Fabulous Gold Jewelry for Adding Shine to Any Collection

The history of California is written in gilded script. The most populous state in the union was little more than a backward territory before gold was discovered there in 1848. Prospectors came from far and wide in search of the shiny yellow metal, and many of them stayed. By 1852, the population of the new state had tripled! Tiny towns like San Francisco became cities almost overnight. And it was all because of gold.
 
The California Gold Rush was the single most significant event in the history of the most crowded state in America. But it was not the first time gold has caused a stir.  Men have been searching for the elusive element for thousands of years.

According to historians, gold was discovered during the Bronze Age (3200 BC) and was immediately identified as a precious metal.
 
Gold artifacts were incredibly popular with the early Egyptians. They believed the element was a gift from the gods and that it gave its wearers magical powers, both in life and in death. Not surprisingly, most wealthy people were interred with their gold. Things aren’t much different today.
 
No, we don’t consider it to be magical these days, but we are just as crazy about it as we have ever been.  Call it gold fever or conspicuous consumption, but it seems we just can’t get enough of that brilliant yellow metal.

About 3,200 tons of gold is sold each year. Most of this metal is used for purely decorative purposes, like jewelry.
 
Gold Jewelry
 
Contrary to popular belief, gold was not originally prized for its luster. After all, many other metals are also eye-catching. What set gold apart from the pack was its amazing malleability. A single gram of gold can be pressed into a sheet of one square meter. In other words, it can be used to create incredibly intricate designs. In the hands of a true master, it is the metal par excellence.
 
Goldsmiths have been making jewelry for thousands of years. In every country where the metal was mined, there were artisans who were paid to work with it and to turn it into decorative ornaments.

Many of these pieces are now considered priceless works of art and are displayed in museums or held in private collections.
  
Modern Times
 
Reliable estimates put the total dollar amount of all the gold that has ever been mined (about 160,000 metric tons) at around 6.5 trillion. Though production techniques have improved and the world supply has grown, so too has the demand for gold. In fact, the price of gold per ounce more than doubled in the first decade of the 21st century. As you might imagine, this rapid price increase had a profound effect on the jewelry market. Costs went up, but so did profit margins.
 
Why Gold?

Most metals have multiple applications in multiple industries, but not gold. Gold has always and probably will always be a mostly decorative metal. As we mentioned earlier, about half of the gold that is mined each year is used to make jewelry. Forty percent is used in investments and the rest is used in industry. 
 
Rarity alone does not make something valuable. Sure, gold is a lot rarer than silver, about ten times rarer, but it is also the most versatile of the precious metals.

Gold is usually alloyed with base metals, like copper, to increase its hardness and make it easier to work with. But even after another metal has been added, gold retains its malleability and ductility. An experienced goldsmith is limited only by his imagination when he is working with gold.
 
Unlike many other articles of jewelry, gold retains its value surprisingly well. After all, it can always be melted down and sold as a commodity. At the very least, an owner will receive scrap price, which is equivalent to the market rate. That makes gold jewelry a safe investment, no matter how often it is worn.

In ancient times, gold was popular with both sexes, but it has since fallen out of favor with the guys.  Most modern men are more comfortable wearing silver, which they see as a less ostentatious decorative metal. The girls do not agree. They are snatching up auriferous ornaments at a record pace. In other words, it is the women who are driving the modern gold rush!
   
The real appeal of gold as ornament is that a little of it goes a long way.  A pair of gold earrings, a bracelet, or a slender gold chain can be used to complement nearly any ensemble.

The beguiling brilliance of the metal works especially well with darker colors, like black. Just be careful not to overdose on gold! Too much gold really can be overpowering. It is often best to wear only one or two gold items at a time. A nice pair of gold earrings and a necklace is a classic combination that will turn more than a few heads.When worn with the right ensemble, gold jewelry can make anyone stand out from the crowd. Find some gold jewelry pieces that strike your fancy now!

Kevin Williams is a freelance writer who writes about fashion apparel such as gold jewelry.