South of the main city square of Chiang Mai, there is an area where silver shops abound. I didn't look into them. I can't afford either gold or silver and not knowing if what I'm buying is the real thing, deters me. We were noodling around on the bicycles and ran across one wat with the theme of silver. Since most wats feature gold (or what purports to be gold), this was quite refreshing. It was in an area of artisan shops and silversmithing. Then, off Wua Lai Road (where the Saturday evening Walking Street Market is held), we found another - Wat Srisuphan. We saw work on metal friezes and asked if the material was indeed silver. "Oh yes, silver", it was confirmed. Without massive security guarding these temples at night, I was doubtful, so on another occasion, I got some young Thai to ask, in Thai. The report back was that the metal is aluminium - which makes more sense. I would guess some sculptures are covered in silver leaf (I saw some and donated some) but for the most part, it makes more sense that the major roof structures and larger pieces, are aluminium - in itself, not cheap, especially in the quantities used.