Gold, perfection from heaven
Noble metal par excellence, gold has been attractive and fascinating for over thousands of years. The items offered today by Expertissim, made of this very popular metal encourages us to learn more about the subject. Without ignoring the value as the metal in question, the following information is quite enlightening about this material.
A little bit of chemistry and basic concepts.
The gold symbol AU (Latin Aureum)is a chemical element bearing the atomic number of 79.This noble metal has many advantages such as being the most malleable yet dense and tender in its pure form. Another advantage is that it will not oxidize in the presence of dioxide. Its color oforigin, yellow with reflections does not tarnish.According to astrophysicists, gold had a cosmic origin. It was synthesized by many stars over a million of years. The gold on earth was the result of older and powerful explosions in theuniverse. As a heavy metal, it was trapped in the earth’s core and circulated through the hottest parts of the mantle.Among the sites for gold-mining as of precisely right now the top is South Africa with 500 tons ofgold extracted per year.Next is theUnited States with the mines in Nevada that form a new Eldorado.And finally Australia providing close to 300 tons per year. If these figures are considerable they represented nothing compared with the history of gold. In fact, the World Gold Councilestimated in 2001 kilotons ofgold has been extracted since the its discovery by man!The problemis that gold reserves are diminishing, 60% of actual gold is “new” gold dug from mines and not from melting or recycling older gold objects.
In its crude form,native gold is present in forms ofultramafic ore with inclusions in nuggets, flakes or alluvial deposits due totheerosion of rocks underneath.The main and best manner to collect is by extracting using a mining excavation. With this procedure the gold is mainly extracted even if during some time periodsthe precious metal is wasted.
When workingon gold in its primary form, its malleability and ductility (capacity to shape and pulled without breaking) are taken into account.These two characters despite the question of quality makes pure gold impossible to render into an object. It must always be in alliance with another metal like silver, palladium in order to avoid any further deformation of the final product. It should be noted that gold possesses great conductive quality thus is often used in electricity.
A brilliant history.
The first traces ofgold usage was with the Chalcolithic period. This makes it the second known metalafter the copper.The oldest gold objects date from 5000 B.C. and found in a necropolis in Bulgaria.
Since Antiquity gold was usedas ornaments for the gods, divinities and the powerful. Divinesymbol, the population tended tomake the parallel between the metal’scolor and the brilliance of the sacred sun disk. Goldwas used inamulets, jewelry andreligious objects.In Egypt, it was employed for the funerals of the highest dignitaries. Goldwas the Egyptian symbol ofEternity as evident with the death mask of Tutankhamun made of 11 kilograms of gold. This mask would preserve the Pharaoh’s youth eternally. God was also the symbol for the god Amon. The association of gold and the divine is found in many civilizations from the Aztecs in South America to the Greek cultures. The chryselephantine statue of Athena dating from 500B.C. wasthe pride of the Parthenon.Always taking the principle of thegolden symbol ofEternity, the Greeks,followingthe example of neighboring civilizations, covered the eyes of the deceasedwith two gold coins. This enabled the dead to pay the ferryman of the River Styx to travel to the afterlife.Finally, the ultimate symbol of holinessis the gold halo surrounding the heads of saints and Christ in religious presentations.
Little by little, gold will also become a symbol of wealth.“To be rich like Cresus” or “Crack the jackpot” are not empty expressions! King Midas was known for his wealth and attraction togold. This can be found a few centuries later in China.During the Song Dynasty (960 -1276) authority was given to outside people of the Imperial Court to use gold. Before it was all reserved for the Emperor and his relatives.
During the MiddleAges the lure for gold was so strong that efforts were made to create if from lead. It was a process that puzzled the alchemists to seek the elaboration of the legendary philosopher's stone.Thegold during this time came mainly fromAfrica. Later in 1493, Christopher Colombus mined it during his second trip to the New World.
Gold fever persisted during the following centuries.As a symbol of being precious, wealth, and quality, the powerful used it in ornaments, surrounded themselves with gold objects and used it to decorate their homes with the gilt process withgold leafs and mercury mixing in some cases. Arousing amateurs, flakes and nuggets mesmerized the eyes of excavators. The episode of the Gold Rushafter the discovery in Georgia in 1830 then Sutter'sMill in southern California in 1848 are prime examples. This American treasure hunt continued in 1873 with the War of the Black Hills.The searchers then exposed the gold mines in the mountains and exploited them shamelessly and without any respect for governing agreements and local population. During this war the U.S. suffered one of their most significantfailuresduring the Indian Wars, Battle of LittleBighorn in 1876.
A metal with multiple uses:
A safe monetary value
Gold with its brilliance and decorative side was not only used to ornate our face or body.Thegold serves as money with coins. The first gold coin was struckby King Cyrus in 6600 B.C. Gold was the system of taxation in the Persian territory.Gold pieces during this time vary a great deal. Today some countries retain the name of the coins even if the composition is different. Such as inTunisia or Algeria using the term dinar, formerly one of the most importantcoins in the Meditteranean. The Greeks also used the system of gold coins. The Romans with their money(Aureus)adopted a political value for they were struck with the busts of the Emperors.
We will find throughout throughout the centuries
continued use of gold coins.During the Middle Ages withCharlemagne's death, gold was the dominate monetary means. Then four centuries later, the first Louis d’or were struck then the Venetian Ducats. The écu was another example of French currency. A verybeautiful gold coin from the time of John II and designed with a lamb on one side was sold byExpertissim last April. Other French examples date from theEmpire, the Consulate, the era of Louis XVIIIand theThirdRepublic. Ft. Thesecurrencies may seem difficult toapprehend without knowledge from numismatists. It is no coincidencethat gold was used for coins. It is a metal despite its rarity that is durable. Furthermore, it can be recognized easily and possesses a solidity, a proper resistance that makes it a stable monetary reference.During certain time periods, gold formed thepriority money unit such as the Golden Age of Islam. Noting this gold is considered as a secure mean of investment with silver constituting the principal mass today. This metal is the basis for the Gold Standard founded after the Bretton-Woods agreement in 1971. Aligned with the London Stock Exchange, it is found most often in banks in the form of bullion as a current safe value.
A precious art for this noble metal.
The craftsmanship with gold and the general process of working with precious metals is called metalsmith or goldsmith. It is the goldsmith-jeweler who is in charge of transforming this crude material into a delicate jewel. Several techniques are employed to form and decorate jewelry. Hammering in the first step. Then chiseling or even engraving, the guillocher is (such as this chain-link bracelet presented by Expertissim) are the techniques used for the object’s finesse. They also work with the gold threads to realize a fine, filigree-work. Finally, they can improve the beauty of a piece of jewelry by alloying it with pearls, precious stones that parallel to reveal the splendor and luxury ofajewel.
Jewelry employs alone 78 percent of the gold product.Alloys are still used in order tohavethe rigidity and solidity of the material. Silver, copper, rhodium, palladium, etc. are integrated. These leading alloys vary the gold production with the differing percentage of gold and the element used in the alloy such as yellow-gold, of course but also grey-gold, rose-gold, red-gold (use of copper),white-gold (covered with rhodium), and blue-gold (oxide layer of iron). Gold is also used in veneering. Vermeil or silver-gilt is one of the best examples which involves re-covering a silver object with gold. After these techniques another important aspect is used to evaluate a gold object, the carat. The carat is a scale used to evaluate the purity of the metal in an alloy. In general the gold used is 18 carats (18 K). This signifies that 18 gold grams are found in an alloy of 24 grams. 24 K is perfectly pure and extremely rare for it can be easily deformed.
Another important element is the hallmark The marking of gold objects wasmade mandatory in France in November 1797.A gold piece made by a smith must have two marks. The maker’s mark isdiamond-shaped and the State mark (currently : an eagle’s head for gold mass and implemented in 1919). These hallmarks are determined today by the French Ministry of Finance.
Alloy for Science
Since the Industrial Revolution, gold is very useful in the science and technology field. Its use in the electrical sector and electronics is undeniable. Its conductivity capability was the initial basis for its use. Furthermore its role as a catalyst is important for certain industrial procedures. It also used in the medicine and biomedical sectors. Ancient Egypt and China had already employed gold for treating certain diseases such as small pox and skin ulcers. And today it has been tested for the treatment of arthritis and even cancer. It is used in some body implants and in the field of dentistry. Overall, gold is essential in various domains such as photography, environment, nanotechnology, space exploration, etc.
Finally, some modern techniques have replaced or supplemented the earlier craftsmanship.The most noteworthy is the technique of gilding by electrolysis called electroplating.
Did you know?: Gold had been grantedthe virtue as anelixir of youth.Diane de Poitier, mistress of King Henry II, even abused and was poisoned by gold. It was said that everyday she drank a solution of liquid gold for retaining her youth and beauty hence she had very pale skin. This strong concentration of gold in the bones attracted the curiosity of doctors. Then a new school of thought developed for instance today gold is used in cosmetic and anti-aging creams.
Suzanne Kabanda (Student at I.E.S.A.)
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