More about Gold and its history

History of Gold

As far back as 4000 B.C. the ancient Egyptians fashioned beautiful artifacts from GOLD. Universally considered to be the symbol of everything precious and of lasting value, GOLD has taken many forms over the centuries: from nuggets, coins, ingots and idols. Considered valuable not only because of it's rarity but also because of nature’s reluctance to give it up GOLD is the first element mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 2: 10-12), and GOLD has fascinated and seduced man since the very beginning..... Since the beginning of civilization man has placed great value on GOLD.

Gold is the most beautiful of all metals and probably the earliest metal discovered by man. It is the only truly yellow metal found free and almost pure in nature. It is non-magnetic and one of more than one hundred elements that make up the planet Earth. Gold is the most important of the precious metals and is, and always has been, of the greatest economic importance. Many nations base the value of their currency on the amount of gold in their reserves. Gold is the only universally accepted medium of exchange.

Pure gold is soft,  almost too soft to be used in jewellery without being alloyed with another metal. It is the most ductile and malleable of all metals and can be beaten into a sheet or leaf so thin that one ounce will cover an area of 14.86 square meters. Gold is almost completely insoluble in nature and in ordinary acids, only a mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acids and some cyanide solutions will dissolve it.

Gold is Unique

GOLD is the most malleable and ductile of all metals. It is said that a single ounce of GOLD can be drawn to form a wire more than 60 kilometres long without breaking. With a specific gravity 19 times that of water, virtually immune to the effects of oxygen it will not corrode or rust and is an excellent conductor of electricity. GOLD cannot be broken down into any more elementary substances, nor can any other substance be made from it. Its colour and lustre have lured men and women with an irrational attraction since it was first discovered. Many have succumbed to "GOLD FEVER". It has been said by many an astute observer, that once a person has been afflicted with GOLD FEVER one is then afflicted for the rest of their lifetime, an illusive love affair that never truly fades.

The various forms of gold

From fine particles, almost invisible to the naked eye, through to nuggets many kilograms in weight. The largest GOLD nugget ever found in the world was found on the 5th of February 1869 at Moliagul, 14 kms northwest of Dunoll, in the heart of the Victorian Goldfields, Australia. It weighed a massive 2280 troy ounces. That's more than 70 kilograms. The Hand of Faith Nugget found at Kingower approx. 30 kms north of Dunolly in October 1980 is the largest GOLD nugget known to remain in existence today. It is also the largest GOLD nugget ever found with a metal detector weighing 875 troy ounces, more than 27 kilograms. Sold in 1982 for a reputed sum of around AUD$1 million (US$1.31 million) it is now on display in the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas. Rarely ever, is GOLD found in its crystalline form.

Gold Nuggets -- are worth far more than crushed or smelted gold as each nugget is truly unique. Created by nature, no two nuggets are ever the same; each has its own special beauty.

Gold --- has been used to make fine Jewellery for centuries. Gold has various other metals added to it  over the years to give it hardness or to change the colour slightly E.g. Rose Gold, White Gold.

The method used in current times to show the purity and hardness of a piece of GOLD jewellery is to quote how many Carats (or Karats) the GOLD is.

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24 Carat = 100.0% pure
18 Carat = 75.00% pure
14 Carat = 58.33% pure
12 Carat = 50.00% pure
10 Carat = 41.67% pure
  9 Carat = 37.50% pure

Gold used in Jewellery

GOLD PLATING---Deposits with a minimum thickness of 7 millionth of and inch.

GOLD WASH-----Gold deposits with a thickness of 2 – 5 millionth of an inch.

GOLD INLAYS----Solid pieces of gold or gold alloy attached by dovetailing ‘usually using 14 – 24 Karat)

GOLD LEAF-------Gold leaf is very thin, 3-4 millionth of an inch and is made by flattening under pressure. Can be so thin to be almost transparent and allow light through.

GOLD FILLING-----Refers to a base metal such as Nickel that has gold sheet attached by soldering or some other means. Gold filled was once commonly used in watch cases.

HEAVY GOLD PLATE----A film of fine gold plated to other metals to a thickness of at least 100 millionth of an inch.

ROLLED GOLD------A layer of plating, of 10 karat or better, mechanically bonded to a base metal. Gold content may be less than 1/20^th of the total weight.