Gold Jewelry Past and Present
Just about everyone enjoys receiving a gift of gold jewelry. With the incredible selection of jewelry styles available, there’s something unique for every personality. Gold jewelry has been around since antiquity. From civilizations like ancient Egypt to the Roman Empire, people have worn gold jewelry as adornments and status symbols. While most people appreciate the beauty of gold jewelry, relatively few are aware of its long and storied history.
The use of gold goes back to prehistoric times. Prehistoric man likely found it in riverbeds and streams as he collected drinking water. Because it’s naturally beautiful, it was immediately recognized as something of value.
Before long, it was used for ornamentation and was connected with the god of the sun, leading to the widespread use of gold in a variety of early religious ceremonies. As an example, the Incas overtook the Chimu Empire and ordered the nation’s goldsmiths to cover all of the walls of the Temple of the Sun in precious gold.
All over the world people gold has been sought after beginning in prehistoric times. When it was discovered people would follow and search for more. An example of the feverous hunt for gold is the famous arrival of Columbus in 1492. The conquering of Mexico by Cortes and seizing the gold he discovered in 1519. His goal was the restoration of Spanish economic wealth. In the history of the United States gold has been a very important key to its growth. In the 1849 gold rush where prospectors numbering 40,000 traveled west in search of gold. The next discovered gold was in South Africa and Australia and the rich deposits found furthered the gold trade.
Gold is usually combined with other metals to make gold jewelry. Gold is soft and this makes it strong enough to wear on a daily bases. Using base metal like copper decreases the carat of gold and the lower the carat of gold the less expensive it is. This enables different carats of gold to be available and affordable to everyone. The more base metals makes the gold stronger and breaks or bends less.
Depending on the metals added, goldsmiths can alter the hardness, melting point, color, and other properties. Copper is the most common base metal, which gives the gold a more red color. In some antique and Russian gold jewelry, the copper used creates a distinct rose-colored gold. Pendant white gold is made by adding nickel and/or palladium to yellow gold. And in the Japanese craft of Mokume-gane, goldsmiths use the contrasts between laminated colored gold alloys to create wood grain effects in the jewelry.
As the gold demand along with the desire for the gold jewelry fluctuate during the years, jewelers continue to design and create more elaborate, ornamentally stunning designs. Gold jewelry can be very simplistic. Simple gold bands and bangles for your fingers and wrist to the most elaborate of designs with precious stones, diamonds, rubies and sapphires and resembling a piece of art. Today jewelry made of gold is designed for today’s fashion trends. Each fashion era has produced different types of jewelry to go with that periods fashion.
Gold has had a long and storied existence in human history. From the beginnings of its use by prehistoric man to the intricate, artistically complex pieces of modernity, gold jewelry has taken many forms. There is one thing that has not changed: gold jewelry makes a wonderful gift for someone special!
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