The ABC’s of Gold

Way before the American Dollar, the British Pound, or the Indian Rupee came on the scene there was another measure of wealth. Gold has been valued as a currency practically since it was found. It is still used today to denote one’s wealth. Rare and very heavy, it’s been used as a status symbol for kings and merchants alike. This is our guide into the world of gold, and we hope you enjoy this journey into the world of this precious metal.

Gold has certainly set itself apart from the other precious metals. In fact, it is one of the most precious and valuable metals that you can find. It is soft and malleable, so much that a single ounce of the metal can be stretched into a single long wire that will span 5 miles in length. If you would prefer to pound rather than stretch, why not pound it down. It will create a sheet of gold that can cover over 100 square feet. Since it will not corrode or rust it will last indefinitely.

It can be found almost everywhere. It is in our rivers and seas, in the crust of the earth, and in our plants as well. Unfortunately, it is expensive and difficult to extract…which is why it is so pricey. It takes about 2.5 to 3 tons of gold ore to produce one single ounce of pure gold.

Here’s a trivia question for you. Do you happen to know what popular metal is most often found in today’s jewelry? Any guesses? You got it…first try…it is gold! It is used in our heart jewelry, fine jewelry, cool jewelry, you name it. Most of this gold goes into one type of jewelry though…the wedding band. Since it is so soft and malleable, it is often not found by itself, but in combination with other metals. It is this combination that makes it durable and strong and ensures that it will not be bent so easily. Do you happen to know what a combination of two or more metals is? It’s an alloy. Most of the gold that is used in our jewelry is an alloy.

What are these types of jewelry you ask? How about: (1) Gold jewelry, (2) White gold jewelry, (3) Gold plated jewelry, (4) Gold charm jewelry, (5) Rose gold jewelry, (6) Wholesale gold jewelry, (7) Gold body jewelry, (8) 24k gold jewelry, (9) 22k gold jewelry, (10) 18k gold jewelry, (11) 14k gold jewelry, (12) Indian gold jewelry, (13) Gold horse jewelry, (14) Plus other fine gold jewelry items.

You have probably heard of the word karat before, but do you know what it means? The word itself is derived from the word for the fruit of the carob tree. For example, the Arabic word girat, the Italian word carato, and the Greek word keration. The seeds of the carob tree were used in the measurement of the size of precious gems in the ancient world. There was a pure gold Byzantine coin called the solidus. It weighed in at 24 karats, so the 24 karat mark (i.e.: 24K or 24KT) became the mark used to indicate that the item being looked at was make of pure gold.

Did you enjoy this little journey into the world of gold? We hope so. If you would like to learn more we would love to have you visit our blog. We will go into more details on this subject, heart jewelry, and just jewelry in general. Welcome…

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