A history of Welsh gold
The earliest gold mining activity in Wales is thought to have taken place in the Bronze Age as early as 1,000BC, more than 3,000 years ago, in the Dolaucothi Welsh gold mine situated in the valley of the river Conthi in South West Wales. This same mine was later discovered by the Romans who Welsh gold was especially popular with, they were the first to introduce large-scale mining in the area encouraged by the popularity of the circulation of metalwork in Britain along with their superior craftsmanship skills.
Another mine was discovered by The Romans in the nearby town of Pumsaint, a 1,000 man strong army of slaves was imported to extract the precious gold it contained within, the mine was active up until 1938 and was eventually handed over to the National Trust in 1941. In the 18th century a hoard of gold objects were found near the mine in Pumsaint which can now be seen on show in the British Museum, these mines hold a high level of significance due to the Dolaucothi mines being the only known Roman gold mines in Britain and provide a fine example of the advanced Roman technology adopted during this period.
The comparatively small Dolaucothi site in the South is one of only two distinct areas where gold has been found in Wales, the other being North Wales, which demonstrates the scarcity of the precious naturally found metal. One of the earliest Welsh gold pieces ever, the remarkable cape or collar, was discovered in Mold, North Wales in the Middle Bronze Age.
The Acts of Union which were passed in 1536 and 1542 have now made mining rights the property of the English Crown. As a result of this royalties are still payable for any gold mined in Wales even to this day.
Later on the Welsh Princes became extremely wealthy due to the abundant supplies of Welsh gold to be found in the Country. In the 19th Century the “Great Gold Rush” struck Wales, in 1862 gold was discovered in Merioneth, North West Wales. Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn a member of one of the then richest families in Wales opened the Castell Carn Dochan mine which produced most of its gold between 1865 and 1873, the already exceptionally wealthy Sir Watkin used his royalties for the gold mined (gold ingots from his own mine) to produce a 22 carat, 40cm tall copy of a cup Henry VIII once gave to one of his wives, this grand cup is the largest object in Wales made from its own gold, it can now be seen in the National Museum Wales.
The Clogau St. David’s Gold Mine
One spring morning in 1854 Mr Goodman, the original director of the Clogau (pronounced “clog-eye”) copper mine, casually picked-up a piece of waste rock and broke it in two. As he expected, the cracked fragments showed no trace of copper. What he didn’t expect was the glittering yellow metal that was revealed. From that day on, the abandoned copper mine was given a rich new life. The first seam from the Clogau St. David’s Gold Mine produced a very beautiful and distinctive Welsh rose gold.
The Clogau St David’s mine was discovered in the Snowdonia mountains some 20 years ago by William Roberts and his family. The Williams family had found an abandoned mine which dated back to the Roman era, the mine had been one of the most productive of its kind in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Planning restrictions in the Snowdonia National Park prevented William from seeing through his original idea of turning the mine into a tourist attraction, the decision was therefore made to re-open the mine in the hope of finding more of the precious Welsh gold it had once produced. Williams gamble proved fruitful as a small quantity of gold still remained deep underground, the small scale mining operation continued for 3 years.
Due to the scarcity of the gold and the extraordinary cost of mining it, production ceased in 1995. The miners who worked there up until the eventual closure in 1998 were the direct descendants of the mines original Victorian prospectors. The mine now lies inactive, and although we tried to open it as a tourist attraction, that too has proved impractical on safety grounds.
The small, though steady, supply of gold extracted from the Clogau seams has made it perhaps the rarest in the world. Clogau Gold jewellery is made with a touch of our diminishing stock of Clogau Welsh gold and we don’t have much left.
Indeed, to re-open the mine now and extract gold would cost six times as much as the value of other gold. This is why we only include a small amount of this Royally sought precious metal in our jewellery, making Clogau Gold not only special but also affordable.
Welsh gold today
Due to the closure of the Welsh gold mines the supplies that were once extracted have become increasingly valuable as the quantity of gold depletes making it an extremely sought after product, due to this scarcity there is no actual market rate for Welsh gold however some estimate that it would sell for around £850 an ounce which is equivalent to three times the price of ordinary gold making it the most expensive metal in the world.
Celebrities and Welsh gold
Welsh Gold has a number of celebrity fans due to the exclusivity surrounding it, celebrities keen to express their connections to Wales and own their own piece of the gold it naturally produces. Hollywood actor and actress Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones chose a Welsh gold band wedding ring for their wedding day to express their love for each other.
Sian Lloyd the famous Welsh television news presenter owns an engagement ring that is made from 100% Welsh gold which she has kept even after splitting from her fiancé.
The Welsh boxer Joe Calzaghe has also expressed an interest in having a commemorative WBO belt made from the valuable gold.
Royal connections
Welsh gold is not only sought after by celebrities but also by Royalty, particularly with regards to their wedding rings. Royalty have been wearing Welsh gold since the early 1920’s. Members of the Royal family that have worn or still do wear a Welsh gold wedding ring include Queen Elizabeth II and her mother, Princess Margaret, Prince Charles, Princess Diana and Princess Camilla. For her 60th birthday The Queen herself was presented with an ingot of pure Welsh gold as a gift.
Welsh gold mines
In Wales there are three main gold mines, the Clogau mine in Bontddu, the Gwynfynydd mine in Dolgellau and the Dolaucothi mine in Pumsaint.
Clogau gold mine, Bontddu
Gold was discovered at the Clogau mine in 1854 by the director Mr.Goodman, the mine was previously used to extract copper however this find proved to be more bountiful. The mine was active until 1995 when mining the gold became uneconomical, attempts were made to open the mine as a tourist attraction however safety laws prevented this from materialising. The possible future opening of the mine has often been suggested.
Gwynfynydd gold mine, Dolgellau
This mine turned out to be one of the richest gold mines in Britain and was opened in the 1960s, after the mine closed it was restored so that it could become active again however has once again been closed. Since 1884 it had a recorded output of more than 2,000oz of Welsh gold. When re-opened the mine welcomed visitors to see how it functioned and to pan for gold themselves.
Dolaucothi gold mine, Pumsaint
The Dolaucothi mine was opened and operated by the Romans, after centuries of abandonment the mine was revived in the 19th century and eventually closed in 1938 giving it a short lived existence. The mine now belongs to The National Trust who provides self-guided tours above ground and guided tours below ground to its visitors.
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