Gold Jewelry-The Rest of The Story
Gold is one of the metals taken from the earth and is probably
the first metal known to man. Its first use has been traced back
to 3600 B. C. and was probably originally obtained in Egypt, as
the ancient methods of obtaining gold in Egypt are illustrated
in early rock carvings. It is said in the book of Genesis that
Abraham, in the twentieth century B. C., when he went out of
Egypt, was very rich not only in cattle but in gold and silver
both in dust and ingots. In Exodus xxv, 29, we read that Moses
was commanded by the Lord to make spoons of gold for the
Tabernacle. In the writings of Homer, Sophocles, Herodotus,
Pliny and others, gold is frequently mentioned.
Gold is widely distributed in nature and is found in many ways
and in all parts of the world. It is found in water, in the ice
of Alaska, in the sand of South Africa, and in the quartz of
Colorado, and is frequently found native, though usually alloyed
with silver or iron. The purest specimens of native gold have
yielded from 96 to 99 per cent, pure metal.
It is remarkable that all of the races of mankind have selected
gold as the first and chief representative of value. In the
earliest times it was used as a medium of exchange in the form
of bars, spikes and rings; the rings could be opened and closed
so that a chain could be made for convenience in carrying. Gold
was also used at a very early period for the construction of
personal ornaments, as the savage found it easy to beat out the
pure ore into circlets to adorn his limbs. The universal use of
gold in preference to all other metals is due to its many
properties; its color and luster, its malleability and its
indestructibility. Gold does not tarnish nor can it be
destroyed. It may be reduced to a liquid and the liquid
transferred to a powder, and the powder when melted in a
crucible returns to its natural state. It is the most malleable
of all metals and has been hammered into leaves 1-282,000th of
an inch thick. An ounce of gold may be drawn out into a wire
fifty miles long. The tenacity of gold is seven tons per square
inch.
Pure gold, being too soft for all ordinary purposes, is
generally alloyed with other metals. Silver and copper are the
principal alloys used, although iron is used in small quantities
for different purposes. Pure silver has a brilliant white color
and is the whitest of all metals. No metal surpasses silver in
its luster and hardness it ranges between pure gold and pure
copper. It is more fusible than copper or gold, melting at a
bright red heat or at 1873F. It is commonly used for the purpose
of alloying gold in its pure state, but if too much is added it
makes the gold pale. Pure copper is the only metal that has a
reddish appearance. It is both malleable and ductile; hence it
is very useful as an alloy for gold.