More Precious Metals Details

The Early Science Of Precious Metals For over 1,500 years, man has searched for a means to transmute  such as sulfur and mercury into gold. Alchemy is the study and practice of this pursuit. While the common caricature of alchemists pictures them as sorcerers and wizards, they were, in fact, our earliest doctors and scientists […]

Gold & Silver At Odds During the last half of the 19th century, there was considerable debate in the U.S. among advocates of a gold standard, a silver standard, or bimetallism.  Elsewhere in the world at this time, countries were switching to a gold standard and eliminating silver or bimetallic standards.  This had the effect […]

Impact Of The California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush of 1848-49 began with the discovery of a mother lode that stretched several hundred miles in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  Tectonic activity brought the region’s gold-bearing rocks nearer to the Earth’s surface. After the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in 1848, some 300,000 people […]

How To Make Your Silver Jewelry Last Silver is caused by sulfur in the atmosphere, which combines with the silver itself to form silver sulfide. Contrary to popular belief, silver that is stored usually tarnishes faster than silver that is used everyday.  The best way to avoid tarnish is to use your silver, wash it […]

The Science Of Precious Metals Our automobiles produce emissions that are harmful to both humans and the environment.  An automobile engine is powered by burning a mixture of air and gasoline.  When this mixture burns, combustion by-products, including nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons, are produced.  These gases pass from the engine to the car’s […]

Precious Metals In Jewelry It is not uncommon for jewelers to combine manufactured elements to create a finished piece of jewelry.  For example, there may be a cast head soldered to a hand-fabricated shank of a ring.  A hand drawn shank has good elasticity, which enables the ring’s band to be sized to fit.   […]

Gold In History & Culture The source of the legend of El Dorado, or the Golden Man, is attributed to the Muisca (Chibcha) Indians, indigenous people of Columbia. The Muisca were agriculturalists with the technological know-how to melt and cast gold and copper ornaments, mine emeralds, weave textiles, and make pottery.   The El Dorado […]

Setting The Precious Metal Standard is not a new phenomenon; as early as 1230, reputable English goldsmiths, or “guardians of the craft,” were tasked with maintaining fineness standards for gold and silver plate.  The first hallmark, called a “King’s Mark,” was introduced in 1300 and it was used to signify that objects had passed a […]

How To Spot & Treat A Gold Allergy In rare cases, people’s skin will turn black when they wear gold jewelry.  This is usually caused by a reaction to the material used to alloy gold.  If you have a gold allergy, we have several suggestions: Determine if your reaction is due to the karat gold […]

Gold Collectibles Gold has been used to make coins for centuries.  The first high-quality gold coins were minted by King Croesus, who is immortalized in our expression “as rich as Croesus.”  Croesus’ Lydian kingdom was a thriving center of trade in the 6th century B.C. and his gold coins, called staters, became a mainstay of […]

Applications Of Gold Approximately 11 percent of all gold produced is used in industry.  Because of its inherent properties, gold is used in the medical, electronics, automotive, defense and aerospace industries.  It is also increasingly used as a catalyst in many industrial processes.   Gold has many medical applications. Because it does not react with […]

Advances In The Uses Of Gold Gold leaf comes in many karats and colors, although 22K gold is used most frequently.  It is made by rolling gold into flattened ribbons approximately 0.001 inch (0.0025 cm) thick.  The ribbons are then cut into squares, with sides of just over an inch (3 cm).  These squares are […]

Measurement For Money In the past, the amount of money produced for circulation was based on the actual gold reserves of a government or bank.  Under this system, referred to as the gold standard, money was issued with the guarantee that it could be redeemed for a fixed amount of gold. Although the gold standard […]

History Of The Golden Fleece In Greek myth, the Golden Fleece was the hide of a ram that hung from a bough of an oak tree in a sacred grove guarded by a dragon. The Fleece was finally retrieved by Jason who, with his Argonauts, set out on a quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece […]

Examples Of Handmade Jewelry In the U.S., federal guidelines developed by the Federal Trade Commission clearly indicate that the term “hand made” should only be used when jewelry is entirely made by hand methods and tools.  To avoid any confusion, jewelers generally go one step further and refer to these items as “hand fabricated” so […]

Legends Of Gold While the “Midas touch” is a well known phrase, it is less well known that King Midas was an actual historical figure.  King Midas ruled the kingdom of Phrygia in Asia Minor.   According to the Greek myth that bears his name, the gods granted King Midas the ability to turn everything he […]

Advances In The Uses Of Platinum Platinum (chemical symbol Pt) is a silvery-gray metal, one of six that comprise the so-called platinum group metals (PGMs).  The other PGMs are iridium (Ir), osmium (Os), palladium (Pd), rhodium (Rh), and ruthenium (Ru).  Although it is relatively rare, platinum is also the most abundant of the PGMs.  The […]

Collectible Platinum Coins Anyone interested in investing in platinum can choose among legal tender coins, bullion bars, and various numismatic coin options.  About four percent of the world’s platinum production is used to make coins and ingots.  Today, a number of government mints strike platinum .   The Isle of Man, a British Crown Possession, […]

The Many Applications Of Platinum Although over half of all platinum production is used to make jewelry, it is increasingly being used in the medical, electronic, automobile, defense and aerospace industries.  It is also a key catalyst in many industrial processes. Platinum has a wide range of applications in the medical field because it is […]

The Famous Silver Mine Of Bolivia To the Spanish, the phrase “valer una cosa un potosí” (to be worth a potosí) is to be worth a small fortune.  This phrase comes from the name of a silver mine of nearly mythical proportions.  Located in Potosí, Bolivia, the majority of the silver that the Spanish conquistadores […]

Metal In Footwear Design In L. Frank Baum’s classic story, The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy did not wear ruby slippers; they were made of silver.  According to legend, the change was made by a MGM screenwriter who felt sparkly rubies would have a greater appeal for the audience. Many literature critics see the use of […]

History Of Precious Metals In New Age Metaphysics For those who practice spiritual healing or New Age Metaphysics, all carry a special significance.   Gold Gold’s biocompatibility and conductivity have been recognized for hundreds of years.  In New Age tradition, gold is believed to be an energy amplifier.  When worn on the body, it is […]

The “Fool’s Gold” of Precious Metals Pyrite is an iron sulfide mineral that gets its name from the Greek word “pyr” meaning fire.  Its common name is “fool’s gold.”  Pyrite is linked to the ancient art of alchemy, a mixture of science, magic, and religion practiced in Europe and Asia for over fifteen hundred years. […]

Collectible Silver Coins Throughout history, gold has been the treasure of priests and kings, but silver has been the currency of merchants and businessmen.  Silver coins have existed for centuries, and were likely the earliest form of metal coinage.  Early silver coins were prized for their metal content and they were literally “worth their weight […]

Industrial Applications Of Silver Ninety-five percent of our current silver production is used to make jewelry and silverware, to support the art of photography, and to further manufacturing and industry.  Although digital imaging is becoming increasingly popular, tens of millions of ounces of silver are still being consumed by photography every year.  Silver can be […]

Advances In The Use Of Silver The term “silver plate” has more than one meaning.  In the 17th and 18th centuries, it was used as a general term for objects made of silver or gold.  It described articles made for household or religious purposes, hollowware and flatware.  For many, this is the proper use of […]

Silver Rushes In History The search for silver has driven prospectors all over the world, but there has never been a silver rush on the same scale as the great gold rushes of the 19th century because silver is rarely found in rich seams.  Nevertheless, silver rushes did occur in Mexico, Canada, Argentina, and the […]

Setting Standards for Precious Metals The gram is the most widespread unit of weight for precious metal jewelry.  However, the United States and England also employ a system of weights called the “troy weight.”  In this system, a pound of gold or silver equals 12 ounces, and 1 ounce equals 20 pennyweights.    It is […]

The Famous South African Gold Mine The Witwatersrand Gold Rush initiated South Africa’s domination of world gold production.  Although legends of a South African “El Dorado” existed among the natives of the area, it was not until 1886, when a poor Australian prospector named George Harrison staked the first claim, that the vast riches of […]