(map from: http://www.bgs.ac.uk/home.html)
Not only is Gold one of the most sought after metals, it is also one of the most durable and stable. The gold that is found in jewelry, works of arts, and manufactured goods can still be (and is usually) recovered for immediate or future use. Because of this strong durability of gold, gold consumption barely creates a wasteful or un-useful by-product like many other sources, and instead simply changes form or ownership when no longer being used.
Gold is constantly in the eyes of consumers and investors in today’s world. Even more so now that countries like China and India are becoming overwhelmingly more involved in the consumption of gold. But gold has always been around, and its place in history has been valued since the dawn of ancient civilizations.
Image © Trustees of The British Museum
The Mesopotamia Headdress is a piece of historic gold from the Mesopotamia period which dates past 5000 BC. In Mesopotamian culture, the number eight was a symbol of the afterlife and the journey to it by the passing soul. This piece of historic jewelry would have been traditionally worn as a funerary Headdress.
The Mesopotamia Headdress can be seen with eight golden leaves that were hand hammered and beautifully crafted for the historic piece.
The era of the Headdress was also credited to introduce large scale economies. The Carnelias and Lapis Lazuli pictured in the Headdress would have to have been imported especially from another region, symbolizing the importance of trade. The need to import materials for the headdress also symbolized the importance of precious metals and materials.
The ancient piece can be found in The British museum.
Source: http://www.gold.org/jewellery/about_gold_jewellery/historic-pieces/mesopotamian_headdress/
The Oro is a Symbian OS 3g Smartphone with a 3.5 inch AMOLED screen, and an 8 megapixel camera on the back capable of 720p video recording. On the outside of the phone, you have a spectacular design merit of its 800 EUR (US$1125) price tag. The Nokia Oro is premium brand Smartphone plated in 18-gold karat, sapphire crystal and leather.
The Video below comes straight from Nokia, with a description on their new golden product:
It was only a few weeks ago that the Cash 4 Gold blog published two posts on the consumption of gold in India. A blog post was published on India’s Gold consumption and its holdings in gold investments which made it the largest consuming country of gold in the world. The Cash4Gold blog also covered the Akshaya Trihiya Gold Festival in India and one of its top priced items, the Shree Yantra. But now, a new country has recently taken the crown, becoming the new largest consumer of gold…
China has become the top consumer of gold, surpassing India in gold reserves and investments. The World Gold Council (WGC) reports that China’s total purchase of gold in the first quarter of the year comes to a total of 90.9 tons. India’s top gold holdings are now at 85.6 tons, falling for the first time into the number 2 spot behind china at a 2% decrease.
Though China has surpassed India in the being the largest consumer of gold, India still plays a vital role in gold consumption. Together, China and India accounted for almost half of all gold demand worldwide (estimated at 41%).
The surge of Chinese interest in gold has also played yet another role. The Price of gold has raised yet again thanks directly to new Chinese gold investments. Passing the $1,500 mark for the second time this year the price of gold rose to $1,501.50 per ounce.
Gold has been a staple of economics for many years because of its brick by brick building placement in currencies around the world. Gold stands as the foundation of currency, and the price of currency is most often based on the price of the gold bullion. Chocolate, a favorite of American sweets nationwide, is also plays a key role in American diets. But how do chocolate and gold relate financially?
The Hershey Bar, a favorite American chocolate, was introduced over 100 years ago in 1894. Since then, the brown cut chocolate bar has sold at different prices during different times. In the same way that the price of gold continues to change dramatically over time, the Hersey Bar has moved along with it.
The value of gold is always changing, and has been so since its discovery. But what does that mean for America’s famed chocolate bar? It’s value has also jumped with the price of gold. A chart published by foodtimeline.org shows how gold rules over the economic value of all things, even chocolate bars.
A marvelous and eye grabbing piece of gold has arrived in Dubai’s “Deira Gold Souk”, a premier destination for gold enthusiasts in the Middle East. The “Najmat Taiba”, or, Star of Taiba, pictured above, is the world’s largest gold ring. Weighing in close to that of the average person, this massive 150 pound “gold ring” is 21 karot gold and additionally plated with 11 pounds of precious stones.
The Times of India reports that the ring is worth a considerable amount. The Najmat Taiba’s owner claims that it cost $547,000 to make the ring back in 2000. However, with the dramatic and now record breaking increase in the price of gold, the Najmat’s worth has multiplied drastically.
“"While it cost $547,000 to make the ring in the year 2000, the current value is worth over $3 million. This is the world's biggest gold ring and we have displayed it on behalf of Taiba, the Saudi Arabian jewelry maker who made this unique piece in 2000 when the gold price was only $250 per ounce," Kanz Jewellers Managing Director Anil Dhanak said.”
“Reflective gold-coated plastic film protects essential equipment from intense solar radiation and heat. Similarly, a layer of gold on the astronauts’ helmets defends against lethal doses of radiation when working in space.”
Even the Hubble Space Telescope(pictured above), which is responsible for many of our solar images and understanding, is coated in gold. The World Gold Council states: “Gold coatings protect the $1.5 billion Hubble telescope against corrosion and electrical connections.” The reflectivity of gold protects the Hubble and is part of the reason why the telescope has been in orbit safely for over twenty years.
Gold has long had a history of service in the medical field for society. Since medieval times, gold has been used to benefit health with the long term belief that a metal so rare and beautiful must also provide healthy benefit to humans. These beliefs turned out to have some merit after all when gold salts were used for its anti-inflammatory purpose, as well as successful use in fighting arthritis and similar conditions.
The dawn of nanotechnology has seen gold use increase in various new ways. Nanotechnology is now also testing the use of gold in brand new medical trials that may provide exciting results for cancer treatment in this nanotechnology age.
“In medicine, gold nanoparticles can serve as a simple, elegant platform upon which potent therapies may be bound. In this clinical trial the nanoparticles, which were coated with both an immune-avoiding molecule and a potent anti-cancer agent, were shown to be very well tolerated and to target solid tumors. There is hope that such targeting technology will be effective against a range of cancers, including lung, pancreatic, breast and ovarian cancer.”
The success of these trials may provide new ways to fight against cancer, using gold nanoparticle-based therapeutics to be used before surgery, in hopes that the gold particles may assist in pre-surgery therapy and possibly avoid surgery altogether.
As the value of gold continues to rise, more uses for gold have begun to emerge in today’s technological driven world.
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