Gold is best known for jewellery, but that's really only the largest part of a much bigger picture. Around the world, gold is held as an investment, used in electronics, relied on in dentistry, and stored by central banks as a form of national reserve. It even turns up in places people don't expect, including the medals handed out at the Olympics.
Here's a closer look at where all that gold actually goes, and why it suits so many different roles.
Jewellery accounts for the largest share of all the gold that's ever been mined, making up around 45% of the total above-ground supply. That's a huge proportion, and it's not hard to see why. Gold doesn't tarnish or corrode, it can be shaped and worked in fine detail, and it can be alloyed with other metals to change its colour, strength or hardness depending on what a piece needs to do.
This versatility is part of why gold jewellery spans everything from delicate, fine chains to heavy, statement rings, all using the same base material adapted in different ways.
Beyond jewellery, a significant amount of gold is held purely as a financial asset. Investment in the form of bars, coins and exchange-traded funds accounts for roughly 22% of all the gold ever mined, while central banks hold a further 17% as part of their official reserves.
Gold has held this role for thousands of years, largely because of a few consistent qualities: it's rare, it doesn't degrade over time, and its supply can't be increased on demand the way currency can. These are the same reasons it's often treated as a hedge during periods of economic or currency uncertainty.
Gold plays a smaller but important role in modern technology. It's an excellent conductor of electricity and, unlike many other metals, it doesn't corrode or tarnish, which makes it ideal for connectors, circuit boards and certain components inside smartphones, computers and other devices.
The amount of gold in any single device is tiny, often just a fraction of a gram, but multiplied across billions of devices worldwide, it adds up to a meaningful amount of demand. This is also why old electronics are one of the sources of recycled gold, alongside unwanted jewellery.
Gold has a long history in dentistry, mainly because it's biocompatible, resistant to corrosion, and easy to shape precisely. It's been used for crowns, fillings and bridges for well over a century, and while tooth-coloured materials are now more commonly chosen for cosmetic reasons, gold is still used in some dental work today, particularly where durability matters more than appearance.
Gold also turns up in places that are more symbolic than functional. Olympic gold medals are a well-known example. Despite the name, they aren't solid gold. Under International Olympic Committee rules, gold medals must be made of at least 92.5% silver, plated with a minimum of six grams of pure gold, and there hasn't been a solid gold medal awarded since 1912.
Beyond sport, gold has long been used in religious and ceremonial objects, decorative gilding on buildings and artwork, and as a traditional material for trophies and awards, often valued as much for what it represents as for the metal itself.
Pulling all of this together, a few core properties explain why gold ends up in such a wide range of uses. It doesn't corrode or react with air and moisture, which is why it stays bright in jewellery and reliable in electronics. It's highly malleable, allowing it to be shaped into fine jewellery, thin electrical contacts, or pressed into dental work. And it's rare enough to remain valuable as an investment and reserve asset, without being so rare that it can't be used more widely.
Whether a piece was originally bought as jewellery, inherited from a family member, or simply forgotten in a drawer, it still holds the same properties and the same potential uses it always had. Gold doesn't lose its value or its usefulness just because it's no longer worn.
If you've got gold jewellery you no longer use, our specialists assess each item individually based on its actual gold content and condition.
You can see the full range of items we accept, including jewellery, coins and watches, on our What We Buy page, and our FAQs page covers many of the questions people ask before sending items in.
Gold's uses go far beyond the jewellery box, but if yours has been sitting unused for a while, requesting a free postage pack is a simple way to find out what it could be worth today.