Education

Gold has been around since the beginning of time and has a long and complicated history. Gold has always symbolized wealth and power. Gold has caused obsessions in men and countries. Gold throughout history has destroyed some cultures and gave power to others.

The oldest piece of Egyptian jewelry found was in the tomb of Queen Zer and is the oldest example found of any kind from the third millennium BC. The tomb of Tutankhamen was found undisturbed by archaeologists. Inside they found the largest collection of gold and jewelry in the world.

The Persian Empire made frequent use of Gold in artwork and as part of the religion of Zoroastrianism. Persian gold work is known for its animal art. When Rome began to flourish it attracted many talented gold artisans who created a wide variety of gold jewelry. Later on in Rome the use of gold spread into household items and furniture of the upper and higher classes.

The Pre Columbian cultures had highly advanced skills in producing items of gold and this was long before the arrival of the Spanish. By the time the Spanish had arrived the Indian goldsmiths had mastered most of the techniques known by the Europeans. They were experts at granulation pressing, filigree and inlay and lost wax methods.

In the US in the frontier days the news of discovery of gold in a region could result in thousands of new settlers risking their lives to find gold. There were many gold rushes that occurred in the Western states. The most famous one was in California at Sutter