The Beauty of Gold

The earliest records of the use of gold for medicinal and healing purposes come from Alexandria, Egypt. Over 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians ingested gold for mental, bodily and spiritual purification. The ancients believed that gold in the body worked by stimulating the life force and raising the level of vibration on all levels It is estimated that only slightly more than 100,000 tons of gold have been mined during all of recorded history. Several tons of ore are required in order to produce just one ounce of the precious metal. And although gold can be found in rivers, seas and land in many parts of the earth, it is not easily extracted. Museums showing gold jewelry, coins and artifacts from ancient civilizations attest to the metal's enduring beauty and permanence

Gold’s Characteristics

Gold's natural color is enhanced by alloying it with small amounts of other metals, yielding a spectrum of exquisite, subtle shades. Gold can be melted, or shaped, to create any design. It can be alloyed with a number of other metals to increase its strength and produce a variety of colors and can be re-melted and used again to create new designs. Yellow, rose, green, white and purple gold are created by adjusting the alloys. More copper results in a soft rose color; additional silver creates green gold; and nickel or palladium produces white, while adding aluminum produces purple gold.

Jewelers throughout the ages have preferred gold to all other metals for its beauty and ease of workmanship.

Gold is one of the most precious metals in the world. It is present in the rivers, seas, and the earth’s crust and trace amounts are present in plants and animals. It is, however, difficult and expensive to extract. In modern mining operations approximately 3 tons of ore are needed to extract one ounce of gold. The many desirable qualities found in gold, along with its scarcity, have made it the most popular metal for use in jewelry today.

Properties of Gold

Gold has a melting point of 1945 degrees Farenheit (1063 degrees Celsius). When alloyed (chemically combined) with other base metals the melting temperature of the resulting alloy is changed. 18k yellow gold has a melting point of 1675 degrees Farenheit and 14k yellow gold has a melting point of about 1550 degrees Farenheit.

Gold has a specific gravity of 19.33. It is relatively heavy compared to most metals, such as silver (SG 10.7) or iron (SG 7.8). A notable exception is platinum (SG 21.4).

Gold is more malleable than any other metal and can be hammered into foil so thin that it is almost transparent.

Gold has a unique ductility property allowing it to be drawn into wire so fine it can barely be seen.

Gold is deep yellow in color. Its great reflectivity properties help keep its brightness and color from fading with time.

Gold will not rust, tarnish or corrode. Gold jewelry recovered from ancient Egyptian tombs is in the same state as when placed there over 4000 years ago.

Gold is softer than most other metals. On the Mohs scale of hardness (which is a measure of a gemstone or mineral’s resistance to scratching), gold has a hardness value of 2 to 2.5. Diamond has a value of 10. Pure gold may easily be scratched. Fortunately, gold becomes harder when alloyed with other base metals.

Gold is relatively scarce and therefore expensive. It is estimated that only 125,000 tons of gold have been mined the world over since the beginning of time.

Gold is able to bond with other base metals. This property gives rise to the many different colors available in modern gold alloys.

Fineness (Karat Value)

Since ancient times the purity of gold has been defined by the term karat, which is 1/24 part of pure gold by weight. Pure gold is equivalent to 24K. Gold purity may also be described by its fineness, which is the amount of pure gold in parts per 1000. For example, a gold ring containing 583 fine gold has 583 parts (58.3%) gold and 417 parts (41.7%) of other base metals.
Federal Trade Commission rules require that all jewelry items sold in the United States as gold shall be described by "a correct designation of the karat fineness of the alloy." No jewelry item less than 10K may be sold in the United States as gold jewelry. In Europe, you will find gold jewelry as low as 8K

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