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The only people talking purity are the ones that read the headline and not the article- please don't comment if you didn't even skim it. This is purely about th

The only people talking purity are the ones that read the headline and not the article- please don't comment if you didn't even skim it. This is purely about the branding of the gold, not the quality. It's like if someone sells a fake Gucci bag that's actually the exact same quality, materials, and even production process as a real bag. The branding is the lie, not the product.

gus_massa 7y ago
Don't worry, I had read the article. Gold is extracted and usually refined locally, perhaps it is exported as an alloy with Silver or Platinum or other metal. After more refinement it can be converted to gold bars. Oil has more variety, it's a mix of a hundred (thousand?) similar compound and it's exported (almost?) raw. So the composition and the level of the impurities vary a lot from the different sources. You can't ignore the source of the oil because your refinery may not be able to use it. A better comparison is gasoline. The difference of gasoline with a bar of gold is that gasoline is still a mix of somewhat similar substances, but the variation is small. There are many variants, with different octane rating and different additives. It's not 100% true, but gasoline is somewhat fungible and you don't care too much about the origin if it has the quality you are looking for.
- unexpected 7y ago
  you can also identify where oil has come from based on a sample of it. Oils have unique signatures for different regions.
- bigwavedave 7y ago
  I'd like to apologize and say my "read the article" self-righteousness was directed at the OP, not you- I replied to the wrong part of the thread and the sub-par reader I'm stuck with using doesn't allow editing/deleting. I also agree that gasoline would be a better comparison than oil.
  - gus_massa 7y ago
    (No problem. Let's hope your comment get's back to black soon.)
notyourday 7y ago
You do realize that most of "fake Gucci bags" are made on the same factories as the "real Gucci bags" typically on the same line except that they are FOB <location of the factory in China or Vietnam> rather than FOB a distribution facility?
- bigwavedave 7y ago
  That's EXACTLY my point, Mr. notyourday. Why else do you think I said that bit about same materials and same manufacturing process? The problem with the gold discussed in the article is the exact same issue with the bags in this context.
- matt-attack 7y ago
  But gold’s value is not based on the brand, where as I suspect the opposite of handbags. Gold’s value is in the material itself. It’s fungible. It’s a pure element. Brand is relatively meaningless. As it should be.

gus_massa 7y ago

Don't worry, I had read the article. Gold is extracted and usually refined locally, perhaps it is exported as an alloy with Silver or Platinum or other metal. After more refinement it can be converted to gold bars. Oil has more variety, it's a mix of a hundred (thousand?) similar compound and it's exported (almost?) raw. So the composition and the level of the impurities vary a lot from the different sources. You can't ignore the source of the oil because your refinery may not be able to use it. A better comparison is gasoline. The difference of gasoline with a bar of gold is that gasoline is still a mix of somewhat similar substances, but the variation is small. There are many variants, with different octane rating and different additives. It's not 100% true, but gasoline is somewhat fungible and you don't care too much about the origin if it has the quality you are looking for.

unexpected 7y ago
you can also identify where oil has come from based on a sample of it. Oils have unique signatures for different regions.
bigwavedave 7y ago
I'd like to apologize and say my "read the article" self-righteousness was directed at the OP, not you- I replied to the wrong part of the thread and the sub-par reader I'm stuck with using doesn't allow editing/deleting. I also agree that gasoline would be a better comparison than oil.
- gus_massa 7y ago
  (No problem. Let's hope your comment get's back to black soon.)

notyourday 7y ago

You do realize that most of "fake Gucci bags" are made on the same factories as the "real Gucci bags" typically on the same line except that they are FOB <location of the factory in China or Vietnam> rather than FOB a distribution facility?

bigwavedave 7y ago
That's EXACTLY my point, Mr. notyourday. Why else do you think I said that bit about same materials and same manufacturing process? The problem with the gold discussed in the article is the exact same issue with the bags in this context.
matt-attack 7y ago
But gold’s value is not based on the brand, where as I suspect the opposite of handbags. Gold’s value is in the material itself. It’s fungible. It’s a pure element. Brand is relatively meaningless. As it should be.