#whatintheworldismene #mene24k If you've been seeing these tags around Steemit lately it is because @goldmatters is running a contest (original post can found Here)
Now, why did I title this post the way I did... Other than alliteration what do Mene, Meta and Money have to do with each other?
Credit: @goldmatters
First, some definitions...
Mene: the ancient aramaic word denoting money, or a weight of gold or silver. (from Wikipedia)
Meta: (of a creative work) referring to itself or to the conventions of its genre; self-referential. (from Google dictionary)
Money: a current medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes. (from Google dictionary)
I'll leave those there for now and talk a little bit about what www.mene.com actually is...
Source: www.mene.com
That photo is about as straightforward as you can get... Mene is - Pure 24K Gold and sex appeal!
But WHAT do they do?
Mene's mission is to make eternally beautiful and lasting jewelery... They call it Investment Jewelry TM
When the word Mene was first used in ancient Babylonian times it referred to a measure of gold. As civilization progressed people began wearing their wealth (read GOLD) as jewelry. To this day there are cultures that still practice this, particularly India.
Mene seeks to enable the modern western investor to once again be able to realistically own pure jewelry without the ridiculous markup that typical "designer" brands include.
For example:
Credit: www.mene.com
This Pi ring in size 7 has a Pure 24K gold content of 14.58 grams, currently worth $620.52, the Mene fee of $124.10 brings the total to $744.62.
By comparison a similar ring from the ever popular Tiffany & Co. comes in at $750... In 18K gold. That puts its pure gold content somewhere around 10.94 grams (Benefit of the doubt by assuming equal size/overall weight) worth ~$464.83.
Therefore were you to buy the Tiffany & Co ring you would be paying more money for at least 25% less gold content... Chalk up a big "L" for the little tiffany blue box and a big WIN for Mene!
This little example did more than just prove that Mene is a better bargain and more bang for your buck. It also showed what they refer to as "radical transparency", Mene shows you the total gold content (something the other guys don't do) so you know exactly what you're paying for and why.
Why Gold?
Author Robert Kiyosaki who wrote "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" recently said in an interview with Kitco that
“If I want $10,000 a month, I hold $10,000 in gold; gold is an attractor and people need to understand that if you buy more gold, your income goes up.” source
Ok, that might be a little too spiritual/guru-ish, but I believe it has some merit and Mene does too.
Mene's Chief Artistic Director, Diana Widmaier-Picasso (Yes, she's the granddaughter of THE Picasso), had this to say,
I love the sense of intimacy inherent in a piece of jewelry. People used to keep pieces in the same family forever and would pass them on from generation to generation. Nowadays, people tend to treat jewelry as disposable items. I want Menē to help bring that sense of tradition into the present – one in which someone is so attached to a piece that they want to keep and wear it forever. source
There's a key line in there about people treating most jewelry as disposable, guess what, that disposable jewelry still costs money; only to be tossed in the trash the moment it is out of style or breaks. Or perhaps even worse, you inherit a dear relatives jewelry collection, only to find out its worthless junk metal.
If it were Mene jewelry that would not be the case, you could inherit it and wear it the next day with it looking just as good and likely having the same or more worth than the day it was bought!
Jewelry, especially gold, is a form of wealth preservation. Its much more meaningful to give someone a gold necklace than to give them a gold coin. That's where Mene comes in.
Only for the rich, right?
False. Mene allows you to pay with Bitcoin, normal debit or credit card, paypal, or bank deposit. They even have a layaway program they refer to as the "Harvest Plan".
These are multiple options that allow you to slowly build up some real wealth, wealth that, if you believe like some of the ancient and Eastern cultures do, will only attract more wealth.
What if you get tired of whatever piece or pieces that you have purchased from Mene? Easy, Mene has a lifetime guarantee that they will buy back or exchange anything you have purchased from them minus 10% fee based on the realtime worth of the metal. Speaking of realtime Mene has a built in collection tracker that shows you what your jewelry is worth according to its metal content.
In a world where planned obsolescence seems to be the name of the game, that's any offer you won't find very often.
Credit: Mene.com
Gold, not your thing? Fear not, Mene also has Platinum options to add even more diversity to your collection!
This is currently what I have my eye on and planning on picking up soon using BTC.
Mene, Meta Money...
So, we come back to the title of this article.
In the ancient Aramaic times Mene was synonymous with money. In our times money is synonymous with piece of paper and bits of worthless metals.
When you buy Mene Jewelry, you are paying money, but receiving Mene. In other words, you're paying money for money... and thats pretty meta.
For more info and/or to make a purchase, here is my referral link:
http://Mene.com/invite/sSc3m9