Silver is one of the first metals to be used by humans. The art of silver working
dates back to the ancient Byzantine, Phoenician and Egyptian empires, where silver
was forged into domestic utensils, jewelry, buttons, weapons, boxes, and other artworks.
Most of the silver mined these days still originates from the mines in Mexico and
Peru, where the methods of silver jewelry making nowadays remain largely unchanged.
In western society, silver's value as a jewelry and utensil metal made it an early
target for ambitious miners. The discovery of the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1859
created a silver rush that rivaled the gold rush. There was no turning back and
the silver jewelry market has impressively evolved into the colossal industry you
see today.