Like his rival Georges Méliès, Segundo de Chomòn also assisted production with many fantasy films of the time which, like the work of his superior, would sometimes be adapted from stage play productions. He assisted Albert Capellani with the special effects in "The Talisman" of 1907; he worked as the cinematographer for Gaston Velle's "The Rajah's Casket" of 1906 and for Lucien Nougret's (who helped direct this) and Capellani's "Sleeping Beauty" of 1908. Don't forget the many stop-motion animation trick films which he produced for Pathé up until 1910, either. All boasted gorgeous sets, great stencil-coloring and other major pluses which were quite close in beating those of the Star films.
The difference between a Chomòn fantasy and a Méliès fantasy, though, is the cutting. As stated before, Méliès was strongly influenced by the stage productions of the period which are part of what helped him create the masterpiece "A Trip to the Moon" and the many other well-remembered shorts of the time. So, to make them seem like a stage production, Méliès filmed his biggest movies just like them--with big, long shots, no closeups, theatrical sets and lots of overacting. Largely, a lot of Pathé films during this period were like this too--but when Chomòn was in charge, the style took a different route. The shots were much closer to the actors, there were frequent uses of closeups and medium closeups and in general they seemed less theatrical. If you watch this film and compare it to Capellani's "The Talisman", you'll see a big difference--the latter being a more dated method of storytelling and the former remaining a more up-to-date style of filmmaking.
"The Obsession of Gold" is indeed a fantasy, probably not adapted from a stage production, but certainly a fantasy nonetheless. The gesturing does remain a little theatrical, and the dancers in the fairy land are something you'd see Méliès doing, but the cutting is much more innovative. Take, for instance, the medium closeup of the painter playing with his money. This is definitely not something Méliès would have done because of how 'unnecessary' most filmmakers would have thought it at the time. In addition, the scene in the jeweler's shop continues to use this same technique of cutting--there is no long shot before it, oddly enough--yet it all shows a more advanced method. Still, Chomòn would only go so far with this type of filmmaking--and Griffith would eventually have to come in later and pick up where he had left off.
Unfortunately, the entire film does not survive; various sources online state the original film had a total of seven minutes, while the version available on the internet is only three minutes. This would explain the lack of a long shot in the jeweler's shop scene, and the fact the film is lacking continuity in several spots. To make matters worse, YouTube has two separate versions, one of which has only the opening in the painter's studio and which ends after the fairy appears. (The other reviewer has seen this version and would do well to see the more complete uploading). If you want to get the longer short I would advise you type in the french title, since the English title brings up the non-complete version. What does survive of this film is quite good, though, and a complete copy being discovered someday would be a great thing.