Will lovely gold charms ever go out of style? I don’t believe that’s possible. For one, I believe gold charms and talismans have been popular from the beginning of man as an artist. Of course, this would also apply to the wearing of a gold pendant . This, according to some of the latest findings, goes back to the time of the Neanderthal. Even they crafted simple works of art from whatever they could find. Think about the beauty of a seashell, and you’ll have a greater understanding of the primitive mind, and the way he looked at his environment.
I find this fascinating. Almost as much so as the early goldsmiths, and the beautiful and evocative work they created in their primitive studios. One of the things that I love about gold-smithing is that the skills and tools used today are pretty much the same as what the early Egyptian artisans employed. It’s been said that if you placed a very early goldsmith (think B.C. not A.D.) in the shop of a modern smith, in very short order he could manipulate the tools skillfully and be able to cast and finish a piece of gold into something marvelously beautiful. I find that fascinating! I don’t think the same thing would apply to an office worker of the early 20th century and the modern computer user in his or her little cubicle today. Come to think of it, in another five or six centuries, which of these skills do you think will be the most revered? Makes you think.
As anyone who knows me realizes, I’ve been a gold jewelry lover my entire life. When I was a young man, gold was not as expensive as it is today, and I collected quite a bit of unique jewelry. Since that time I’ve given a lot of it away (sigh) but to think I did hold it in my hand at one time still gives me pleasure.
Once the price of gold shoots out the roof, it may be only the ultra-rich who can afford gold jewelry. I hope that doesn’t happen in my lifetime, but all indications are that it very well might. I encourage anyone who can possibly purchase gold now to do so, whether it is in the form of collector’s coins, gold bullion, or jewelry. I don’t want to be an alarmist, but with the way the economy is down turning, it’s important to make sure that you and your family are well taken care of. Gold has always been considered the only real money, and has been the standard of trade for millennia.
Sure I digress, but who doesn’t? The topic was gold jewelry, after all. And I did mention it one time in the last paragraph!
Seriously, though. If I were able to do it all over again, I’d buy a lot more of that yellow shiny stuff!