This thread is getting humorous. Warranties? Guaranteed thickness? 18k upgrades? You guys crack me up!! :biglaugh:
The dealers can only tell you what the factory tells them; i.e. - 5 mil, 18k gold, gen Swiss ETA movement. The dealers typically have no way of testing these claims.
The dealers also are not custom shops. They cannot special order your watch with upgrades, and wouldn't be able to tell if these were done or not.
As for gold plating, it will not look like solid gold. Period. It also will wear eventually. ALSO, the sides of the center links are NOT plated and are easy to spot - a DEAD giveaway. So overall, you will be disappointed in the end.
If you MUST have a gold or TT Rolex, order one from WM9, or check with BKLM to see if he can get one and QC it for you. WM9 uses a gold colored base metal, so when you scratch or wear through your plating, it still looks gold and there are no silver sides to the center links. Other than that, I'd stay away from gold plating on ANY reps.
As for pics - all dealers will only send them after you pay and they source your watch. Few dealers keep everything in stock so wouldn't have the watch(es) for pics before they buy them.
As for Hont - he's a great dealer. I've been very please with my purchases from him.
But good luck with your quest for the perfect gold rep. Oh... and the unicorn currently wearing it. Enjoy riding the unicorn as well. :cool2: