# Gold > [!material-gem] Material Details > | | | > |---|---| > | **Aliases/Varieties** | Native Gold. White Gold. Rose Gold. Electrum. | > | **Category** | Gemstone | > | **Color(s)** | Metallic yellow | > | **Cost** | —— | > | **Environment/Habitat** | —— | > | **Profession(s)** | [[Alchemist]], [[Cook]], [[Jewelcrafter]], [[Tinkerer]] | > | **Qualities** | - Alchemical<br>- Healing<br>- Ornamental<br>- Protective | > | **Rarity** | —— | > | **Size** | —— | > | **Weight** | —— | > [!material-gem] Specifications > | | | > |---|---| > | **Crystal System** | Cubic | > | **Formations** | Native nuggets or grains in rocks, veins, and alluvial deposits | > | **Formula** | Au | > | **Hardness** | 2.5–3.0 (Mohs) | > | **Mineral Class** | Elemental metal | > | **Primary Components** | gold | > | **Refractive Index** | —— | --- ## Description A precious, soft metal used in advanced technology, alchemy, and decorative arts. It brings prosperity and high honors, attracts dragons, and celebrates victors. ### Physical Description A soft, yellow elemental metal, highly valued throughout the world. As it is almost always alloyed with other metals—predominantly silver or copper—gold's value depends on its purity. Pure gold is bright yellow; it turns whiter with growing content of silver. Other inclusions result in creation of rose gold (copper), white gold (palladium and nickel), green gold (silver), blue gold (iron), or purple gold (aluminum). Gold is incredibly resistant, does not tarnish, discolor, or crumble. Its denseness, heaviness, and malleability makes it hard to mistake it with other metals—except pyrite, known as "fools' gold." --- ## Occurrence Gold occurs mostly in its native form, as lode deposits in quartz-based rocks and as nuggets in alluvial deposits. It sometimes accompanies silver and copper or is found in gold-bearing minerals, such as sylvanite and calaverite. ### Extraction & Preparation Gold mining and panning in rivers are common practices, as the price of gold makes it worthwhile to mine and recover even minuscule amounts. --- ## Properties ### Culinary Properties Gold is inert and may be ingested safely in small quantities. Dishes covered in gold flakes are favored by those willing to spend inordinate amount of money to eat indigestible shiny metals. ### Decorative Properties Pure gold is too soft for almost all practical uses and must be alloyed with other metals, after which it becomes a workable material for jewelry and ornaments. Extremely thin sheets of gold foil are used by painters, decorators, and book illuminators. ### Industrial Properties Gold is an excellent conductor of electricity, can be worked into thin and very reflective sheets, and its lack of tarnish and chemical resistance makes it invaluable in dentistry. ### Magical Properties Gold is virtually indestructible and provides great protection to those who wear it. The wealthiest of people wear cloaks embroidered with golden threads in order to stay safe from magical influence and plain bad luck. The only substance capable of dissolving gold is aqua regia (see p. 249), and many alchemists use this method as a first step on their path to create more gold. As a mark of the highest honors, golden wreaths and medals are bestowed upon victors in contests of physical, mental, or magical prowess. The metal hates loneliness; it attracts more wealth, general prosperity, and sometimes—dragons. Carrying within the warmth and light of the Sun, gold brings healing, abundance, and success. It is a most prized offerings for divine entities, rulers of the realm, and one's lovers. However, centuries of greed have affected the metal's natural pure intentions. A large, unused collection of gold turns the mind of its owner towards even more obsessive hoarding. Some magical practitioners overtaken by greed create incluses: gold coins containing bound evil spirits. When such a coin lands in a purse of its victim, it magically works to channel all of the money from there to the pocket of the coin's creator.