Gold: A Beginner's Guide

Gold is a multifaceted element. Not only is it considered to be one of the oldest units of exchange throughout history it is also attributed with great beauty in jewelry. Here are some key facts about gold:

Science Facts About Gold

The chemical symbol for Gold is 'Au'. Its melting point is extremely high at approximately 1,064 degrees centigrade. It is for this reason that nowadays gold is melted in huge refineries.

Jewelry Facts About Gold

Gold is the most traditional metal used in jewelry pieces especially engagement and wedding rings. Gold will not tarnish or rust and is therefore a popular choice for jewelry. One of the really interesting facts about gold is that gold is also an incredibly malleable metal. Due to this pure gold is actually too soft to be used in jewelry making as it will not withstand the daily wear and tear. To make it more suitable for jewelry it is therefore alloyed with a mixture of metals such as silver, copper and zinc.

In order to understand the purity of gold it is necessary to understand the karatage of the gold used. Karatage indicates the percentage of pure gold used to make the alloy. 100% pure gold is known as 24 karat, 75% gold is known as 18 karat and 58.3% gold is 14 karat. Different countries have indicated a preference for certain types of gold over time. Asia tends to prefer more yellow gold such as 22 karat gold whereas the US has a tendency towards 18 karat gold for its jewelry pieces.

Other facts about gold are that the color of the gold used in jewelry is determined by the metals with which it is alloyed. Yellow gold is normally alloyed with a mix of copper and silver. White gold is either alloyed with Nickel or palladium to give the resulting white gold color. Rose gold is alloyed with copper to give it a pinky gold tone.

History Facts About Gold

Gold is perhaps the single most well known unit of exchange in all times. The name itself comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for yellow and its importance throughout history has been well-documented. Due to its rarity gold has been treasured ever since it was discovered. It has also developed a long association with positions of power and royalty. In Egypt Pharaohs were often buried surrounded by their gold. The monarchs of Europe have traditionally been associated with jewelry made out of gold.

Investment Facts About Gold

It would be ridiculous to talk about facts about gold without paying attention to the key importance of gold as an investment vehicle. Gold is a preferred choice of investment across the globe and is the one commodity that people frequently turn to as a safe investment in times of economic downturn or political upheaval. Nowhere has this been more evident than over the last six months as the price of gold has skyrocketed towards $2000 due to ongoing uncertainty in Europe over the debt crisis, economic concerns in the US and vast social and political upheaval in much of North Africa and the Middle East.

When investors are unsure about how the market will react to certain events the price of gold tends to increase. This is a repetition of the facts about gold as an investment over hundreds of years. During times of revolution people often turned to gold as a means of security as it was relatively small for its value and easy to transport. Gold continues to play a very important role in contemporary investment and this is unlikely to change in the near future.

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