When American retail investors buy a freshly minted silver bar, they generally picture the metal coming out of a Nevada or Latin American mine. They rarely picture an old silver necklace sitting in a pawn shop in central Italy.
But according to Elisa Martini, an international business developer at the Italian refinery Italpreziosi, the global bullion market is more cyclical than most people realize. In a recent episode of Y’all Street, Martini pulled back the curtain on the European precious metals trade, revealing how centuries of Italian jewelry tradition are feeding the modern American appetite for hard assets.
The “Compro Oro” Feedstock
Italpreziosi is based in Arezzo, Italy, a city that has been the epicenter of precious metals manufacturing since the Etruscan era. Because Italy does not have active domestic gold or silver mines, the refinery had to build a different kind of supply chain.
They turned to the circular economy.
“We have a lot of market for jewelry,” Martini told host Tarek Saab. “So we see a lot of recycled material coming to our refinery… people selling back their jewelry, broken jewelry, jewelry that did not sell.”
In Italy, pawn shops and cash-for-gold storefronts (known as compro oro or banco dei pigni) act as the primary collection points. This scrap material, often 80% to 90% pure silver or 18k gold, is then sent upstream to Italpreziosi. The results are significant: Martini estimates that 85% to 90% of the refinery’s total feedstock comes from these recycled sources. The metal is melted down, purified, and minted into pristine LBMA-accredited bars.
The Logistics of a Silver Squeeze
Having the raw material is only half the battle. Delivering it during a market panic is where the true friction lies.
In early 2025, fears of sweeping U.S. tariffs caused a significant dislocation in the global metals market. American banks and dealers scrambled to secure physical inventory, triggering a massive arbitrage opportunity. Metal had to move from Europe to the United States immediately.
But silver is extremely heavy. A standard Comex contract of 5,000 ounces weighs roughly 340 pounds. Moving tens of thousands of ounces requires heavy-duty air freight.
“You have to supply a demand that you have not been supplying at this pace. So having issues with actually flying the material… flights rebooked, overbooked, delayed. How do you reshape your production to supply the demand?”
Elisa Martini
“This brought a lot of operational issues,” Martini explained. “You have to supply a demand that you have not been supplying at this pace. We had issues actually flying the material… flights were rebooked, overbooked, and delayed. And as the time gets longer, the financing is heavier.”
When physical supply cannot move fast enough to meet demand, premiums on retail silver skyrocket. The supply chain bottleneck wasn’t a lack of metal; it was a lack of available cargo space on transatlantic 747s.
The Bottom Line
The precious metals market is a masterclass in global logistics and adaptability. By heavily utilizing recycled jewelry, Italpreziosi bypasses the geographic limitations of traditional mining and operates a highly sustainable B-Corp-certified business model. However, as Martini’s experience shows, even the most efficient refineries are ultimately at the mercy of global freight logistics when the market demands physical delivery.
In the commodities trade, you have to be ready to adapt to the changing conditions, whether that means melting down scrap bracelets or fighting for cargo space on a flight to New York.
Watch the full interview with Elisa Martini on Episode 5 of Y’all Street.
