From Fashion To Finance – Gold’s Uses

Posted on August 25, 2010
Filed Under Forex Investing | Leave a Comment

Gold is a precious metal that has been mined at countless locations across the world for thousands of years. This timespan of gold mining, without any indication that its popularity is waning, implies that gold has something extraordinary that has captured hundreds of generations; and indeed it does. This is, quite simply, that gold is not just a precious metal used for making jewellery, but a vastly adaptable material; this is what has ensured its continued popularity along the centuries.

Jewellery is one of the most widely-known uses of gold and one most people associate with it. Jewellery made out of gold and coloured glass beads was made by the Egyptians, the first to use gold in this way, and it has been used ever since; for example, in many countries, wedding rings are gold. While its easily shaped nature means that gold is excellent for making jewellery, it is often alloyed with other metals such as copper so that the metal will be less soft and therefore create a longer-lasting piece of jewellery. Pink, blue and white gold can be made by creating alloys with gold, and these are also used to make jewellery.

Just as significant as its use in jewellery is gold’s role in investment and currency. Previously throughout history, gold has been used to create a ‘gold standard’, whereby a single monetary unit is fixed at the worth of a set amount of gold, and the precious metal has been the source of much debate. Many people are of the belief that gold is a hedge for inflation, avoiding the sometimes-disastrous effects of external factors on the economy. Due to this, gold maintains popularity as an asset, as it is seen as a safe investment.

There are further, very varied, uses for gold. It is often used within electronics manufacture in devices such as mobile phones and games consoles. Gold has been used in a range of products from USB cables to aircraft engines, due to its high level of conductivity and resistance to corrosion or oxidisation. There are also more specialised uses, such as coasting aircraft windscreens with extremely thin layers of gold through which electricity can pass and warm the glass, preventing it icing over. Medicine and dentistry have also found a number of different uses for gold. Isotopes of the metal can be used to treat cancer and gold injected into the body can alleviate the symptoms of arthritis and other painful illnesses.

Gold can be used in countless, very different, ways, although of course some are much more well-known and popular than others, such as jewellery. It is a testament to gold’s adaptable nature, however, that is has become such an important part of many different industries.

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