising the Price of Antiques

Here, we would like antique beginners to know about the composition of antique prices.
Generally, the prices of the silver tableware and gold watches we sell are determined by the accumulation of the following three elements.

• Bullion value (the value of the weight of the metal itself)
• Artistic and craft value (the skill and design of the artisan)
• Historical rarity value (the small number of surviving pieces)

Due to the surge in gold and silver prices in 2025, this foundational "bullion value" has risen sharply.
Until now, its history and beauty accounted for a large proportion of the price, but as the gold and silver market prices doubled and tripled, the value of the metal alone has become quite substantial.

Items with a large weight of silver used, such as pure silver salvers and teapots, are particularly strongly affected by the rise in bullion value.

"Bullion Loss" and Market Price Revisions

There is a term in the trade called "bullion loss," which refers to a culturally very sad phenomenon where the price of melting the item down into bullion becomes higher than its selling price as an antique.

2025 was a year in which the entire antique market was forced to revise prices to prevent this tragic phenomenon.
To prevent old silver products from disappearing from the market and flowing to bullion dealers, the value as antiques had to rise in tandem with the bullion market.

However, viewed differently, this means that owning antiques has become a very robust form of asset building.
Even if the popularity of antiques settles in the future, the value of the underlying gold and silver will not disappear.

The "hallmarks" (stamps certifying purity and the year of manufacture) engraved on antique gold and silver serve as certificates from the world's oldest rating agencies, proving in modern times that the item is indeed genuine precious metal.

Summary

The surge in gold and silver prices in 2025 was an astonishing event from an economic perspective, but for those who love antiques, it may have been an opportunity to re-examine the value of the items you hold.

Certainly, prices have become more expensive than before, but this year's market has once again proven that metals such as gold and silver have continued to be universal values for humanity for thousands of years.

I believe it is a bit dull to view antiques merely as investment tools.
However, in today's unstable society, there is no doubt that the peace of mind of having "a value that has not changed for a long time" in your own hands also leads to peace of mind.

The time spent drinking tea brewed in a silver teapot may be the ultimate modern luxury, combining the spiritual richness of admiring its beauty with the practical peace of mind of protecting your assets.

While it is difficult to completely predict how prices will fluctuate in the future, we intend to continue introducing items to our customers without being swayed by price figures alone, valuing the true beauty and historical background of each item.
We hope you will continue to treat the silver pieces and watches that have walked through this turbulent year with you even more affectionately than before.