I was born and raised in Vancouver, so maybe my perception of society at large is a little skewed. During my time here, I’ve seen both a growing Chinese and East Indian population here, and it becomes quite apparent that these cultures place a very high value on wearing gold jewelry. Some of the best “gold” stores in Vancouver are either run by Chinese or East Indian people, and it makes me wonder, is this obsession with the yellow element a cultural phenomenon?

When I ventured to Hong Kong several years ago, there were stores peddling high-priced gold products (though still substantially cheaper than what was available in Vancouver), many of which boasted huge gold statues and such right in the front window. Like oil, the Earth only contains so much gold at any given time, and buying gold is perhaps one of the best investments you can make because it is guaranteed to go up in value in the long term.

That’s why people set out to buy gold so often, but more often than not, they are not receiving a physical ounce or brick in hand, rather getting their hands on a piece of paper that indicates that they now own a certain amount housed in some vault halfway across the world in Zurich, Switzerland.

Myself, I’ve had a modest gold chain around my next for ten years or so now. I don’t think anything of it.