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New York--Valentine’s Day is almost here, and this year, jewelers are preparing themselves with an inventory of sterling silver.

The push behind stocking the metal is its low price point, jewelers say, which falls in a place where consumers feel comfortable after racking up bills during the holidays. Silver jewelry designs have also become increasingly bold and fashionable, jewelers say, which allows customers to present loved ones with a significant piece of jewelry that didn’t break the bank.

Gene Gragg, owner of Metal Works Fine Jewelry, Inc. in Yorktown, Ind., is expecting lower-priced enhanced silver designs to be a popular choice for shoppers this Valentine’s Day.

“People seem to like silver with semi-precious gemstones,” Gragg said. “For Valentine’s Day, I’m stocking under $200, and that’s probably going to sell pretty well. When you get over $200, customers don’t want to pay that for silver.”

He added that many customers are still paying off Christmas bills.

“Plus, we had a good Christmas, so people aren’t spending as much on Valentine’s Day as they do other holidays,” Gragg said. “I think a lot of people are doing candy and flowers, and not a lot of jewelry.”

Still, he said he’s looking forward to a good year.

“I think the economy’s picking up,” Gragg said. “But it’s an election year, so all bets are off.”

Shoppers have already begun to peruse the selection at Naifeh Fine Jewelry in Oklahoma City, Okla., according to owner Valerie Naifeh.

“Valentine’s selling season felt like it started yesterday,” Naifeh said. “Normally it’s a three-day event for us, but we had men coming in yesterday and purchasing things that wives and girlfriends had on their wish lists.”

Naifeh said while her store isn’t big on sterling silver jewelry, she does carry Elizabeth Showers, who she said offers substantial silver designs that are well-priced. She carries a pair of the designer’s sterling silver and white topaz earrings that run around $350, and she’s ordered several pairs of the brand’s new silver earrings with diamond accents.

“They’re very young, they’re very hip,” Naifeh said of the jewelry.

The jeweler said Elizabeth Showers also offers silver jewelry with mother of pearl and turquoise, “and that’s a really good go-to item for us because for Valentine’s Day, if a man is not married and they don’t want to buy an engagement ring but do want to spend between $200 and $750, they head to those designs. And for $350, they present something that has a lot of impact.”

Naifeh said the Mizuki brand was a best-seller at the store for Christmas, so she’s reordered for Valentine’s Day: pyrite and oxidized sterling silver chains in 16 to 34 inches, and an oxidized sterling silver cable chain with 14-karat yellow gold bead stations, both which fall between $380 and $750.

“We sell a look, and get customers to layer the pieces, so we sell two or three Mizuki chains at a time,” Naifeh said. “We reordered these a lot in December, so it will be a go-to item for this weekend.”

In addition, Naifeh said Charriol’s stainless steel cable bracelets with diamond stations continue to be popular, with a price point starting at $350.

“You can sell one or you can sell an entire set,” she said, “so I’m looking for all of the sets to sell well.”

Naifeh said in a climate of high gold and diamond costs, silver’s price point stands out, and Valentine’s Day typically sees lower spending than Christmas or other jewelry-giving holidays.

“Designers have done a great job of creating a novel sterling look,” she said, “you get a lot more jewelry and fashion look for your money, and customers really like that.”

David Rotenberg, president of David Craig Jewelers in Langhorne, Pa., said while he has a complete selection across all categories of jewelry in his store, he bumped up his sterling silver inventory for Valentine’s Day.

The jeweler said he’s seen growth in silver sales on Valentine’s Day over the past few years.

“Silver was the first to rebound since 2008, it offers items in a popular price point,” Rotenberg said, “so I have silver items under $500, and that’s a good price point for me.”

Gold has taken itself out of that $500 purchase category, he added.

Rotenberg said he’s expecting a good Valentine’s Day at his store. He ran an ad on sterling-silver heart earrings two weeks ago as a teaser, and has already had a customer come in to pick up a pair. He said his store saw activity last weekend, with customers “eyeballing” items for the lover’s holiday.

The jeweler’s faith in silver has led him to stock almost 12 deep on some pieces of jewelry he believes will be good sellers.

“It’s in the air,” he said. “Some guys are thinking in advance.”