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ARF Datejust Fluted bezel turning yellow?

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MarkMarky

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Hi guys, I have this Franken ARF 36 worth gen dial, datewheel and rarely worn. Mostly inside my watch. I removed it today and say the bezel which is ARF bezel is turning yellow. Is this normal? Messed up perfectly fine Franken watch. Any suggestions to clean it up?

Worst option is to replace the bezel and mostly smooth bezel instead of fluted. How much that would cost?
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Mark1937

Mark1937

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arf has a bezel plated to look like white gold. if you let it polish you would remove the plating and it would become steel color. If it's not a problem for you, polishing is enough. obvious better steel color than the ruined plating
 
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Cadows

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chubbychaser911

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This is not the first time I’ve heard of arf bezel changing color. There’s another thread around here.
 
srhoque

srhoque

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Cadows said:
I see he has for 41 as well. Is he trustworthy?
Click to expand...

I had purchased the WG DJ36 bezel from that seller. It was as advertised. However, I did a quick visual and wrist comparison of the ARF and aftermarket WG bezels and only found less than 5-10% difference visually. So I returned it. For me the DJ36 is a dress watch and hence mostly gets worn "under the shirt". So I though the bezel is not exposed that much to wear/tear from elements and hence couldn't justify $400 on WG bezel.
 
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Cadows

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srhoque said:
I had purchased the WG DJ36 bezel from that seller. It was as advertised. However, I did a quick visual and wrist comparison of the ARF and aftermarket WG bezels and only found less than 5-10% difference visually. So I returned it. For me the DJ36 is a dress watch and hence mostly gets worn "under the shirt". So I though the bezel is not exposed that much to wear/tear from elements and hence couldn't justify $400 on WG bezel.
Click to expand...

Fluted is $700 damn! Im gathering gen parts for Wimbledon and I will try to find smooth bezel. $700 is just too much
 
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MarkMarky

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So better to sell it? I'm not there kind who is handy with repairs and customizing. Right person can fix it easily and thus is one if the best Franken out there. Once bezel is fixed, no one will call out.
 
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MarkMarky

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MarkMarky said:
So better to sell it? I'm not there kind who is handy with repairs and customizing. Right person can fix it easily and thus is one if the best Franken out there. Once bezel is fixed, no one will call out.
Click to expand...
Mostly will sell it. Can someone tell me the price for ARF bezel? Will include that in my sales thread.
 
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chocolito

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MarkMarky said:
Hi guys, I have this Franken ARF 36 worth gen dial, datewheel and rarely worn. Mostly inside my watch. I removed it today and say the bezel which is ARF bezel is turning yellow. Is this normal? Messed up perfectly fine Franken watch. Any suggestions to clean it up?

Worst option is to replace the bezel and mostly smooth bezel instead of fluted. How much that would cost?
af5094eb5641af9cddb1ba2d538581b6.jpg
Click to expand...

Arf rhodium plate then polish to give the bezel a white gold shine . The rhodium on your bezel is contaminated that is why it is turning yellow . You can't put rhodium directly on base metals like stainless steel due to contamination . The steel bezel will be covered in a acid 'activator' solution then Nickel before applying the Rhodium . The term plating is a misnomer the bezel is just given baths in the solutions with applied electrical power . Either something has gone wrong with this process leading to the yellowing , or you have contaminated the rhodium directly at surface level with something the bezel has come in contact with . May be something you hve cleaned the watch with ?

Easy fix really not worth trying to clean ( not sure if it can be done now ) or home replate :D. Just swap the bezel over .
 
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MarkMarky

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chocolito said:
Arf rhodium plate then polish to give the bezel a white gold shine . The rhodium on your bezel is contaminated that is why it is turning yellow . You can't put rhodium directly on base metals like stainless steel due to contamination . The steel bezel will be covered in a acid 'activator' solution then Nickel before applying the Rhodium . The term plating is a misnomer the bezel is just given baths in the solutions with applied electrical power . Either something has gone wrong with this process leading to the yellowing , or you have contaminated the rhodium directly at surface level with something the bezel has come in contact with . May be something you hve cleaned the watch with ?

Easy fix really not worth trying to clean ( not sure if it can be done now ) or home replate :D. Just swap the bezel over .
Click to expand...
Thanks..I just wore few times and then it went inside watch box with 11 other watches. I never washed or tried to clean it. I opened watch box and saw it was yellow.
 
Hazing

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I was on the Rolex site the other day looking at dials available on the 41 and I noticed, to my surprise, that the fluted bezel is a $2000 option making the watch $9,900 S opposed to $7,900.

I thought it was a few hundred (500) bucks. Maybe.
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