The gold price
Golden facials help Japenese gold leaf sales - Friday 7th September 2007
While most of the world demand for commodity gold sees it used for the production of jewelery, a rising trend is seeing sheet-thin gold lead used increasingly as an ingredient in facials.
Japan has led this diversification of the use of the precious metal, with the 'kinpaku' gold-leaf, primarily produced on the sea coast in Kanazawa, now used in lotions and cream to give skin-care a new golden shine.
Hakuichi, a Japanese company founded in 1975, started to use gold-leaf in lotions several years ago, as a way of creating an original gold-leaf-based product to raise sales of the metal substance.
"I wanted to develop new ways to apply the skill that we had," Kuniko Asano, president of Hakuichi, told Reuters.
Gold-leaf was formerly in great demand as a decorative covering for primarily religious monuments such as Kyoto's 600-year-old Golden Pavilion Temple.
Although the founding company admits that benefits are not proven, the use of gold-leaf in facial products is thought to improve circulation and to hold disinfectant qualities.
The jewelery market remains the main outlet for sales of gold as a commodity, while the industrial sector – principally dentistry and decorative applications – also generates considerable custom, accounting for 11 per cent of gold demand flows between 2001 and 2005, according to the World Gold Council.
Japan has led this diversification of the use of the precious metal, with the 'kinpaku' gold-leaf, primarily produced on the sea coast in Kanazawa, now used in lotions and cream to give skin-care a new golden shine.
Hakuichi, a Japanese company founded in 1975, started to use gold-leaf in lotions several years ago, as a way of creating an original gold-leaf-based product to raise sales of the metal substance.
"I wanted to develop new ways to apply the skill that we had," Kuniko Asano, president of Hakuichi, told Reuters.
Gold-leaf was formerly in great demand as a decorative covering for primarily religious monuments such as Kyoto's 600-year-old Golden Pavilion Temple.
Although the founding company admits that benefits are not proven, the use of gold-leaf in facial products is thought to improve circulation and to hold disinfectant qualities.
The jewelery market remains the main outlet for sales of gold as a commodity, while the industrial sector – principally dentistry and decorative applications – also generates considerable custom, accounting for 11 per cent of gold demand flows between 2001 and 2005, according to the World Gold Council.
Goldbug, 07 Sep '07
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