All that glitters…

“All that glitters is not gold” – most of us are familiar with this old adage, which means that not everything that looks beautiful really is. Real gold, however, really is beautiful. It’s shiny, bright, elegant, and valuable. Still, not all gold is created equal. Today’s post looks at different types of gold, (not the different gold colors -that’s a topic for another blog). Rather, it looks at the different categories of gold. Starting with sentimental gold…

Sentimental gold. Sentimental or personal gold is all about the meaning we’ve attached to the gold because of its association with a certain time or event, or a special place, or a loved one. For many people the emotional worth of sentimental gold far exceeds its financial worth. In fact, it is not uncommon for people who possess sentimental gold, whether it’s part of a damaged piece of jewelry or just used in a piece of jewelry that doesn’t suit their tastes, to ask jewelers to design and create a new piece of jewelry that uses the gold from the original jewelry piece. CAD jewelry design and production is particularly suited to this type of request because of its customization capabilities. If you’re curious about how this customization process works, feel free to read our success story about an heirloom jewelry piece.

Eco-friendly gold. – Next we have eco-friendly gold, which as the name suggests, is a more environmentally friendly way to mine for gold. With eco-friendly gold, the mining process takes into consideration its environmental impacts, the management of the water used, waste disposal, air emissions, and the biodiversity of local ecosystems. It is supposed to have as minimal an impact on the environment as possible and follows environmental protection criteria established by the Fairmined Standard, which supports responsibly managed community mines or artisanal mining. While eco-friendly gold does adhere to far better standards than traditional gold mining methods, it still does have a detrimental impact on the environment. For this reason, the more committed eco-friendly gold programs also implement reforestation projects for local ecosystems so they can repair some of the damage they cause.

Ethical gold. Not to be confused with eco-friendly gold, ethical gold focuses on the social aspect of gold mining and is concerned with labor conditions (no child labor, for example, or conflict gold, which drives inhumane and violent treatment towards local populations). Some gold mining programs strive to be both eco-friendly and ethically sourced, but ethical gold may still use toxic materials, such as cyanide and mercury, during the mining process. Fortunately, the focus on humanitarian issues for artisanal mines means that the toxic materials are handled and disposed of safely.

Recycled gold. – And then there is the recycled gold category, which in a sense meets the eco-friendly, ethical gold and sentimental gold categories criteria since it obviously doesn’t require more gold sourcing and means that those jewelry pieces with emotional value can be remade. And since metals can be recycled repeatedly without losing their quality, this is an excellent option for jewelry shoppers.

Mined gold. – Finally, we have gold mining, which uses the traditional method for obtaining gold. While it’s true that there are different mining methods, some of which are less environmentally harmful than others, and that mining for gold is generally less impactful than mining for coal or drilling for oil, the mining process is still energy intensive and destructive (much like mining for diamonds) and will make just about anyone who is concerned about the environment, cringe. On the other hand, proponents of gold mining make the argument that when sustainably sourced, mining for gold can have broad and beneficial economic impacts. This argument maintains that mining can contribute to the economic growth of developing countries as well as help alleviate poverty and joblessness.

California gold. Last but not least, we couldn’t leave out California Gold -Jewelrythis is, after all, a southern California-based business (located in beautiful San Diego). California gold was first discovered back in 1848 at Sutter’s Mill and the discovery set off the California gold rush. Although panning for gold in California isn’t at the fever pitch it once was, there are still plenty of people prospecting for those golden California nuggets. Indeed there is still plenty of gold to be found in the mountains, rivers, and streams throughout the state and many successful prospectors have found nuggets big enough to sell, or use for jewelry. In fact, Jewelrythis designed and produced jewelry for a client using the gold he had found and collected right here in California.

Gold is golden…

Yes, real gold is golden and its qualities make it beautiful however it is sourced. At the end of the day, however, awareness of sourcing and knowing the different options available can help you decide which type of gold is best for you. Let us know if we can help, and if you want to use old gold or some sentimental gold to create a beautiful custom jewelry piece, just write it down in the project details when you…