Ah yeah sterling silver will also just inherently bump up the cost, forming metal to look like plastic material flexed is non trivial.
It's a pretty clever bit of jewellery, but it 100% sits in that "first to think of it" zone, where it's only cool the first time around.
I actually like the art aspect of it. I'd never buy it, but it's honestly a genuinely clever bit of art trickery and makes you double take. "Is that a zip tie? It looks like one but not quite, is that silver? Wait a minute..."
I can appreciate the work that wouldve went into carefully replicating the look but in cast and polished metal.
It's like trying to compare a zip tie to a very realistic painting of a zip tie. The latter takes a lot of work to create a convincing replica but out of a different medium.
If you can establish with a large enough amount of people that you will charge $800 for each zip tie such that when they buy one and wear it, everyone around them can surmise that they must have bought and can therefore afford, an $800 zip tie then I'm sure they'll be happy to fork over the dough to you. If you just turn up, in your utter oscurity with your 500 pack, where buying one from you signifies only that they bought a zip tie and nothing else, they'll just release the hounds.