Gold has been in use for thousands of years, and throughout history, we humans have always had a weakness for it. Whether we are talking about the ancient necropolis of Varna, which existed in roughly 4,600 BC, or the soaring gold rates today in 2020, the demand, desire, and love for gold has remained largely unchanged throughout the millennia.
In spite of our obsession with the yellow metal, most of us don’t really know everything that there is to know about gold though. Today, we are going to focus on five specific and quite amazing facts about gold that you probably have not heard about or read before.
Golden Yellow is the Really Unique Color of Gold
Yellow gold is the only metal on earth that has that golden yellow color, and any other element which resembles that characteristic golden yellow is a product of oxidation or some other controlled/uncontrolled chemical reaction.
Some of the Gold is Alien in Origin
Although gold may not be proof of extraterrestrial life, it is most likely proof of the fact that heavy meteor showers were a real nuisance hundreds of millions of years ago! That’s right, a huge portion of the gold we use today is most likely not terrestrial, that is it came from those meteors which bombarded the planet from outer space.
Gold Bearing Quartz is Rarer than Gold
Compared to extracted gold or even any other form of natural gold, gold-bearing quartz pieces are the rarest by far. This is also the reason why fake gold quartz jewelry is so commonly seen in the industry. They cost more than gold because they are truly unique, and no two gold quartz jewelry pieces will look exactly like the other.
Out of the few jewelers who have access to the natural gold quartzes necessary for crafting these rare pieces of unique gold quartz jewelry, Orocal, is the leading name in the US.
Gold Has Surprisingly Contrasting Chemical Properties
Consider the fact that gold is extremely dense and consequently heavy, but at the same time, gold also happens to be the most malleable natural metal in existence! For example, every ounce of gold can produce roughly 96.9 square feet in translucent sheet metal.
You Can Technically Eat Gold to Relieve Pain
Before chomping down on any jewelry, let us assure you that although gold is not known to be toxic, it can only be ingested safely in microscopic quantities at a time. Also, in order for the metal to be effective in pain relief, gold must be combined with sodium in the form of auranofin and sodium aurothiomalate. Isotope gold-198 is used quite effectively in certain types of cancer treatment as well.
Just in case none of this comes as a total surprise to you, then congratulations, you probably know more about gold than most people. However, as everyone who loves collecting and/or wearing gold knows, it’s not just about the knowledge when it comes to the alluring metal; it’s about holding that unique piece in your hands and knowing that you now own something that was valuable from the moment it came out of the earth, made even more precious by the unique talents of the goldsmith.
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