It’s time to talk about the colour that truly represents me – Gold – my name for more years than I care to remember!
In this case, the colour is inextricably linked to the metallic element which is so sought after. Gold has been fought over in wars and also underpins national economies, especially in the UK when reserves have been used to defend the economy in times of crisis. It has been desired for centuries and has represented wealth over that time
Gold is one of two metallic elements which aren’t silver in colour – the other being copper, and although other metals have a higher value (platinum, for example), gold dominates the world of jewellery and luxury.
Pure gold is too soft to be used in making jewellery. It is designated as 24 carat, and usually the purity needs to be reduced to 75% (or 18 carat) to make it strong enough. In the UK, 18 and 9 carat gold are widely used, whereas in the US, 14 carat is also manufactured.
Gold also has some amazing properties. It is the most ductile metal, meaning that it can drawn out into wire – one ounce of gold may be drawn out to a length of over 40 miles!
It is also the most malleable and may be beaten into gold leaf, so fine and thin, that sometimes light may pass through it!
When it comes to density, although it is beaten by osmium, it comes a close second. Gold is extremely heavy, and a standard gold bar, or ingot, weighs 12.4kgs. If you ever wonder if they recovered the van in the ‘Italian Job’, with all those gold bars, as it teetered over the cliff edge – well it was estimated to have been a weight of two tons. I think they would have been lucky to have saved it!
It is estimated that all the gold ever mined would result in a weight of just over 200,000 tonnes. If a cube could be formed of all this metal, it would only be about 22metres on each length. That fact, alongside the discovery that all elements were made in supernovae – those colossal exploding star events – helps us understand the beauty and rarity of gold.
Gold has therefore always been admired and desperately sought after. In August, 1896, Skookum Jim and his family found gold near the Klondike River in Canada's Yukon Territory. Their discovery sparked one of the most frantic gold rushes in history. An estimated 100,000 prospectors came to the Klondike to try their luck over the next three years.
Alchemy - the desire to transmute base metals such as iron into precious metals like gold, held the attention of multitudes of scientists down the ages. The idea was that through scientific methods and principles, silver and gold could be made from the less valuable starting point. Although these scientists were never to achieve their aims, alchemy is considered to be the forefather of modern chemistry. Even Sir Isaac Newton turned his hand to alchemy.
Perhaps that is why people may be both amazed and sceptical about the idea that sea water contains gold. Although people will have undoubtedly looked at trying to extract it, when one considers that there is about 1 gram of gold to every 100 million metric tons of water, at the moment at least, it is only dream.
So, how does gold relate to Promotional Merchandise? An affordable pen which might have a silver looking clip or nose cone, might look even nicer with these accents in a gold colour. Of course, although described as ‘silver’ and ‘gold’ they are usually a coloured plastic. When it comes to slightly better pens, such as Bic Grip Roller, the black version also comes with a gold coloured metal clip.
For very special occasions, I can also offer one-off gold plated pens, from famous luxury brands which would be ideal as leaving presents or awards.
Gilt paper edging has, for decades, been offered on diaries, to give a look of luxury. On this type of product, it is usual to have a logo printed in gold foil blocking on the front cover. This method of decoration also works for notebooks as well.
When buying china mugs, especially when announcing an anniversary, or to create a very desirable gift, or a mug that might be sold for fundraising, I can offer a gold rim, and also a handle flash. These simple additions (using real gold) can add something that would set your mug apart from others.
Still on the drinkware theme, I currently offer a very sumptuous looking thermal bottle, with a brushed gold finish. I think it looks very special.
If you are looking for some classy promotional merchandise, I can offer some very special ideas. Why not see I could come up with!
