I would think it would be very rare for a cartridge to go completely dead without a bit of sound. I’ve heard of them becoming quieter, or becoming distorted, etc. But going completely dead quiet? That would seem quite the anomaly.
Before going out and purchasing. $1,500 cartridge, I would suspect something else. A wiring failure somewhere in the turntable/tonearm would be my first thought.
But, if you have no back-up cart, I would go out and buy the cheapest MM cart I could find, ‘bolt it on’, and see if you get sound.