The nature of gold

The physical properties of gold are well known. It is the ways in which humans are able to interact with those properties that make it unique.

Most notably:

• Gold is a noble metal, meaning that it does not react with almost all other elements.
• Largely because of its noble nature, it is usually found in its native form.
• It is the most malleable and also the most ductile metal by far.
• It is fairly easily "pressure welded", which is to say that two small pieces can be pounded together to make one larger piece, similar to clay.
• Although it cannot be called a property per se, people throughout history have found its lustre and color to be aesthetically pleasing.

The statement that gold is highly malleable and ductile is simplistic, however. Gold possesses those qualities to a degree that makes it easy to work with even primitive tools, and it is able to take a high level of detail in that work. Since prehistoric times, mankind has been able to simply pick up gold off the ground, and anyone with two rocks would be able to form it into some pleasing or useful item. The fact that gold is a noble metal means that it will last virtually forever without oxidation and tarnishing, and also that it is immune to some of the problems other metals have with oxidation when heated. In other words, it is easily melted, fused and cast without the problems of oxides and gas that are problematic with bronzes, for example.

This unique combination of properties, coupled with its relative rarity, has given gold, and by extension items made from it, an unparalleled place in human history. A major part of that history has been played by those who work in gold, otherwise known as goldsmiths.

History

Gold has been worked by humans in all cultures where the metal is available, either indigenously or imported, and the history of these activities is extensive. Superbly made objects from the ancient cultures of Europe, Africa, India, Asia, South America, Mesoamerica, and North America grace museums and collections around the world.

In medieval Europe goldsmiths were organized in guilds and were usually one of the most important and wealthy of the guilds in a city. The guild kept records of members and the marks they used on their products. These records are very useful to historians, were they to survive. Goldsmiths often acted as bankers, since they dealt in gold and had sufficient security for the safe storage of valuable items. In the Middle Ages, goldsmithing normally included silversmithing as well, but the brass workers and workers in other base metals were normally in a separate guild since the trades were not allowed to overlap. Usually jewelers were goldsmiths.