Since time immemorial, people have been adorning themselves with jewelry. It is the decorative finishing touch to an individual's self-presentation, the final line in the fashion statement. And for some, fine jewelry is an investment likely to increase in value.
Gold is strong and heavy, yet extremely malleable.
Metal smiths can forcibly shape it or draw it out into a fine thread. Because the earth is stingy with its yield, gold has always been very valuable. The purity of gold is measured in terms of karats, a scale on which pure gold has a rating of 24. The popular 14-karat grade is 14 parts pure gold to 10 parts other metals. In the first system of hieroglyphs, the symbol for gold was a necklace.