Gold!

This may seem like a silly question; but as it turns out, gold is much more than just a material used to make jewelry. Since the beginning of recorded history, gold has been used as money, as a store of value, in jewelry, in sculpture, and for ornamentation.
The metal occurs naturally, in the form of nuggets or grains found in rocks, veins and in alluvial deposits. The consistency of gold is very dense; though it is the most soft and malleable pure metal in known existence. Its appearance is quite shiny and is very attractive, bright yellow color.

Strangely, gold is one of only three naturally occurring metals that have distinct color; copper (reddish) and cesium (silvery-gold) are the other two. All other elemental metals are gray or white.
Because 24kt gold, or pure gold, is so soft – it is typically alloyed with base metals for use in jewelry to ensure its durability and strength. Gold with lower karat value – 18kt, 14kt, 10kt – contain percentages of copper, silver, palladium and/or other base metals. The color of gold can be changed depending upon what metals have been alloyed with it. Yellow gold, is typically alloyed with a small percentage of copper to maintain its color but increase its durability. A high percentage of copper will cause the gold to appear reddish in color – thus producing rose gold, or pink gold. In the same way, white gold is produced by alloying yellow gold with palladium and/or other white metals.

Gold is very resistant to tarnish, rust and corrosion but should still not be exposed to chlorine or abrasive cleaning products. If exposed regularly to these chemicals gold will lose its natural, shiny, yellow color. Rhodium, a very hard white metal, is often used to coat white gold so it maintains its white luster. If white gold begins to show a yellow tint, it is probably because the rhodium finish has worn off. In this case, the piece of jewelry may be easily re-coated with rhodium to bring it back to its original appearance.