What is Gold?

Thousands of years ago, a child found a shiny rock in a creek and humanity was introduced to gold for the first time. As they say: “Gold is where you find it”. Discovered in its most natural state, gold is now a part of every human culture.

What is Gold?

Gold is a chemical element that occurs naturally. Pure gold looks slightly reddish yellow. It is soft and malleable. Gold is one of the most unreactive chemical elements and is completely solid under standard conditions. Because of its rareness, gold is considered a precious element and has been used throughout history as coins, jewelry and other arts. More than 190 thousand tons of gold exist on earths grounds.

A little history

Gold has always been scattered around the world. Multiple people simultaneously discovered gold in different areas. Most people who discovered it were immediately impressed with it and it quickly became a part of the culture where they lived.

Gold has always been a valuable element to humans. This can be observed with the efforts that have always been made to obtain it, whether now or centuries ago.

The “value” of gold is recognized all over the world. Approximately 500 B.C, in Greece, gold was already used as money. They believed that gold was a combination of sunlight and water.

Gold became the monetary standard and made the world economy possible. The soul concept of money (gold coins) allowed different countries to work together exchanging gold for other services.

The first gold coins were invented by King Croesus of Lydia and were used as currency in multiple countries. Money was then invented, and it was Gold.

Worth

Under the gold standard, anyone holding paper money can turn it in for a fixed amount of gold from the country’s gold reserve. You could bring paper money to a bank and get actual gold in return.

This standard was abandoned by the US government in 1971, when President Richard Nixon announced that the USA would no longer convert dollars to gold at a fixed value.

Each day, the price of Gold fluctuates and is determined by a group of people, in the UK, depending on supply and demand.

Pricing

The pricing of gold is used by many people and businesses around the world. This process enables them to work with a universally accepted price, making it easier to conduct business.

Twice daily, at 10:30 AM and 3:00 PM in the UK, the IBA published the gold price in US dollars which serves as a reference for the entire world. The price is also adjusted every 45 seconds in real-time based on financial evaluations.

Here at 22 Jewelry, we use 14K gold filled beads to create our collections. Our jewelry is made with real gold and is completely authentic. Read more about how to care for your jewelry in our specifications page.