Jewelry in the olden days, symbolized social and religious power. People with money passed down their favorite and most valuable items of jewelry to their younger generation. These heirlooms were used to store or transfer wealth .Some cultures used jewelry as a dowry, instead of or as well as land, money or property.

Jewelry was used to alter one's body in some tribal cultures. Ladies had neck rings slowly added onto their necks until abnormal neck lengths were achieved and the necks then needed the neck rings for support. Ladies with long necks were seen as more attractive than ladies with short necks. Neck rings severed as a status symbol to the tribe's woman as well as having a decorative function

Throughout the years jewelry has always made a statement as it still does today. Power, status and beauty can all be expressed with jewelry.

Gold chains have become a fashion statement and there are hundreds of styles to choose from. Different styles and patterns of gold chains and gold necklaces are usually machine or hand made having used either 14K gold or 18K gold.

There are many beautiful gold chains that can be worn on their own .Or a plain gold chain can be used to hang a pendant.. Gold chains can be worn either on their own, or used to hang a pendant.

Real gold chains can be quite expensive they can cost as little as under one hundred dollars or as much as one thousand dollars. As they last forever they are an excellent investment. Gold chains are now affordable to most people and there is a wide and varied choice from pretty thin feminine chains to thick, chunky masculine ones and in 14K & 18K styles for both sexes.

The measurement of purity of refined gold, native gold and bullion (which is bars or ingots of unrefined gold) is stated in terms of gold content. Gold content in parts per thousand is called 'fineness'. For example an 885-fine gold nugget would contain 115 parts of metal such as silver and copper and 885 parts of pure gold. When looking at gold jewelry remember that 14K &18K represents 14-Karat &18-Karat this measurement is from a total of 24 parts so 14K means 14 parts gold and 10 parts other metal,18K would be 18 parts gold and 6 parts other metal. Other metal is added to make the gold stronger and help it to hold its shape. Karat as in the proportion of solid gold in your jewelry is not the same as 'Carat' which is the unit of weight used for diamonds and other precious stones.

Gold is a precious metal it is useful for electronic circuits as it is a good electric conductor, it is resistant to many acids and it does not rust under normal circumstances.

Gold is expensive because of its rareness. Valuable coins used to be made of gold but these were not very practical as they were difficult to handle and too heavy. So paper representing the gold value was invented. The British pound original corresponded to a pound of Sterling Silver. Imagine carrying five pounds of that in your pocket!