20 Interesting Facts About Gold

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Gold is the world’s sought after metal, and something we specialise in here at Cuttings.

If you want to find out more about gold, read on for 20 interesting facts!

 

 


78% of the world’s gold is used in jewellery. 

Gold is the only metal that is naturally “golden”. Any other metal with a yellowish colour has been reacted with other chemicals. 

The word “gold” comes from the words “gulp” and “ghel” from the Germanic languages, meaning “yellow/green”. 

Gold is non-toxic and can be eaten in the form of tiny flakes, although it is tasteless. 

Gold is the most malleable element: it can easily be hammered into thin sheets. As little as 28 grams of gold can be hammered into a sheet measuring 27 square metres!

Gold carat weight refers to the percentage of pure elemental gold in the metal. 24 carat gold is 100% pure gold, 18 carat is 75% pure gold and 9 carat is 37.5% pure gold.

Besides its monetary and aesthetic value, gold has a great many uses in other areas, such as electronics, dentistry, medicine and radiation shielding. 

There are very few chemicals that damage gold, which is why it’s such a long-lasting metal. A piece of gold will still keep its shine even after being buried for thousands of years. 

A gold nugget weighing 72 kilograms, unearthed in Australia, is the biggest piece of gold ever to be found. 

South Africa was the world’s largest gold producer until 2008, when it was surpassed by China. 

In its purest form, gold is so soft that it can be easily moulded by hand. 

According to speculation, there’s enough gold buried beneath the Earth’s crust to cover the entire land surface knee-deep. 

Oceans are the greatest source of gold on Earth. However, the current cost to extract the metal would be more than the gold is worth. 

A thin layer of gold is used on astronaut helmets as protection from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. 

According to a 2013 article in Nature Geoscience, earthquakes can create gold. During an earthquake, water in faults and fractures can vaporise, leaving gold behind. 
More steel is created in the world per hour than there has been gold dug up throughout history. 

A German company, “Gold to Go” has created the world’s first gold vending machine, which dispenses 24 carat gold in a range of forms. The first of these vending machines appeared in a Dubai Mall, UAE.

Elvis Presley owned 3 cars in which every chrome part was converted to gold.

All the gold medals awarded at the Olympics were made of pure gold until 1912.

Scientists speculate that gold can be found on Mars, Mercury and Venus.

 

We stock a large range of gold jewellery and coins – why not come down to one of our shops and have a browse? We’d be happy to answer any questions you may have.

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