Diamonds and Gold are Forever

Gems, colorful stones and precious metals have been historically considered as a symbol of wealth and power. Due to their exoticism and the difficulty in finding and polishing them, only the strong, the mighty and the powerful can get these things, or even given with these as gifts as a sign of veneration. Metals like silver, platinum and gold are considered very precious commodity these days. And of all stones, the virtually indestructible diamond is considered the most expensive of them all.

However, gold or other precious did not start as an ornament. In the early Byzantine Empire, they used round silver pellets, called the Byzant, as their first medium of commerce. It was considered as the first widely-used and accepted currency of the world. The Chinese eventually invented the paper money that led to the currencies of the present.

The British was first to switch to gold, albeit many say the reasons were political. Their rivals in mainland Europe started to discover huge silver deposits which they can mint to money. The British, with their empire sitting on gold deposits insisted the currency be switched to gold. Since they were the empire and the super power of the day, countered heeded the call.

Gold officially became the standard means of world trade after World War II after the agreement in Bretton Woods, a vacation spot near Washington DC. With the United States remaining as the only giant economy relatively undestroyed by war, the dollar was considered the international standard for trade with its value pegged on the gold. The wealth of a country, then, was pegged on its gold deposits more than its dollar reserves.

The gold standard has collapsed since President Nixon and the Vietnam War but its economic and aesthetic value remains. It is still one of the very much sought after mineral, mainly for decorative purposes as there is not much commercial or industrial use for it unlike silver, platinum or copper.

Joining the gold in the pedestal of the most valuable natural resource of the earth is diamond. There are many diamond mines in Russia, India and China but those found in the African continent are still considered the highest of quality. De Beers is considered to control more than half of the gold trade while the city of Antwerp in Belgium is widely recognized as the center for diamond trading in the world.

When combined, gold and diamond became the ultimate symbol of success, stature and wealth. They decorate tiaras of monarchies while they command a continuously increasing market value. The diamond’s rarity and indestructibility as well the gold’s malleability provides a perfect art form for the best craftsmen of the world. Their quality a subject of curiosity, interest and even passion for people for generations.