Why are gold, silver and diamonds so valuable?

They don't really do anything apart from look pretty, but lots of people invest in them.

I agree with indy...it's like when post-war countries print out more money to make up for war debts...it becomes useless but with less of something the more it is wort...It's kinda all in the mind. if everyone started wanting those "gel pens" again they would go up in price, but right now i assume they are "dollar store" cheap.

Rarity.

if they made chalk worth the same .....i would be rich....

They are fairly hard to get hold of. To own them also carries a status symbol so people want to have some, pushing demand up when there isn't a lot there. Basically people want the status that comes with owning some real Gold/Silver/Diamonds. The fact that they look pretty also has to be considered.

Supply and demand keeps the price up. They are not so scarce these days but the supply is carefully controlled to boost or maintain high prices. Diamond stock/supplies are huge but only a few companies are involved and they keep prices high.

Rare thats all. If copper was rare then it would copper rings and gold pipes nice thought eh....

Because they are very rare, and because they have special characteristics. For instance, gold is extremely malleable and highly conductive, so it works great for things where you have to make intricate shapes, or where you need to conduct electricity. In fact, gold is so conductive, that a very small amount of it applied to the exterior of another surface improves conductivity immensely. Diamonds, for instance, are extremely hard, and can be used to cut or abrade almost any other surface. So they do, indeed, serve purposes other than just to look pretty.

All the gold that has ever been mined in the history of the world, by the way, would fit into a cube 50 feet on each side. That doesn't seem like much, does it? But you wouldn't believe how heavy that amount of gold would be!

First, they are rare in this world. Second they are used in some utensils, jewelries and even on coins. That's why it's so valuable.

it gives you a lot a money...

Its biblical

Because they are rare so people feel a sense of joy when they buy them. As more people then want to buy them, the prices go up.

in general, the three mentioned items have rarity values, it is quite rare to find these minerals from the earth. These three minerals have industrial applications also, thus giving them utility values, so other than looking pretty, they also have some industrial uses. all three minerals can function as a store of value, in that they can relatively retain their values over long periods of time. and lastly, since it requires a tremendous amount of labor and capital to extract these minerals from the earth, the price they command is consequently very high.

Gold and silver specifically have been used as money for thousands of years. Paper money used to be backed by real gold and silver but today the money supply is increasing trillions annually with nothing backing it. Silver specifically is an industrial metal also. It is the best conductor of electricity of all metals ( even copper), it is bacteriacidal, etc. Industry consumes hundreds of millions of ounces of silver each year and most of that silver is non-recoverable due to the tiny amount used in each application. It is believed that we will mine almost all of the gold and silver left in the earth's crust within the next 30- 40 years.