Color Collection

Rickenbacker Silver

Silver is one of the more unusual entries in Rickenbacker's finish history — metallic, and notoriously difficult to photograph. The finish is on record as having been offered from 1980 to 1984, though instruments in Silver continued to leave the factory for at least another five years beyond that. It came standard with black trim — binding, plastics, and blackened hardware — which gives Silver Rickenbackers a stark, graphic look that stands apart from the brand's warmer standard palette. The color resists easy description. It reads less like polished chrome and more like a dark silver — muted and metallic rather than bright — shifting considerably depending on light and flash, from a subdued gray to something closer to iridescent sterling. Compounding the identification challenge, the clearcoat can yellow over time, producing a greenish cast on some examples. A Silver Rickenbacker in clean, stable condition is a different proposition from one that has shifted toward green. Silver Rickenbackers are quite rare - made in low production numbers even by the standards of non-standard Rickenbacker colors.