Elite Traveler Winter 2019

elite traveler WINTER 2019 153

Gold rush by Samantha Coles

officers from the park ( Robin) ensure that the b tunnel are rehomed and Back at the Hamilton Edinburgh, expert crafts make you your very ow have a go at carving or e suitably inspired by the jewelers create the piec that the gold doesn’t co other materials, guaran your piece is being crea Balmoral Hotel — Ham long-standing relations

known as Batman and ats who dwell in the taken care of. & Inches showroom in men and women can n piece (you can even ngraving if you feel craft). The master es entirely by hand so me into contact with any teeing its purity. While ted, head back to The ilton & Inches has a hip with this Rocco Forte

Just over an hour from Edinburgh, Scotland beneath the edge of The Trossachs National Park, a drill is currently tapping into a quartz vein in a glacial field to retrieve rare Scottish gold. The incredibly remote location, and the fact that the glacial field is moving, makes extracting the gold a tricky feat of engineering. But this costly and difficult endeavor is well worth the effort: Scottish gold is the purest 22K yellow gold in the world, making it four times more valuable than the average global price per ounce. To celebrate the beauty and rarity of this unique material, Hamilton & Inches — Scottish jewelers who have held a royal warrant from the British monarchy for over 120 years — has created an exquisite new collection using this rarest of golds. The Cononish Gold Mine is a quick helicopter ride from Edinburgh airport. Soar over the wild terrain and see an aerial view of the mine where your own nuggets will be selected. The gold has SMO (Single Mine Origin) status, meaning its precise origin can be verified, and it has not come into contact with any other gold. The gold has been sensitively mined, too — when you see the pristine land for yourself, you’ll understand why such measures were taken to protect it. The environment is carefully monitored: An environmental clerk checks on the flora and fauna; an independent third party checks every condition throughout the planning; and two

hotel. The nearly 200-ft Gothic clock tower that soars above the landmark building and into the Edinburgh skyline has four 13-ft clock faces created by silversmiths in 1902. Charmingly, the time was set three minutes early so that people wouldn’t miss their trains during the golden age of rail travel, a quirk that endures today. As you reflect on the day’s adventures, be sure to book a table at the Michelin-starred restaurant, Number One, followed by a nightcap at Scotch Whisky Bar — there are over 500 whiskies to choose from— before retreating to the outstanding Scone & Crombie suite. Scone & Crombie suite from $5,200 per night. Contact Richard Cooke, general manager, reservations.balmoral@roccofortehotels.com, +44 131 556 2414, roccofortehotels.com

Clockwise from top Watch the artisans shape gold; Cononish Gold Mine; The Balmoral Hotel