Solid gold

[Katarsis]

I have fallen in love with the AP ROO QE11 cup but I keep hesitating buying it because of the risk of scratching the gold plating and ruining the watch.

There is a solution to the problem:

Taking the bezel and plots to a goldsmith and ask them to make solid rose gold versions.

I have no idea what it would cost and how many grams of gold it would take.

I bet it would be pretty expensive but people buy gold jewelry all the time and gold is an investment that historically has increased in value.

The cost of investment would be what the watchsmith charges for the labor.

Do you have any idea what the total cost would be?

Is this even possible?

Am I totally out of my mind?

 

[QueTip]

Possible but expensive

 

[littowun]

I have fallen in love with the AP ROO QE11 cup but I keep hesitating buying it because of the risk of scratching the gold plating and ruining the watch.

There is a solution to the problem:

Taking the bezel and plots to a goldsmith and ask them to make solid rose gold versions.

I have no idea what it would cost and how many grams of gold it would take.

I bet it would be pretty expensive but people buy gold jewelry all the time and gold is an investment that historically has increased in value.

The cost of investment would be what the watchsmith charges for the labor.

Do you have any idea what the total cost would be?

Is this even possible?

Am I totally out of my mind?

Since this is very subjective, here is just my rationale:

A gen AP QE II CUP 2016 is ~$60k and 5% of that is $3k. So for me, I would not spend more than $3k total on this endeavor. The JF QE II Cup 2016 is around $700. So I would just buy 2 of them--one for your watch box, one for your daily beater. To me, it would seem much more cost effective that way that pursuing a solid gold project. I know M2M says it's rare and all that (https://forum.replica-watch.info/fo...es/7936092-ap-jf-v2-qe-ii-cup-2016-super-rare) but from messaging TDs, you can just get it straight from the factory as of now. I have one on the way actually.

My personal grail watch has turned out to be the Rubens Barrichello II in Rose Gold. I've messaged every single TD on this site and on others and they have all told me it is no longer in production. This is the first time I've heard that, as even the "Sincere Tantalum" is not classified this way, and is classified as "not in stock" -- technically there is still hope to source that watch brand new if you have the will and the $$. I even messaged a bunch of WhatsApp and Instagram dealers. So far, only one supposedly has stock in a warehouse but wants $900 for it.

But to bring this full circle, the few RBII RG that are available to me to purchased are used and not in great condition. There are scratches on the RG case. So my next step would have been to ask a senior forum member like Legend what would be an appropriate donor RG case that would fit--I read the RBII is technically 42mm even though all the TDs say it is 44mm or something. I saw in another thread whereby Legend addressed this similar issue and it gave me the idea (https://forum.replica-watch.info/fo...does-arf-make-an-ap-roo?p=8044902#post8044902).

So if you have the relationship with your TD, just get the bezel/pusher/caseback/plots but now that I write all that out, might just be easier to get a second watch as I initially suggested. JF has been restricting it's parts supply. I asked for a JF crystal and it was $100 so standalone parts aren't exactly a bargain vs whole watches.

 

[Katarsis]

Possible but expensive

Expensive, yes. But most of the money would be invested in the material itself. And gold is pretty easy to sell.

 

[Katarsis]

"from messaging TDs, you can just get it straight from the factory as of now. I have one on the way actually."

Very interesting! I thought that they were discontinued. Which TD did you buy it from?


My personal grail watch has turned out to be the Rubens Barrichello II in Rose Gold. I've messaged every single TD on this site and on others and they have all told me it is no longer in production. This is the first time I've heard that, as even the "Sincere Tantalum" is not classified this way, and is classified as "not in stock" -- technically there is still hope to source that watch brand new if you have the will and the $$. I even messaged a bunch of WhatsApp and Instagram dealers. So far, only one supposedly has stock in a warehouse but wants $900 for

Good luck with the search.

 

[Revolper]

littowun that 5% rule of yours makes little sense to me.
For the rest, you might just buy a used watch and have it replated. Apart from taking away the damages the result will likely be far superior to the original plating both in color and durability.

 

[Katarsis]

littowun that 5% rule of yours makes little sense to me.
For the rest, you might just buy a used watch and have it replated. Apart from taking away the damages the result will likely be far superior to the original plating both in color and durability.

Do you know what a quality replating would cost?

I've tried but found no company doing it near me.

 

[littowun]

Very interesting! I thought that they were discontinued. Which TD did you buy it from?

Hey there, I got mine from . I think the big dogs like Puretime really focus on the popular models only. The last six watches I inquired, Jennifer@Puretime responds in 15 minutes and tells me it's out of stock. Even so, I still check in with Puretime here and there...maybe I just like being rejected by Jennifer :idontknow:

that 5% rule of yours makes little sense to me.

Fair enough! :thumbup:
Time will pass and I'm sure my perspective will shift one way or another.

For the rest, you might just buy a used watch and have it replated. Apart from taking away the damages the result will likely be far superior to the original plating both in color and durability.

Thank you very much for that tip!! I really appreciate it.
:flowers1:

Do you know what a quality replating would cost?

I've tried but found no company doing it near me.

I would be very interested to know as well! You are much more senior than I am, might be worth messaging flying-tommy -- maybe he still has his re-plating machine/apparatus? I don't think he would take too kindly to a random message from a newbie like me. But if he is open to it, we can help him recoup some of the costs of his machine.

Reference Thread:
https://forum.replica-watch.info/for...-gold-plating/

Tommy's Replating of Case and CaseBack:
https://forum.replica-watch.info/for...52#post7543252

 

[legend]

I have fallen in love with the AP ROO QE11 cup but I keep hesitating buying it because of the risk of scratching the gold plating and ruining the watch.

There is a solution to the problem:

Taking the bezel and plots to a goldsmith and ask them to make solid rose gold versions.

I have no idea what it would cost and how many grams of gold it would take.

I bet it would be pretty expensive but people buy gold jewelry all the time and gold is an investment that historically has increased in value.

The cost of investment would be what the watchsmith charges for the labor.

Do you have any idea what the total cost would be?

Is this even possible?

Am I totally out of my mind?

To answer you shortly, yes it is possible, and I know a good friend of mine (also a member here) who has done just that.
But this is not a solution to the problem of scratching, because solid gold scratches too, and rather easily too. Also, bear in mind that there is a limit to the number of times you can polish the scratches out without softening the edges of the bezel, or changing the shape or size of it visually.
So when you replace the gold plated parts with solid gold parts, you are not solving the issue of scratching, but making it more expensive for the inevitable scratches to be fixed.

On the flip side, you will of course enjoy a physically heftier watch if it is your thing, and yes, the gold parts become an asset.
So you are not crazy, but the costs of this project WILL be inhibiting for the average member here. If you can afford it, you likely can afford a gen watch and that may have more value for you vs the gen gold parts.So think about it carefully. There is no price on personal passion though, you need to decide the worth of the result.

 

[Katarsis]

To answer you shortly, yes it is possible, and I know a good friend of mine (also a member here) who has done just that.
But this is not a solution to the problem of scratching, because solid gold scratches too, and rather easily too. Also, bear in mind that there is a limit to the number of times you can polish the scratches out without softening the edges of the bezel, or changing the shape or size of it visually.
So when you replace the gold plated parts with solid gold parts, you are not solving the issue of scratching, but making it more expensive for the inevitable scratches to be fixed.

On the flip side, you will of course enjoy a physically heftier watch if it is your thing, and yes, the gold parts become an asset.
So you are not crazy, but the costs of this project WILL be inhibiting for the average member here. If you can afford it, you likely can afford a gen watch and that may have more value for you vs the gen gold parts.So think about it carefully. There is no price on personal passion though, you need to decide the worth of the result.

Great response.