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APRIL 2015
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JEWELRY
SHOWCASE
MAGAZINE.COM
E
veryone knows that Africa is homeland to the
diamond mines belonging to the Consolidated
and DeBeers group. However, for those of you
interested in things other than diamonds, if such
a thing were indeed possible for those of you
wondering just where the richest gold deposits
are and were for those of you thinking that
perhaps Sutter’s Mill was not the gold center of
the universe, for those
of you thinking that
perhaps...just perhaps...
the American Gold
Rush was not the
beginning and end
all of quantum gold
producing discoveries-
-for all of you folks, I
present...Wangara!
Back we go my friends.
Back back back...before
the beginning of the
Common Era...before
even the rise and fall
of the Roman Empire.
Africa...that sweltering
continent...was mining
gold...and trading
in it...and making
beautiful jewelry out
of it.
And in them there
days...trudging across the Sahara...came the Arabs
on camels...to trade and barter...and get as much
gold in their hands as possible...and perhaps pick
up a few slaves and some ivory too. And the trade-
off? What did they use? Aw heck folks...they
used what any fair minded business man would
use.They used beads...and salt...and cotton goods...
and...eventually...guns too. And all this began in
Wangara, in West Africa, in a forest region filled
with placer mines.
And time passed...as it is wont to do...and great
ruling entities grew in wealth from all this gold
trading stuff...and
Emperors were created
to rule...and an empire
arose by the name of
Ghana. So let’s go back
to about a thousand
years ago. Ghana was
then called the land of
Gold. An Arab visits
the kingdom and comes
back with this report...
and I paraphrase.There
is a horse there, hitched
to a thirty pound gold
nugget. (Anyone out
there in California, or
in the Klondike, ever
find a thirty pound
nugget? Anyone want to
figure out what a thirty
pound nugget is worth
in today’s market and
get back to me?) The
king’s court, if you want to talk about opulence was
guarded by dogs wearing gold and silver collars.
There were 20,000 warriors, all carrying shields
and swords with gold handles. Oh...the
enormity of it all. It is to shatter the mind’s eye.
Question is...how to support all this wealth and
luxury. Hey...you want gold...you gotta dig for it...
and digging costs money no matter which kingdom
you live in. Well...our kingies of them thar days
were no different than our kingies of these here
days.They taxed the bejeebers out of the
populace.
And Ghana became--back then--the major West
African trading force of it’s day. North Africa
wanted gold, and the Middle East wanted gold,
and Europe wanted gold. For a long time Ghana
ruled and traded gold. Ah...but alas and alack...
nothing is forever...and by the eleventh century...
Ghana crumbled. And a new golden era arose in
Africa.
But that’s another tale for another time.This tale is
for those of you--me included till just recently who
thought the American Gold Rush days was where
it was all at. Hunh-uh my friends. Compared to
them...we’re peanuts...albeit one heck of a peanut...
and a peanut to be reckoned with too.
Oh yeah...one more thing...alas and alack...no
pictures for you guys this month … except for a
map of Wangara’s location.. But I’ll make up for it
next month. I promise.
WANGARA
GOLD
By Benjamin Mark
Over 10,000 styles to choose from
at unbeatable prices!
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