The falling price of gold is luring some designers away from strictly sterling styles, and encouraging others to get more inventive with the white metalSara Freedenfeld introduced silver to her largely 18k gold Amáli line in 2012, when gold prices hovered at $1,700 per ounce. Her rationale was simple: “I did not have to compromise big looks in order to cut costs,” she explains.But now that gold prices have tumbled to $1,200 an ounce, Freedenfeld and many other designers are reevaluating their ­silver positioning to either make way for gold or use the white metal more effectively. Silver has inherent qualities like oxidation that some love and others tolerate. And since it is lighter than gold and costs less, silver permits bigger looks, often at prices with an undeniable appeal and ability to reach more customers—particularly those without karat-gold budgets.“The fact that silv