Gold is so scarce that a typical modern mine moves a tonne of rock to recover just a few grams of it. Estimates suggest all the gold ever mined in human history — roughly 200,000 tonnes — would fit into a cube only about 22 metres on each side. Here is how it gets from that rock to the ring on your hand.
Where is gold mined?
Gold is mined on every inhabited continent. China, Australia and Russia have been among the world's largest producers in recent years, with significant output from the United States, Canada, Ghana and South Africa — whose Witwatersrand Basin has historically produced more gold than any other place on Earth. Mines take three main forms: vast open pits, deep underground shafts, and alluvial (placer) operations that recover gold dust and nuggets from riverbeds — the modern descendant of gold-rush panning.
How is gold extracted from rock?
Ore is blasted from open pits or hauled up from underground
Rock is ground to powder to expose microscopic gold particles
A dilute cyanide solution dissolves the gold out of the powdered ore
Recovered gold is smelted into rough doré bars
Refineries purify doré to 99.5–99.99% pure gold
The workhorse of modern extraction is cyanide leaching: a very dilute cyanide solution percolates through the crushed ore and dissolves the gold, which is then captured on activated carbon and recovered. The result is smelted into doré — rough bars of unrefined gold mixed with silver and other metals.
Doré then goes to a refinery. The Miller process bubbles chlorine gas through the molten metal, driving out impurities to reach about 99.5% purity. Where higher purity is needed, the electrolytic Wohlwill process takes it to 99.99% — the "four nines" standard of investment-grade bullion.
What do 9ct, 14ct, 18ct and 24ct actually mean?
Pure gold is too soft for most jewellery, so it is alloyed with metals like copper, silver and zinc. Carat measures how much of the alloy is actually gold, out of 24 parts:
The three-digit numbers are the UK hallmark equivalents — parts of gold per thousand. For a full decoding of these stamps, see jewellery stamps decoded, and if you are ever unsure whether a piece is solid gold, our guide on how to tell if gold is real covers what actually works.
Why is gold so prized for jewellery?
Chemistry, mostly. Gold does not rust or tarnish — pieces recovered from ancient shipwrecks emerge as bright as the day they sank. It is also astonishingly workable: a single gram can be beaten into a sheet of roughly one square metre. Add its warm colour and scarcity, and it is easy to see why nearly every culture in recorded history has treated gold as precious. Beyond jewellery, gold is used in electronics (it conducts well and never corrodes), in dentistry, and as an investment held by individuals and central banks.
How does gold reach affordable jewellery?
Solid gold commands solid-gold prices, which is why much modern jewellery uses a thin layer of real gold bonded over another metal — gold plating, or the thicker gold vermeil over sterling silver. The gold itself is exactly the same refined metal; there is simply less of it. We explain the differences honestly in what is gold vermeil?
Pearl Embrace Studs — gold vermeil
Amethyst Pearl Harmony Necklace — 18K gold vermeil
You can browse more gold-toned pieces across our necklaces and earrings collections.
The short version
Gold is mined at concentrations of grams per tonne, dissolved out of crushed rock by cyanide leaching, smelted into doré and refined to as high as 99.99% purity. Because pure gold is soft, jewellery uses carat alloys — from 9ct (37.5% gold) to 18ct (75%) — and plated or vermeil pieces put the same refined gold within reach at a fraction of the price.