Gold is one of the earliest metals discovered and used by humans, spanning the long river of race, culture, and history. Gold has always been intertwined with human civilization. The preciousness of gold is caused by multiple factors:

Firstly, gold is irreplaceable.

Gold is a unique and scarce natural element, belonging to non renewable resources. Compared to other metals, gold has relatively fewer reserves on Earth, and the supply of gold has remained stable over the past two decades. Gold has a series of unique physical and chemical properties, and has achieved a good balance between availability and scarcity, consolidating its important position.

Secondly, gold has a unique dual attribute.

Gold, as one of the earliest metals discovered and utilized by humans, has been used as a trading tool and value carrier for over two thousand years, and is held by institutional investors, individual investors, and central banks of various countries. Nowadays, gold is widely used in investment, jewelry, central bank reserves, and the technology industry. It is both a consumer good and an important investment asset. The unique dual attributes of gold enable it to perform well during periods of economic downturn and fully utilize the dividends of economic growth during long-term economic expansion.

Once again, gold has monetary properties.

With the rise of commodity trading, gold has become a general equivalent of commodity exchange media due to its stable, easily divisible, scarce, and high value characteristics. Gold, as a trading medium and wealth measurement standard, has a history of thousands of years and plays an important role in the financial field of human society.

We also need to focus on introducing the gold standard, which is a monetary system based on gold as the base currency.

Under the gold standard system, all countries link the value of their currency to a certain amount of gold, or link their currency to another country's currency that is already linked to a certain amount of gold. The late 19th and early 20th centuries were the heyday of the gold standard system. The currency reserves of various countries are gold, which is also used for international settlement. Gold can be freely exported and imported. Even after the abolition of the pension standard in 1971, central banks and governments around the world still held large amounts of gold reserves to protect national wealth and hedge against economic fluctuations. Nowadays, gold is the third largest reserve asset in the world, second only to assets denominated in US dollars and euros. In addition, we also need to understand the importance of gold as a strategic asset.

Gold has been a wealth preservation tool since ancient times, as it can help global investors effectively avoid various risks including financial, currency weakness, inflation, and tail risks.

The unique dual attributes of gold mentioned above further consolidate its strategic position in investment portfolios: it can provide returns and is also an effective investment diversification tool. Gold can play four basic roles in investment portfolios: long-term returns, effective risk diversification tools, liquid assets with no credit risk and performing better than fiat currency, and a means to improve overall portfolio performance.

In the context of intensified market volatility, gold can provide effective risk hedging for investment portfolios, and from a longer-term perspective, gold can provide robust returns for investment portfolios. Looking back on nearly half a century, since the collapse of the annuity standard in 1971, the price of gold denominated in US dollars has grown at an average annual rate of 11%. During this period, the long-term return of gold can be comparable to stocks and higher than bonds. Over the past 5, 10, and 15 years, gold has also outperformed other major asset classes.

Finally, in addition to its financial properties, gold, as a metal, has many innovative uses and immeasurable practical value.

1) For the electronics industry, the strong plasticity, high conductivity, corrosion resistance, ductility, and toughness of gold efficiently meet its specific production needs. These characteristics support the use of gold as an electroplating layer on connectors and contacts; On the other hand, as a gold solder wire for semiconductor packaging, it supports the production of chips and sensors.

2) For the energy industry, gold nanoparticles (tiny gold particles that are thousands of times wider than a human hair) are widely used. For example, integrating gold nanoparticles into solar cells can effectively improve the efficiency of solar cells. The cost-effectiveness, catalytic performance, and biocompatibility of gold make it stand out among many materials.

3) For the medical industry, gold based diagnostic technology is the most commonly used technology in resource scarce environments, which can be used to diagnose malaria, HIV/AIDS and other diseases. The gold containing drug named Jinnofen can also test its efficacy on ovarian cancer and dysentery.

4) For the engineering and aerospace industry, the application of gold has always been widespread. For example, NASA uses a layer of gold to protect astronauts and equipment from radiation and heat; The JWST telescope utilizes the high efficiency of gold in reflecting infrared light, and deposits a gold film with a thickness that can only be recognized by a microscope on its 18 hexagonal splicing mirrors.

5) For the environmental field, the reflective properties of gold also make it an important coating material. Applying a thin layer of gold film to windows can reflect thermal radiation, helping buildings achieve warmth in winter and coolness in summer, thereby reducing energy costs and carbon emissions. Gold is also used to help break down pollutants into different components, thereby helping to solve the common groundwater pollution problems in some industrialized areas. The widespread application of gold in different fields helps to promote the transformation and development of the gold industry towards industrial gold, optimize industrial structure, and enhance economic benefits. From this perspective, gold not only symbolizes wealth, but also shines with charming technological light.

(Images from the internet)