Collection: Silver-Tone Bolo Ties

The Cool-Metal Half of the Catalog

Silver-tone is the finish most first-time buyers end up choosing, and this page holds all 41 of our silver-tone slides: cast animal heads, engraved knots, western medallions, and a few oddballs like the cicada and the moth. If a slide on this site is plated in a cool metal tone, it lives here. The gold-tone collection gathers the warm-metal pieces, and the turquoise collection groups the stone-led designs.

How to narrow down 41 slides

• Match your other metal. If your watch, rings, or belt buckle are silver-colored, stay on this page. Mixing metals can work, but on a first bolo a single tone is the safer read.
• Pick slide size by setting. Small, quiet slides — the minimalist cuboid, the star, the Celtic knot — pass at the office and under a jacket. Large cast heads — bison, snarling wolf, longhorn — belong with denim and open collars; most of them also sit in the cowboy and western collection.
• Check the cord length. Cords here run from 29.5 to 42.5 inches depending on the model, and the exact figure is on every product page. A shorter cord leaves less tail below the slide; taller wearers should stay above 38 inches.

What "silver" means on this page

These slides are cast zinc alloy with silver-tone plating — no silver content, and we would rather say it plainly than let you assume otherwise. One exception: the tiger head slide is stainless steel, noted on its page. Accent stones, like the heart on the elk slide or the wolf's eye, are imitation. Plating does not oxidize the way silver does, but it can thin at contact points over years of wear.

Silver-tone questions

Is there any real silver in these?

No. Every slide is zinc alloy under silver-tone plating, apart from the stainless-steel tiger. The metal is named on each product page, and our alloy buyer's guide explains what plating does and does not do.

Will the finish tarnish?

Not the way silver darkens. The main risk is wear, not oxidation: wipe the slide dry after use, keep it out of water, and store it flat rather than hanging by the cord.

Silver-tone or gold-tone — how do I decide?

Go by wardrobe temperature. Black, gray, navy, and denim favor silver-tone; browns, tans, and earth colors favor gold-tone. If you are unsure, silver-tone is the more neutral first pick — our guide on how to wear a bolo tie covers pairing in detail.