Gold in Horology: Its Enduring Status as the Paramount Benchmark

Gold has historically represented affluence and scarcity, establishing an enduring standard in the realm of luxury horology.

Rolex Oyster Perpetual 1908

This valuable metal has consistently captivated humanity and is notably utilized as a form of cash. As we noted last summer, gold has this property with silver; however, that is now historical. Although gold is not utilized as direct currency, the gold standard persists, and central banks meticulously accumulate gold reserves. As a result, gold is among the most costly metals globally, rendering it excessively valuable for most practical applications. What is the reason?

In an article for Forbes last year, precious metals specialist Brandon Aversano asserted that the increase in gold's value should not be regarded as a mere anomaly, and we concur. Notwithstanding the events stemming from the Trump administration in the United States, gold is now experiencing a rally as we compose this. Last year, we examined the value of gold and observed that it has not fallen below that of its ostensibly more luxurious counterpart, platinum, since the 2008 global crisis. The crisis has been proposed as the catalyst for gold's consistent ascent, as investors pursued the reassuring stability of this incredibly dense precious metal to mitigate their concerns regarding the transient nature of modern financial markets. While not the most dense metal, it possesses sufficient density.

Gold is widely regarded as valuable. Even an individual like Mansa Musa, the renowned yet authentic Emperor of Mali, clearly comprehended its allure. It is also facile to manipulate—likely the earliest metal utilized by humans, as per the World Gold Council—and aesthetically pleasing, in addition to being hypoallergenic. In that regard, below is the anticipated summary regarding gold.

The atomic number of gold is 79, signifying the quantity of protons in the element. This applies equally to all materials referenced in this section. Gold is a Group 11 element in the periodic table, denoted by the symbol Au, derived from its Latin name, Aurum. This group comprises 11 chemical elements, including gold, copper, silver, and roentgenium. The group is formally designated as the copper group, yet it is commonly referred to as the coinage group, with the exception of roentgenium. The three metals utilized as currency have been recognized since prehistory, as they exist in metallic form, requiring no metallurgy for extraction. In contrast, roentgenium is a synthetic metal, synthesized in the laboratory in 1994.

Gold will persist in watchmaking; but, pricing remains a significant concern, and we will continue to monitor the proportion of watches utilizing this precious metal as an indicator of industry performance.