20 Gram Metalor Gold Bar

In 1852 Martin de Pury & Cie founded the “Preliminary Rolling Factory” at Le Locle, which specialized in the melting of gold and the manufacture of watch cases, establishing the foundations of the future Metalor industrial group.

Developing its production activities first at a site in Neuchâtel, and then in other countries throughout the world, Metalor was owned by Société de Banque Suisse until 1998, when its majority ownership was taken over by a group of industrial investors. Metalor employs over 1,600 people worldwide and has a turnover of hundreds of millions of Swiss Francs.

Gold has been a valuable and highly sought-after precious metal as bullion since long before the beginning of recorded history. Gold standards have been the most common basis for monetary policies throughout human history, being widely supplanted by fiat currency only in the late 20th century.

In 1696 the Bank of England brought gold to prominence and established the world’s first gold standard and, during 1717, the gold price was set at the equivalent of circa £4.24 per troy ounce in today’s money!