What's the fuss about gold and diamonds?

I was thinking about this while reading another thread. Someone mentioned that gold on our planet is a remnant from a star (I don't know if this is true - sounds pretty cool though). But, I was thinking how I've never been a fan of jewelry or gold and have never worn any. Now, I know we use diamonds as tools and gold in industry (you guys can throw more uses out there if you want). But to me, they're rocks. Just rocks. Which makes me kinda laugh that we humans place value on rocks. Yeah, rocks.

So how did it start? Who started the craze? Did someone pick up gold one day and it became the craze? Why weren't people flipping out over aluminum? And there's all kinds of beautiful gems out there (amethyst being one of my faves to marvel over).

If you know about diamonds and gold, tell me why these 2 rocks are more valuable than any other rock on the planet (or are they?). I just find it funny that we place such intense value on a rock. And as you see I know nothing of mineralogy.

What'cha get Charlie Brown?
All I got were rocks.



edit: Sorry, Mods. I just realized I should have posted this over at BTS.
Sorry.

[edit on 2-2-2007 by rocknroll]

[edit on 2-2-2007 by rocknroll]

well for one gold is a metal its not a rock. It was discovered who knows how long ago, because of its color and malibility it became popular and because of its rarety it became valuable.

Diamonds on the other hand are rocks realy realy hard rocks. In fact diamonds are the hardest rocks known to man and they are also rare. So they are valuable, because of this.

Originally posted by whatukno
well for one gold is a metal its not a rock........because of its rarety it became valuable.

LOL! I told you I'm lacking in mineralogy and metalogy(????).

Originally posted by whatukno
Diamonds on the other hand are rocks realy realy hard rocks. In fact diamonds are the hardest rocks known to man and they are also rare. So they are valuable, because of this.

So, in the case of gold, these guys a long time ago were kinda like,
"Man, my rock melts and it's pretty." *envy sets in* "I want your rock. I can't find another one anywhere." *pouts* Give it to me....now." *war breaks out*
*makes jewelry when he gets home — the world is impressed*

And in the case of diamonds, these guys a long time ago were kinda like,
"Man, his rock is harder than mine." *envy sets in* "I want your rock. Give it to me. It's better than mine." *war breaks out* *mixes it with the metal stuff and makes a cool headband — declares himself king*

Originally posted by rocknroll
So, in the case of gold, these guys a long time ago were kinda like,
"Man, my rock melts and it's pretty." *envy sets in* "I want your rock. I can't find another one anywhere." *pouts* Give it to me....now." *war breaks out*
*makes jewelry when he gets home — the world is impressed*

And in the case of diamonds, these guys a long time ago were kinda like,
"Man, his rock is harder than mine." *envy sets in* "I want your rock. Give it to me. It's better than mine." *war breaks out* *mixes it with the metal stuff and makes a cool headband — declares himself king*

Yep pretty much.

you forgot the bit about now that everyone has a bit of the yellow METAL they start putting their faces on it and *more wars break out.* then they figure out how to cut the realy hard ROCK and wala it becomes even more valuable and man discoveres that WOMEN realy realy realy realy realy realy like the hard rock when its cut. *more wars break out.*

gold was rare to find & was keepable, it was a natural mineral that was gold-yellow in color.
however, back in ancient China, the 1st supreme ruler got all excited over lakes & rivers of mercury (aka quicksilver) & made a mini landscape of his dominion using that rare & toxic element (gold was not toxic)

diamonds (see; Debeers) and gold (see; GoldFields)
were, in the modern age, monopolized by____'name withheld'____,
who cornered the market in south africa of those two precious things
and set up trusts so that only Britian would reap the benefits.

So, in this modern age, all sorts of mechanisms have been created
to have ALL Gold & Diamond 'wealth' meander it's way through the
dealers, bankers, money changers of London.

I just think it's funny how we place so much value on it. It doesn't clothe you, feed you, or shelter you (literally, physically). And yet we place so much value on it......rocks (er, uh, metal too).

It sounds like it has it's base value in greed when you think about it.
It's valuable because it's rare, and people always want what they can't have.
If gold and diamonds were as common as dirt and sand, what would we have done then?

A man wearing animal skin picked up something shiny, and thought " Oh, my, precious". Some body else saw it and killed him for it. So it became a commodity.

paved the road with them and we would then have a saying all roads paved with dirt LOL

well now we find out that gold is an excelent conducter of electricity and diamonds realy do well in cutting things so they now have a more realistic value.

Originally posted by whatukno
well now we find out that gold is an excelent conducter of electricity and diamonds realy do well in cutting things so they now have a more realistic value.

True. But we also have lots of metals that conduct well, and we have new advanced laser cutting technology (where I use to work they had a laser about the size of my apartment).

Originally posted by rocknroll
I just think it's funny how we place so much value on it. It doesn't clothe you, feed you, or shelter you (literally, physically). And yet we place so much value on it......rocks (er, uh, metal too).

It sounds like it has it's base value in greed when you think about it.
It's valuable because it's rare, and people always want what they can't have.
If gold and diamonds were as common as dirt and sand, what would we have done then?

Just also remember diamonds and gold (mainly gold) are also very valuable, lets say one day the U.S. goes bankrupt (or the world for that matter), that gold and diamonds will be one of the few things that will not loss its integrity (money wise).

For little peons like us, we cant see us owning that much gold, BUT just ask a billionaire (if you know one , i know i don't) how much gold he has invested or stocked away and you'll probably be shocked. Were looking at it in a miniscule way, we're not about a couple of gold chains and your wife's wedding rings here.

Well, considering my name, I think I shall declare myself the Resident Expert on this subject, even though I know nothing at all about it.

Platinum is about twice as expensive as gold, so I don't know why you are all harping on about the yellow stuff. It's heavy, ductile, malleable, shiny, resistant to chemicals, is really good with high temperatures. Only 200, 000 kilograms of this stuff is dug up per year, so you can see why it goes for $35 a gram. Same goes for the other precious metals.

Oh, and diamonds look pretty and have great properties for working in industry.

Originally posted by watch_the_rocks
Platinum is about twice as expensive as gold, so I don't know why you are all harping on about the yellow stuff.

I knew it was up there, just wasn't sure of the pecking order.

Originally posted by watch_the_rocks
Oh, and diamonds look pretty and have great properties for working in industry.

That they do, but when it comes down to it, it's just a rock and a darn expensive one.

It's funny how humans are attracted to gold and diamonds. There was an interesting guest on Coast to Coast AM actually claimed that we were genetically engineered to be miners of gold and diamonds, and that is why we value them so much.

Originally posted by whatukno
well for one gold is a metal its not a rock. It was discovered who knows how long ago, because of its color and malibility it became popular and because of its rarety it became valuable.

Diamonds on the other hand are rocks realy realy hard rocks. In fact diamonds are the hardest rocks known to man and they are also rare. So they are valuable, because of this.

Metal not rock? That's the kind of reasoning that makes Godzilla go out of his lair and destroy that civilization!!!

Metal IS rock. This is part of the whole mineral element. You can even find unrefined iron somewhere under your house.... and perhaps a little bit of gold!

The finest and most useful metal to be ever forged by the Western civilization was bronze, which was more durable and easy to forge than steel, but it eventually became too rare for being used as a commodity. Gold is not enough resistant for heavy duty work. It jonly looks good.

When it comes down to it, diamonds are the hardest naturally occurring material, and the 3rd hardest known material to man. They have high light dispersion properties, and the highest melting point of any known material.

As such, the industrial value of such a material is immense. They are used extensively to machine alloys, can be used as tough semiconductors, are used to detect radiation, can be used as ball bearings, are ground into powder for polishing other materials, and are used in earth drill bits.

20, 000 kg of diamonds (80% of total annually mined worldwide) is used in industry. The demand is so great, that 600, 000 kg are additionally manufactured using the High Pressure, High Temperature technique, where six anvils press onto each face of a block of carbon, providing about 5 GigaPascals of pressure. It is then heated to a temperature which replicates the heat where naturally formed diamonds are made, 150 kilometres underground, about 1, 500°C. The heat and pressure compress the carbon, strengthening the atomic bonds.

I think it is fairly obvious why diamonds are so coveted.

Originally posted by rocknroll
Someone mentioned that gold on our planet is a remnant from a star (I don't know if this is true - sounds pretty cool though).

who said this?

isn't everything from rocks to thought a "remnant" of a star?

Originally posted by coronamoz

Originally posted by rocknroll
Someone mentioned that gold on our planet is a remnant from a star (I don't know if this is true - sounds pretty cool though).

who said this?

isn't everything from rocks to thought a "remnant" of a star?

Every heavy element that we observe naturally was created during the final stages of a star's life. When a star has consumed all of its helium, it expands, and then contracts. When it contracts, fusion begins anew with the helium, creating oxygen, nitrogen and heavier elements up through uranium, which to date is the heaviest occurring natural element.

Originally posted by Togetic
It's funny how humans are attracted to gold and diamonds. There was an interesting guest on Coast to Coast AM actually claimed that we were genetically engineered to be miners of gold and diamonds, and that is why we value them so much.

The only person I know that claims that is Zecharia Sitchin - - or a follower.

Originally posted by Echtelion
Metal not rock? That's the kind of reasoning that makes Godzilla go out of his lair and destroy that civilization!!! Metal IS rock. This is part of the whole mineral element. You can even find unrefined iron somewhere under your house.... and perhaps a little bit of gold!

Well, in a word.... Wrong. Metals are not rock, and if you'd paid attention in geology class you'd know why. Generally speaking, rock does not conduct electricity. Metals do conduct electricity, thanks to those unstable little electrons in the outermost atomic shell, which allows electricity to flow from one atom to the next. This places metals in a distinctly different area of the Periodic Table than, say, silicon.

Beyond that, you can see the real elemental distinction in meteorites... Those who study such things will quickly tell you that there are 2 basic types of meteorites: 1.) Stoney meteorites and 2.) Metallic meteorites (usually Iron/Nickel). Interestingly, some primitive humans were using iron-tipped weapons long before humans knew anything about forging metal weapons — simply because they used chips and flakes of iron meteorites for their spearheads and arrowheads.

So, we valued metal for its durability, strength and other magical qualities long before we knew anything about processing the stuff in a furnace. Metals have their own unique qualities that thoroughly distinguish them from rock. Gold, of course, doesn't rust and doesn't tarnish like other metals, which makes it even more magical to primitive (and modern) eyes.

— Doc Velocity

[edit on 2/2/2007 by Doc Velocity]

There is no reason they have value, its all in the minds of you know who...men

I hate diamonds, I think they are they are evil, the way they are mined from the earth on the backs of children and torture. Yet people still use them to start
a new life, the bigger the better. makes me sick.