In Exodus we read about the structure of the altar for burning incense:
You shall make an altar for burning incense; make it of acacia wood. It shall be a cubit long and a cubit wide—it shall be square—and two cubits high, its horns of one piece with it. Overlay it with pure gold: its top, its sides round about, and its horns; and make a gold molding for it round about. And make two gold rings for it under its molding; make them on its two side walls, on opposite sides. They shall serve as holders for poles with which to carry it. Make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.—Exodus 30:1-5 (NJPS)
The altar and the poles to hold it are made of acacia overlaid with gold, but it sounds like the rings that serve has holders for the poles are pure gold. The trouble with that, I imagine, is that gold is soft and heavy, so it doesn't make the best structural material. A ring made out of something else overlaid with gold sounds more practical. Does the text support that reading?