Professional Knowledge on Precious Metals

In the Egyptian era, gold had probably already been used in business and commercial since 3400 BC or earlier. However, gold coins were first casted in a specific shape, style and weight in the 7th century BC by the famous King of Lydia. In China, gold coins were first made by Ying Ai of the State of Chu. During the Shang and Zhou Dynasty, gold was used as gifts among nobles and aristocrats. 

Gold represents wealth and happiness. It is the universal currency of the world and is also the common language of wealth. However, the amount of gold stored is in fact highly low, it still included in all rocks and seawater in the world. Therefore, it can be said that gold is found everywhere and anywhere. If pure gold is to be extracted from gold, major technologies and a large amount of capital is needed; unless it is the native gold that often co-exists with silver in the crevices of rocks, which is called electrum. Jinsha River ("Golden Sands River") of ancient Chinese legend is the paradise that produced abundant gold dust. Jinsha River is the headwaters of the Yangtze River that flows past areas such as Qinghai Sichuan and Yunnan province, and goes through numerous mountains and ravines, naturally cleaning and precipitating gold dust. For this reason, how many heroes have gone on an expedition and battled here, and how many beautiful women have shed tears here? 

There have been discoveries of gold mines all over the world. The main gold production countries currently are China and South Africa. The main production area of China is in Shandong, Jiangxi, Yunnan and Fujian. China is now the world's largest gold producer.

The atomic number of gold is 79. Natural gold is formed by a single atom AU 197, does not have any isotopes and is therefore extremely stable. AU 198 is the radioactive element of neutron natural stable gold atom AU 197. Humans inject AU 198 colloid to destroy cancer cells, which is able to effectively cure cancer.

The melting point of gold is 1063°C, and has a tension strength of 11-22 g/cm2, the best malleability among all metals. 1g of gold can be expanded into a thin 200m long line, which is commonly used as conducting wires of semiconductors and beautiful accessories.

Gold has a unique golden yellow color. The reflectivity (albedo) of gold is extremely low in visible short waves of ultraviolet areas, while the reflectivity of gold can reach up to 98.44% outside of ultraviolet range. This characteristic is used to protect missiles or similar objects and strengthen their resistance to high temperature radiant heat, and can also be provided to infrared rays for heating and reflection. Therefore, gold is an essential raw material in the high technology national defense industry.

Furthermore, gold is the most chemically stable metal. Gold does not oxidize easily in air and water. Humans have good compatibility with gold, which is commonly used in quality dental products to make crowns and fill in cracks in artificial teeth.

Conclusion:

The hardness of pure gold is too low. Pure gold is soft, giving it the tendency to become deformed, therefore it is not suitable for making accessories. Although alloying gold with silver or copper may seem tacky, it actually hardens and strengthens gold, and also gives practicality. The alloys of gold are able to produce various beautiful colors according to different formulas. The tones of gold depend on the ratio of gold and silver and copper to product beautiful colors.

Gold alloys are measured in carats (k), unlike silver and platinum. However, the weight of all precious metals is measured in ounce. The "carat" of gold and the "carat" of gemstones share the same term, but their weights are different. The carat of gemstones is 0.2g, while the carat of gold is about 1.296g, called KT in short. 1 troy ounce equals to 31.035g, which is equivalent to 24 carats.

Pure gold is designated as 24K. Timepieces (clocks and watches) and jewelry are mainly designated as 18K and 14K. 18K equals 18/24=0.75, which means that the weight of gold content take up 75% of the total weight; it is also called 750 alloy. 18K gold has beautiful color tones and strength, and is also an important material for fine quality accessories and collections. Also, the cost of excellent quality 18K exceeds the cost of 24 K pure gold by far. This is something collectors should notice.

America uses K18, K14 and K10 as the type for alloys. Europe also followed this method to differentiate alloys. A national authentication system is applied by each country to maintain the purity of K. Moreover, using different formulas and combining different metals and casting methods, 18K gold may have different strength (hardness) and color, and the production cost may also differ widely. A good 18K gold is hard with a bit of softness, and has good malleability and nice color and luster. 18K gold is also high in quality and durability, not easily oxidized and changed in shape. Therefore, 18K gold is worth adding to your collection.

18K gold (the below is the reference data provided by the laboratory and does not in any way represent any product on the market)

The composition of 18K gold is 75 gold+16.5 nickel+5.0 zinc+3.5 copper

The composition of 18K platinum is 75 gold+21 silver+4 palladium (palladium is also a highly expensive white metal)

The composition of 18K red gold (rose gold) is 75 gold+25 copper+nickel

The Gold Market:

US Dollar and Gold:

Since the preparation law in 1934, the inflation in America has only been exchanging US dollars with the official price of 35.0875 US dollar per ounce to international governments or central banks. In other words, it was generally acknowledged that the US dollar equals gold. Why did America outflow gold? This was because demands on the US dollar of the Federal Reserve Bank were made to be exchanged to gold. This means that countries are currently wary of the economic in America and the international balance of payment is showing negative growth. The reliability of the US dollar is reducing, and everyone is worried about an increase in the US dollar in the future, so they have given up on the dollar, and buy gold instead. However, gold cannot increase interest rate, but the US dollar can. There are pros and cons to both sides. Therefore, many big businesses hedges with mutual holdings of US dollars and gold, and then stores up gold, thus becoming the symbol of wealth and guarantee.