Rep Gold Plating

[TESLA760]

I've seen a lot of conversations and questions about rep plating on watches. I've had quite a few throughout the years, but here is a good example. This is the ARF bracelet that I purchased some years back. I wore this regularly . I have personally polished this three times and the gold has never faded. The watch itself is about 6 years old and worn regularly as well. I think that the key is to take care of what you wear. If you swing your wrist around like a neanderthal, you can't expect the watches to hold up. I have a couple of friends with gen TT Subs and they look horrible in hand. The gold is scratched beyond belief. Hope this helps some of you make the decision. It's a fallacy that good quality wrapped gold reps fade easily with use. A lot depends on YOU and how you care for your time piece.

 

[oceaon]

I would agree with this as I have been wearing reps/gens for 25+ years, and I have had many plated pieces last a great deal of time. The one thing I do is wipe down a watch with a cloth before putting it back in the box at night just to wipe off the oils from my skin. I don't think I have ever had one fade.

 

[KruisingKhaos95]

As someone who has not been in the Rep game all that long and also loves a gold rep, this is very reassuring to hear! For 6 years old that bluesy still looks fantastic and I completely agree with the point that how you look after your watches will play the biggest part in its degradation over time. Whenever I wear a gold plated rep to work I use a wrist wrest too prevent the watch scratching on my desk too much.

 

[KruisingKhaos95]

I would agree with this as I have been wearing reps/gens for 25+ years, and I have had many plated pieces last a great deal of time. The one thing I do is wipe down a watch with a cloth before putting it back in the box at night just to wipe off the oils from my skin. I don't think I have ever had one fade.

This is a great tip and something I would have never thought of. Gonna start doing this whenever I put a gold plated rep away at the end of the day!

 

[TESLA760]

I carry a microfiber towel in every vehicle and one in my office. Like was said, a quick wipe down is a great idea.

 

[rek00001]

I clean the watch bracelet with a toothbrush and some mild soap, rinse well (carefully avoiding direct water on watch head), after drying apply some carnauba wax. My watches look amazing.

 

[TESLA760]

I clean the watch bracelet with a toothbrush and some mild soap, rinse well (carefully avoiding direct water on watch head), after drying apply some carnauba wax. My watches look amazing.

I had my John Meter nano coated. So far it's been outstanding. I ordered the product to do it myself and see what the long term results are.

 

[p0pperini]

Good, sensible advice.

 

[wubsub]

looks stunning! agreed

 

[Monaco_Bazi]

Couldn’t agree more. It’s all about how careful you are. Don’t know what some people do with their watches
My DayDate is 2 years old worn regularly and not a single sign of wear off.

 

[ChungusThe3rd]

Couldn’t agree more. It’s all about how careful you are. Don’t know what some people do with their watches
My DayDate is 2 years old worn regularly and not a single sign of wear off.

Phew, what a beauty!

 

[Fisherman1980]

Very reassuring!

 

[Plaasbaas]

Good to know. I have been reluctant to go for gold so far for the exact reason, that I had no reassuring info on longevity.

Since I handle all my watches with great care I feel much more confident now. Good to hear this from people with comparable habits concerning how they treat their watches.

 

[il8]

This has been refreshing to read, I'm doing a franken build of a 2 tone datejust and have been wondering what to do about bracelet as it's the only gen part I can't find and I was worried about the weight/look of a wrapped bracelet.

 

[Dizzy]

Couldn’t agree more. It’s all about how careful you are. Don’t know what some people do with their watches
My DayDate is 2 years old worn regularly and not a single sign of wear off.

if that’s the old BP DD40 then they are PVD plated with titanium nitride and then 18k overtop. So it should never lose its color. I’ve got the exact same one. It’s like the industrial gold color coating on those expensive drill bit’s. It will last a long time as it’s much much harder than gold. Most new rep watches and jewelry is PVD gold coated these days instead of old school electroplating. It’s a much more expensive and complicated process but it lasts a lot longer. It’s like all those fake gold 18k Cuban link chains you see on AliExpress for like $50 that all say “titanium steel” or “PVD gold plating”. That’s PVD titanium nitride plating over stainless steel And they call them “never fade”. You just have to make sure you get the right color gold as some of it is really orange looking.

 

[Dizzy]

if that’s the old BP DD40 then they are PVD plated with titanium nitride and then 18k overtop. So it should never lose its color. I’ve got the exact same one. It’s like the industrial gold color coating on those expensive drill bit’s. It will last a long time as it’s much much harder than gold. Most new high end rep watches and jewelry is PVD gold coated these days instead of old school electroplating. It’s a much more expensive and complicated process but it lasts a lot longer. It’s like all those fake gold 18k Cuban link chains you see on AliExpress for like $50 that all say “titanium steel” or “PVD gold plating”. That’s PVD titanium nitride plating over stainless steel And they call them “never fade”. You just have to make sure you get the right color gold as some of it is really orange looking.

 

[shazer]

Couldn’t agree more. It’s all about how careful you are. Don’t know what some people do with their watches
My DayDate is 2 years old worn regularly and not a single sign of wear off.

Amazing !! What is the model please ?

 

[Fr.Fugazzi]

I've wavered on this as well. Many seem to jump on plating a gold/rose gold watch as soon as they receive it, but I struggle with the added expensive for potentially no reason. At a minimum, it would seem to me to make more sense to wear the watch, take care of it, and then, if you start noticing an issue, get it plated more thoroughly / durably.

Heck, like many, I have so many reps (and a few non-reps), that any one watch in particular doesn't get enough wear time to have this likely be a potential issue. Just my humble opinion.

For those that wipe theirs down after wearing, is this with a dry cloth or with a solution?

 

[oceaon]

That part is usually the issue. Most modders will not plate over an area once an it has an issue. The process requires the entire thing to be stripped down and redone. That is the very reason most people will have things plated as soon as they get it because the process is much easier to plate on a new watch. If I bond with the watch immediately and love the piece, I will have it plated if WG is needed or if everose is needed since there is a very different look between steel and WG. And most RG Rolex are just too orange, although GMF makes a nice pink RG that is close.

I use a microfiber dry cloth to wipe those down after wearing them. I keep one in my watch box.

 

[Fr.Fugazzi]

Ah, interesting, I did not know that things could not be easily plated later on / down the road.

I still feel like (as long as I am good with the color), that given wrist time and care, that I'd roll the dice on leaving as-is.