4 Uses For Gold You Might Not Have Considered

Gold is an amazing metal. We all know how good it can look sitting on someone's neck or wrist, but have you ever thought of the other strange uses for gold? This amazingly versatile metal isn't just for investing to build your bank account or beautifying to build your social status, gold actually has many practical and lesser-known uses. Today we will give you four interesting uses for gold that I found particularly fascinating.

Gold is an amazing metal, and one of the least reactive on the planet. It will never tarnish or rust. On top of that, it is extremely ductile. That means you can stretch and shape it in practically any way imaginable with no ill effects. Gold foil is a fantastic example of this. There are almost no other metals that manage to match the flexibility of the majestic gold. We will learn much more about gold's amazing properties as we dive deeper into 4 interesting uses for gold that you might not have considered.

Electronics

As mentioned above, gold is exceptionally flexible. Did you know that gold is also one of the best conductors of electricity? These two factors combined make gold an easy choice to be included in electronic components of every sort. Gold is features in small electronics like mobile phones, but you can also find small amounts in televisions, GPS units, and even in computers and laptops.

The extremely conductive and non-reactive nature of gold is fantastic for the quick transmission of data, and gold's flexibility means that it can be molded into any conceivable shape that is required. When people say they can't live without gold, it might be prudent to point out just how factual that statement is. Without gold, you probably wouldn't be reading this article. How's that for meta?

Cosmetics

Gold is often seen in a place that you might not expect to find it. There is gold in some cosmetics. It has been hailed as a revolutionary ingredient in everything from lip balms to moisturizers. This news has spread like wildfire and gold nano-particles have started to become utilized in a wide variety of cosmetics and beauty products from some very big names in the industry such as L’Oréal and Dior. Does it actually do what it claims to do?

You might be surprised to learn that gold might actually help improve skin tone and elasticity. Gold has some surprising properties that actually make it a fine candidate for a beauty product additive. I've sung the praises of gold's amazing properties so far, but did you know that gold is an antioxidant? It also has anti-inflammatory properties! Is there no end to the magic of gold? Gold can reduce acne, alleviate skin redness, and protect against free radicals that cause wrinkle and sun damage. Quite a worthy investment I'd say!

Printing

Gold ink is rising in popularity among printing companies for many of the reasons listed above. The non-reactive nature of gold means that photos printed with gold will resist scratches and last for much longer. Of course, this also increases the cost but it might be worth considering for preserving family portraits through the ages. Those one-off selfies can probably be printed on regular paper to face the ravages of time. Nobody wants to remember the denim suit and big hair that they were rocking throughout the 80s, and by nobody I mean me. It was so cool at the time. But now?? Oh how I long to forget...

The longevity of printing with gold doesn't just apply to photographs either. Physical media such as CDs and DVDs that are coated with a thin layer of printed gold can resist scratches and last much longer than their unprotected counterparts. This can be quite a boon if you'd like to preserve a bit of physical media in an age where everything is going digital. Lastly, there is a growing trend of 3D printing with gold. Considering the reduced cost as 3D printers become more widespread, it should come as no surprise that gold is chosen to create unique and gorgeous one-off projects.

Food

The last interesting use for gold that you might not have considered is gold as a food. Exceptionally up-market restaurants will include gold leaf or gold shavings in certain foods to make their most extravagant dishes just that much more impressive. It seems like a strange choice since an amount of gold this small doesn't actually add any sort of taste, but it definitely does add a certain 'wow' factor.

Gold is non-toxic and can be eaten without any side-effects but it doesn't get digested, so if you're thinking that it will help out with its anti-inflammatory or antioxidant properties that'd be an incorrect line of logic. The only thing gold will do as a food is impress people of Facebook and Instagram and perhaps make your poop a bit more sparkly if you eat enough of it but for some people? That's more than worth the cost.

Final Thoughts

Gold is amazing and you need to give it the tender love and care that it deserves, whether that's a spin through our ultrasonic jewelry cleaner or a thorough scrub with the complete jewelry cleaning kit! If you need more reading material, don't hesitate to read all about birthstone meanings and powers. No matter what you are choosing to use gold for, we should all be grateful that such an amazing substance ended up on our planet. The uses certainly don't end there, and we might continue unveiling strange uses for gold that you might not have considered in another blog sometime down the road.