Inked Mag Staff

January 13th, 2022

Go For the Gold Tattoos

Stay gold.

We don’t want silver, we don’t want bronze—it’s all about going for the gold. Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and the atomic number 79. It’s a bright, soft, dense metal that belongs in group 11, along with copper and silver.

Gold is the earliest recorded metal used by humans. The oldest gold artifacts date back to approximately 4,600 BC Bulgaria and are referred to as Varna gold, as they were found in the Varna Necropolis. However, it’s believed that gold artifacts first began being made in Ancient Egypt during the pre-dynastic period. Gold is mentioned quite frequently throughout the Old Testament and is included as one of the gifts of the magi in the New Testament.

To this day, gold continues to be used worldwide. Gold has a great deal of symbolic meaning, particularly in indicating achievement. For example, the Olympics provides gold medals to first place winners, the Nobel Prize is made of gold and many coveted entertainment awards are gold plated. It’s of course, also used in jewelry and the government of Canada annually releases a Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coin.

In recent years, gold has become increasingly popular in tattooing. Gold is a tricky color and texture to replicate, however, many realism artists have mastered it. We’ve curated some of our favorite gold tattoos in the gallery below. Take a look at these tattoos and let us know your favorite tattoo from this list in the comments section on social media.

 

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A post shared by Tattooist Harry (@harry_color)

 

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A post shared by Tattooist Harry (@harry_color)

 

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A post shared by Tattooist Harry (@harry_color)

 

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A post shared by Dusi / 두시 (@dusi.2)

 

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A post shared by Dusi / 두시 (@dusi.2)

 

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A post shared by Martyna Frączek (@mf__tattoos)

 

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A post shared by Martyna Frączek (@mf__tattoos)

 

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A post shared by Martyna Frączek (@mf__tattoos)

 

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A post shared by Jiro (@jiro_painter)

 

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A post shared by 이래 / (@tattooist_irae2)

 

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A post shared by 이래 / (@tattooist_irae2)

 

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A post shared by Giahi Premium Tattoo (@giahi)

 

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A post shared by EUN (@ink.traveler)

 

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A post shared by Tattooist_Sida (@sida_ink)

 

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A post shared by 핸콕 (@the.hancock.effect)

 

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A post shared by 핸콕 (@the.hancock.effect)

 

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A post shared by 핸콕 (@the.hancock.effect)

 

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A post shared by Yoana Tsvetkova (@bam_yoana_tattoo)

 

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A post shared by Fekete Dorina (@black.minimal.tattoo)

 

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A post shared by Fekete Dorina (@black.minimal.tattoo)

 

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A post shared by Fekete Dorina (@black.minimal.tattoo)

 

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A post shared by GOLDSIDES (@goldsides)

 

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A post shared by NIUM_ttt (@nium_ttt)

 

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A post shared by Winnie (@winnie__waiyin)

 

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A post shared by Dalmontt (@dalmontt)

 

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A post shared by Kim Rangel ✨ (@la.kimm)

 

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A post shared by STUDIOBYSOL_Solar (@tattooist_solar)

 

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A post shared by Martyna Frączek (@mf__tattoos)

 

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A post shared by Júlia Sincero (@jusincero)

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