Does Gold Only Exist On Earth’

Our professional jewelers at Hal Davis Jewelers deal with gold on an almost daily basis. Whether it’s used in a bracelet, locket, pendant, or necklace, gold is among the most popular precious metals in the world. This is, of course, despite the fact that other metals are actually much rarer and more valuable. Add to its popularity the fact that gold is not only used in jewelry — electronics, for one, make use of gold as a conductor because it doesn’t tarnish. And we all know that the electronics industry is among the biggest industries in the world.

Gold’s value can never be understated. But suppose for a moment that the Earth's gold stores dwindle, to the point of exhaustion. Where will industries get the gold they needed? Or, if that were to happen, would gold be gone forever; would it be wiped-off the face of the Universe, because it’s endemic to planet Earth’

The short answer is no. Gold is not native to our planet, or at least that’s what recent research suggests. A study involving the analysis of the world’s oldest rocks, conducted by researchers from the University of Bristol in England, show that a cataclysmic meteor shower changed the chemical composition of the developing Earth.

About 4.5 billion years ago, our planet was still a soft ball of magma. All the denser materials on its surface sank towards the core as the Earth cooled. This is probably the reason that the Earth’s core is mostly made of iron. By the same token, since gold is fairly dense, all of it should’ve sunk to the core along with the other materials. And this appears to be true, since the core is hypothesized to have enough gold to cover the entire world’s surface with a 4-meter gold layer.

Given this plausible theory, scientists have posited one possible answer for all the gold that remains on the Earth’s surface: it must have come from somewhere else. They hypothesized that a meteor shower known as The Terminal Bombardment added some sort of veneer to the Earth’s surface, 650 million years after the occurrence. What’s astounding is the duration of this shower — experts say it lasted for 200 million years, straight. This event is thought to have peppered the young Earth with over 20 billion tons of meteorite material, which included gold.

So the next time you come to our stores for a golden necklace, take the time to realize that your jewelry is literally from out of this world. Visit us today for our wide selection of precious, shiny trinkets from outer space.