As Good As Gold

‘You’re indestructible, Always believe in, ‘Cause you are gold’, as the New Romantic band Spandau Ballet sang in the 80s. Well, what you might not know is that gold, is in fact, a virtually indestructible element. We like to own it, wear it as jewellery, and decorate our homes with it. It has become a topic in films, songs and art and is even used to decorate food with or in beauty products. Golden like the sun, shiny, warm, bright and beautiful. Having a heart of gold means that you are a very kind and good person and in every saying or quote when something is compared to gold it is seen as something positive. A feeling of luxury and wealth. Real gold is very rare and expensive and part of the periodic table around for centuries, commonly known yet has some lesser know assets. Find out some facts and history about it in As Good As Gold.

Some people wear it on their neck, fingers or arms. Some people put it on their skin and some people even eat it. Gold is a metal known by mankind for a very long time. It can make you feel special and unique, maybe just because there is a scarcity of it or because it is just so shiny and beautiful.

Thousands of years ago, people most likely first discovered gold in streams and rivers all over the world with its beauty and lustre catching the eye.

The known history of the metal goes back a long way, so far back that, according to the National mining association, it was first used by cultures in modern-day Eastern Europe in 4000 BC to make decorative objects.

Image by PublicDomainPictures

It was generally used for a couple of thousand years solely to create things such as jewellery and idols for worship. This was until around 1500 BCE when the ancient empire of Egypt, which benefited greatly from its gold-bearing region, Nubia, made gold the first official medium of exchange for international trade.

Eventually, different countries started to make gold coins and they became a way of payment within an economy. Around 1870 ‘The Gold Standard’ was created, a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account, for example, the U.S. Dollar, was based on a fixed quantity of gold.

With this monetary system, an individual holding some amount of paper money could go to a bank and exchange that money for a fixed amount of gold.

Image by Gold Rate Live

The standard has been abandoned completely by all countries; a process of abandonment that gradually began around the end of World War I.

So far we know that gold was originally used as money and made into jewellery and worshipped for thousands of years. But what does it to be so idolized and special, that people are obsessed with it?

“The desire for gold is the most universal and deeply rooted commercial instinct of the human race.”

Gerald M. Loeb

For one, nearly all the gold that ended up on the earth was because of meteorites that bombarded the planet over 200 million years after it formed. Scientists have shown that the Earth’s surface became enriched with precious metals by impacting meteorites. It is also relatively rare, only 0.0000004% of the Earth’s crust contains gold. 

Because the metal came on the earth this way it is very likely it spread everywhere. Nowadays it has been discovered on every continent on Earth. ‘Alluvial’ gold (raw form of gold) is found as small yellow grains and flakes, or even small nuggets, on the beds of fast-flowing rivers and streams. 

Image by Glauco Maglio

Ocean waters also contain gold. There are about 20 million tons of precious metal, worth around $771 trillion, in the oceans. The ocean, however, is deep, meaning that gold deposits are a mile or two underwater and very hard to find.

Another thing that makes it so special is the fact that you literally can’t destroy it, Since it is a noble metal (a metal that resists chemical action) and doesn’t react easily, which makes it virtually indestructible.

Gold doesn’t rust, oxidize, or even react to most acids. This is why all of the gold extracted from the earth is melted, re-melted, and used over and over again. This is why noble metal is also considered jewellery. Think of it as a modern-day yet ancient metal, because it is almost as old as the earth itself, but very modern since you can endlessly recycle it.

Image by Nawalescape

The global gold market jewellery grew so fast, that last year in 2022 it was estimated at almost 200 Billion dollars. Expecting to even grow much more in the upcoming years.

It is also possible to turn gold into Gold Leaf, then it has been hammered into thin sheets by gold beating and is often used for gilding.

Such as in Art. Manly in the Middle Ages, the Gold leaf was used to decorate paintings, picture frames and even statues.

Image by WikiImages

There is also such a thing as edible gold leaf, used to decorate food. It is one of the world’s priciest foods, but considering it is real gold, the sheets and flakes are relatively inexpensive. Gold is considered “biologically inert,” meaning it passes through the digestive tract without being absorbed. It tastes good as gold!

Image by xQzit Gold Leaf

Since there are so many ways you can use gold and people are naturally attracted by it, it may come as no surprise it is also used in skincare and beauty products.

It is so often used in skin care because it not only gives you radiance, but it reduces Skin Blemishes and Imperfections. Gold is also very rich in antioxidants that interact directly with the blood pumping just below the surface of your skin. These antioxidants improve the blood’s circulation, and, in doing so, their ability to fight off acne, rashes, hives, and other allergic reactions that surface on the skin.

The brand Guerlain has always turned to the rarest raw materials to reveal beauty. The most precious of metals, gold was Guerlain Research’s source of inspiration for face products to adorn every face with an incomparable radiance.

Gold is at the heart of Parure Gold make-up as a source of inspiration that enlivens the colours and is an element present throughout the range.

Launched for the first time in 1991, Guerlain’s legendary product L’Or primer is having a makeover in 2023 and is becoming PARURE GOLD 24K. So it can be used as a day-to-day skin care primer to give a radiance booster.

Another brand that added gold to its new luxurious, high-performance Gold skin-care Collection is Chantecaille.

The new serum boasts a formula of potent, fast-acting, and result-producing ingredients that are chosen for their ability to recharge, hydrate, smooth, soften and brighten the skin and improve the look of fine lines and wrinkles.

It’s maybe not real gold, but it sure looks golden. Another new product of Guerlain is their DOUBLE R RENEW & REPAIR EYE SERUM. Inspired by dermo-cosmetic care, Guerlain’s research has drawn
on the youth-repairing powers of honey to deliver a double youth
surge: radiance and a lifting effect, the two main expectations for
the exposed eye contour area.

With a 360 approach to radiance, the formula is enriched with an innovative cocktail of peptides, pure gold, botanicals, hyaluronic acid, and a new and revolutionary antioxidant Gold Vitamin C complex known for its ability to enhance Vitamin C’s stability and acting as an antioxidant. 

As far back as 1927, Mademoiselle Chanel decided to make her line of skincare and makeup products available in smaller sizes. Daily essentials that could easily be slipped into a handbag, evening clutch, or small piece of luggage for spur-of-the-moment getaways.

For this season’s LES BEIGES collection, was inspired by these formats, which are as fun as they are practical offering them in limited-edition travel sizes. 

The full collection is made up of sun-kissed two new shades of Rouge C0co flash, lips with its nude shimmer in iconic jewelled tones, Rayon, a soft, luminous beige, and Quartz Rose, a radiant pastel pink. Two other lipstick collections, Rouge Coco Baume a unique lip balm, offers Pink Delight, an ultra-natural, soft pink, and Sweet Treat, a semi-matte brownish mauve. The Rouge Coco Flash has two shades with nude shimmer, Escapade, a slightly warm sienna red.

Also included is a travel-sized version at 50 ml of the divine Les Beiges Illuminating Oil for a golden-kissed glow. A healthy glow can be achieved via the travel size 15 ml Les Beiges Healthy Glow Bronzing creams in three different tones and finally Les Beiges Eau De Teint, eight lightweight, hydrating and instantly refreshing, ultra-light pigments that melt into the skin with formula composed of 75% water.

This Summer this golden collection captures the very essence of a radiant complexion and a healthy golden glow.

So not only because of the beauty, the fact that it was used as money or that there is so little of it in the world, Gold is seen as something special and luxurious. And now you can even use it on your skin and cover yourself in actual gold.

Guerlain Radiance booster perfection primer 24k gold
Chantecaille 24K Gold Serum Intense

Chanel Les Beiges collection can be found here Chanel.com

If you enjoyed reading As Good As Gold why not read Universal Sleep

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