Gilded Origins: Why Gold Still Reigns Supreme

Gilded Origins: Why Gold Still Reigns Supreme

By Anna McElhenny (founder of The Inheritance Collective)

Gold. It’s elemental, eternal, and enchanting.

Long before paper currency, before spreadsheets and stock tickers, there was gold—cradled in the belly of the Earth. Today, gold remains one of the most revered and reliable forms of value. But what is gold, really? How does it journey from deep beneath the surface to your skin or safe deposit box? And why does it continue to shimmer with significance—both financially and spiritually?

Let’s take a look behind the luster.

What Is Gold?

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from the Latin aurum) and atomic number 79. It’s a noble metal that is resistant to tarnish, corrosion, and most chemical reactions. These characteristics are part of what makes it such a perfect material for jewelry, coins, and cultural relics.

It’s also malleable and ductile, meaning it can be hammered into whisper-thin sheets or drawn into filaments finer than a strand of hair. In short: gold bends but it doesn’t break. (Just like you!)

Where and How Is Gold Mined?

Gold is mined in over 90 countries, with the top producers including China, Australia, Russia, the United States, and Canada. There are two primary methods of extraction:

· Placer Mining: Think panning for gold in rivers during the California Gold Rush. This method collects gold particles from stream beds using water and gravity.

· Hard Rock Mining: Here, gold is extracted from underground veins of quartz or ore using explosives, heavy machinery, and chemical processes like cyanide leaching.

Modern mining raises important environmental and ethical questions. At The Inheritance Collective, we source with intention by prioritizing vintage, estate, and recycled gold when possible to honor both the planet and the past.

Gold Through History & Lore

From pharaohs to queens, temples to treasure chests, gold has always symbolized divine connection, immortality, and power. In Ancient Egypt, it was called “the flesh of the gods.” In Greek mythology, the “Golden Fleece” represented authority and kingship.

Across time and culture, gold has always meant something more. It’s shown up in temples and on queens, wrapped around saints and tucked into family heirlooms. People have worn it for protection, gifted it as love, and shaped it into symbols of devotion that last generations. Gold has always symbolized divine connection, immortality, and power. So, when you wear gold, you're not just wearing a metal. You are wearing memory. You're carrying a piece of the Earth’s story, and maybe your own, too.

The Price of Gold (And Why It Moves)

Gold isn’t just beautiful, it’s incredibly valuable. It’s traded globally as a commodity and is often used as a hedge against inflation, currency devaluation, and market instability. The price of gold can be influenced by multiple factors, including global demand (especially from investors and central banks), mining supply, geopolitical uncertainty (gold tends to rise in times of crisis), inflation rates, and interest rates (lower interest often increases gold demand).

Gold prices are certainly known for their volatility in the short-term; however, across centuries, gold has held and increased its value.

Why We Love Gold at The Inheritance Collective

Gold is the metal of memory. It connects us to the women who came before us—who wore it at their weddings, tucked it away for rainy days, gifted it in velvet boxes, or simply wore it every day like skin.

At The Inheritance Collective, we believe gold is more than a commodity. It’s a spell, a symbol, and a statement. Whether you’re investing in solid 14k heirloom pieces or layering vintage gold-plated chains from our Living Line, you are participating in a lineage of beauty and worth. All this without even mentioning just how fantastic it looks against your skin!

Thinking of Investing? Start With Intention.

If you're considering gold—whether in bars, coins, or adornment—remember that how you buy matters just as much as what you buy.

Start with a piece you’ll wear.

 A chain that feels like armor.

 A ring that whispers strength.

A story that shines.

Because true wealth is not only what you accumulate. It’s what you carry forward.

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Your Legacy Begins Here.

Explore our curated collections of gold pieces—each with a story, a soul, and a shimmer that lasts.

Shop The Inheritance Collective-

 Wear your legacy. Pass it on.