What is it about gold that makes people so passionate, crazy, paranoid? Our special report answers that question and more. We'll take you to mines in South Africa, gold bank vaults in London, trading pits in New York and the shop floor of a huge gold-jewelry manufacturer in Louisiana.
A look inside South Africa's Rand Refinery, where the world's gold is refined, then delivered all over the globe to: banks, mints, industrial manufacturers and jewelry makers.
Almost no one outside the sponsor (the World Gold Council) has ever seen the gold in the world's largest vault — until now.
Gold is increasingly harder to find, forcing thousands of miners to drill deeper, at higher costs and greater danger.
With the price of gold soaring to record levels, the precious metal has become that much more dear. Where and how should gold buyers store their bullion and coins?
Like commodities in general, metals help investors diversify as their performance bears little resemblance to that of stocks.
Most investors these days play gold through mutual funds and exchange-traded funds but the investment strategy of these vehicles varies widely, as have their performance relative to the metal's decade-long rally.
Gold Bullion International's CEO explains the advantages. "When you own a real asset, there's no counterparty risk between you and the real asset," he says
The precious metal has quintupled in price over the past decade, but there's considerable debate as to why.
Before you join the herd of gold bulls, take our quiz to see whether you can tell myth from markets.