17 May 2026 through 6 January 2027
Opens on International Museum Day, Sunday, 17 May, 3 p.m.

Everything that glitters catches people’s eye. No other metal reflects light as much as silver. It has a bright, warm white hue to which it owes its Latin name of »argentum«. The cool brilliance of diamonds is shown off to maximum advantage only in a setting of white precious metal, something that suited people’s self-indulgent desire for luxury and extravagance in the Baroque and Rococo periods. Well into the 19^th century, diamonds used in jewellery were often set in silver because white gold had still had to be invented, and the methods for processing platinum weren’t fully developed yet. So it was not uncommon back then for people to outfavour silver over gold. In our Historical collection, we’ll be spotlighting the multifaceted importance of silver, a multimedia installation will be placing the metal in an historico-cultural context, and samples in a large type case will be giving visitors an opportunity to interactively explore it.