In North America and Europe, buying gold bullion coins and bars is a rather secretive affair.
If and when we buy it, it’s almost under cover of darkness. We sneak the gold into our homes or safety deposit boxes, and don’t say a word about it. We rarely display it.
Elsewhere in the world, people’s relationships with gold are somewhat different.
In India, for example, they wear it. In other words, they wear their wealth and display it for all to see.
They also give gold away as gifts, also in the form of jewelry. This peaks during the time of year when weddings are most popular, and also during Duwali, the festival of lights, which takes place between mid-November and mid-December.
In India, spending on gold rose 100 percent on a year-over-year basis through September, 2010.
In China, gold buying has also increased, if for a slightly different reason. In December, the Shanghai Gold Exchange reported that China imported five times more gold in 2010 than 2009.
But the Chinese principally buy mini bars. In fact, between 60 and 70 percent of the gold imported into China is transformed into these mini bars, which the growing middle class buy as a means to build and protect their wealth.
In both countries, gold is purchased openly as a means of building and even displaying wealth.
Meanwhile, back in North America we continue to buy gold on the sly, hiding it away and telling nobody.
There are cultural differences at play here. But still, it’s a pity that we treat something as beautiful as gold as something to be hoarded and hidden.