Gold

· The chemical symbol for gold is Au.

· Gold’s atomic number is 79 and its atomic weight

is 196.967.

· Gold melts at 1064.43° Centigrade

· The specific gravity of gold is 19.3, meaning gold

weighs 19.3 times more than an equal volume of

water.

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WEIGHT EQUIVALENTS

1 troy ounce = 1,097 ordinary ounces

1 troy ounce = 480 grains

1 troy ounce = 31.1 grams

1000 troy ounces = 31.3 kilograms

1 gram = .03215 troy ounces

1 kilogram = 32.15 troy ounces

1 tonne = 32.150 troy ounces

1 ordinary ounce = .9115 troy ounces

1 ordinary pound = 14.58 troy ounces

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Percent Gold = European System = Karat System

100 % = 1000 fine = 24 karat

91.7 % = 917 fine = 22 karat

75.0 % = 750 fine = 18 karat

58.5 % = 585 fine = 14 karat

41.6 % = 416 fine = 10 karat

4000 B.C. A culture, centered in what is today Eastern Europe,

begins to use gold to fashion decorative objects. The

gold was probably mined in the Transylvanian Alps or

the Mount Pangaion area in Thrace.

3000 B.C. The Sumer civilization of southern Iraq uses gold to

create a wide range of jewelry, often using

sophisticated and varied styles still worn today.

2500 B.C. Gold jewelry is buried in the Tomb of Djer, king of the

First Egyptian Dynasty, at Abydos, Egypt.

1500 B.C. The immense gold-bearing regions of Nubia make

Egypt a wealthy nation, as gold becomes the

recognized standard medium of exchange for

international trade.

The Shekel, a coin originally weighing 11.3 grams of

gold, becomes a standard unit of measure in the

Middle East. It contained a naturally occurring alloy

called electrum that was approximately two-thirds

gold and one-third silver.

1350 B.C. The Babylonians begin to use fire assay to test the

purity of gold.

1200 B.C. The Egyptians master the art of beating gold into leaf

to extend its use, as well as alloying it with other

metals for hardness and color variations. They also

start casting gold using the lost-wax technique

that today is still at the heart of jewelry making.

Unshorn sheepskin is used to recover gold dust from

river sands on the eastern shores of the Black Sea.

After slucing the sands through the sheepskins, they