The gold represented royaly. In the Holman Christian Standard Bible it says they saw the star in the east (evidently when they were in the east) and they then went west. When they reached Israel they went to Jerusalem. Herod did not ask when the king was to be born but where. The astrologers then went to Bethlehem after learning where. In my opinion the star was from God and provided Jesus and his parents the means to leave Israel and live in Egypt.
I always questioned the WTBTS' twisted reasoning about this matter but didn't have as much gumption (that's hillbilly for sense, something the borg represses in all dubs) to speak up.