Why/when would a white gold cased watch make sense? I can appreciate having yellow gold if you fancy the colour or want to show off but neither applies with white gold that's looks like steel to my eyes (maybe that the problem..my eyes) so what am I missing?
cheers Keith
I have a few yellow and rose gold watches and my first white gold incoming on Friday - it's unplated so I hope it will have a lovely colour and obviously a weight to it over steel.
Sometimes being less obvious is no bad thing... Plus most of my cufflinks tend to be silver or steel so that's nice!
I have the same question, so I'll be interested in the replies to this from those who have an informed opinion (which I don't).Originally Posted by huytonman
Simon
I`ve got to agree; I`ve never seen the attraction of white gold watches.........maybe I`m missing a trick somewhere.
As for the 'stealth' thing........(only I know it's gold, yada yada yada).....I don`t get all that either.
Get real; buy a steel watch if you like white metal and save yourself a chunk of money. Same applies to platinum, it's excellent for rings but a pointless extravagance for a watch. Maybe that's the appeal, pointless extravagance.
Paul
I guess it's for those who like to know what they have without waving it under other peoples noses? plus it may retain value better long term (£ for £) In fact some steel watches may go down to virtually nothing whereas Gold will have a built in intrinsic value..just my 2d worth
thumbing through the Rolex brochure I was sent unsolicited and I see the GMT 11 in white gold is priced at £25,600 and to me its looks like stainless steel
I belong to this school of thought.
More so with white gold than platinum.
Platinum at least is that colour naturally, and develops a patina that distinguishes it to a degree - gold is, well, GOLD in colour - white gold is like making a watch in gold then painting it black ("only I know its gold yada yada yada").
The weight and the reverence, which is enough on its own. Also it doesn't look anything like steel to me. guess we all have different eyes.
Its a funny one this - a lump of lead could be added to a watch to increase its weight.The weight and the reverence, which is enough on its own. Also it doesn't look anything like steel to me. guess we all have different eyes.
Reverence? As in respect?
I "get" the use of precious metals in jewellery - but the corruption of such a substance to alter its appearance in such a way as to make it no longer resemble what it is supposed to look like has always made me chuckle.
I have a gold Raymond Weil case and movement (2892) that has gold hands... painted black!
Why have anything when you can have something else?
Ive always thought that white gold and platinum look more liquidy to my eyes. Which is visually very appealing.
Also I'm in the watches are jewelry camp anyway.. They're definitely adornments rather than necessities these days.
I don't think there is any moral issue here. We don't owe it to gold to retain its original colour. Yellow gold in 18ct alloy is a good distance from the original colour of gold anyway.
Yes reverence is not quite the same as respect, but close. If we revere a great piece of horological work, casing it in a precious metal, feels like a good idea to me.
I agree, white gold and platinum do have a certain 'look', but you need a discerning eye to spot it and you have to look closely.
High-grade stainless steel is the best all-round metal for making watches. It can be polished to a high lustre, it can be refinished relatively easily if it gets scratched, it stands up to wear and tear, and it's cheap.
I rest my case
Edit: By coincidence, the postman brought me a nice package containing platinum from Banks-Lyon today. No, it's not a watch, it's a wedding ring for my good lady. After 18yrs of living over't brush we're getting married in January. Platinum for her and good old yellow-gold for me.
Paul
Last edited by walkerwek1958; 18th November 2014 at 21:24.
An unplated white gold watch? Are you sure?
Unplated white gold (i.e. without the fine white rhodium coating) is just a dull grey/yellow - very unappealing...
If you put steel, white gold and platinum together they look very different.
Of course, on the wrist only you will know.
We've been through this discussion before - with many claims that all-silver white gold is a common occurrence.
A couple of years ago a guy posted that he could show a rolex case in white gold (or whatever rolex call their "proprietary blend") that had been sawn in half and was silver right through.
The pics never showed up...
Not all white gold needs to be rhodium plated. There are alloys which look great without. Rolex use no Rhodium plating on their WG, neither do Piaget.
This is one of the many suppliers of WG alloys to the jewellery trade, supplying WG alloys which do not require Rhodium plate.
http://www.argenjewelry.com/
Last edited by java; 18th November 2014 at 21:43.
Correct. I don't recall the alloys and weight of gold needed to create the purest but basically white gold that needs plating is at the cheap end. The "liquidity" of white gold mentioned by verv is particularly noticeable without plating - the metal taking a very high shine. As for platinum, well I have never knowingly confused platinum with white gold, stelel or anything else.
Gray
I think there is quite a difference in the look of a steel watch and a white gold or platinum watch. I think the precious metals look softer somehow and they will mark more easily and get that patina of many small marks that show the age. My steel watches normally need to be hit against something quite hard to get a dent.
Although it has generally been true that Gold is softer than SS. Recent advances in metallurgy have given us 18ct gold alloys which are actually harder than SS. I think this has all been covered on previous threads.
A white gold watch is only pointless if the 'point' of a watch is showing off, but it could also be just for your own enjoyment. If you can afford it (and for me it's more than I'd pay sadly), why not have a watch in whatever metal makes you happy. No doubt a white gold watch will seem more special to you, the weight will remind you of that, and actually it does have a certain subtle lustre, a glow, that's different from SS.
All I can say for sure is that I tried on a white gold IWC Portugeuse once, and it gave me a very special feeling. Maybe it was all in my head, but sometimes things that are different do feel different in an intangible way. After all, gold really is special - there's only enough in the world to fill two Olympic sized swimming pools, and a star nine times bigger than the sun has to explode just to make it. Your gold watch has been on an incredible journey (if I remember my Professor Brian Cox).
The whole experience of trying that IWC felt very luxurious, and stayed with me for some time after. Let's put it this way - if someone offers you a free gift of the same watch in steel or white gold, which would you choose?
I guess you could apply your argument to anything luxurious or made from exotic materials? Why buy a Ferrari when it does the same job as a Ford Mondeo? Why pay to stay in a five star hotel when you can stay in a 2 star? Why buy shoes that cost five times as much for a product that does the same? Why pay for a good steak when you can pay less but it still fills you up? Life is about choice....personally I like (some) white gold watches...just like I like some platinum and some yellow gold....
I agree with much that has been said here. I have a white gold sub. I think you need a certain skin tone to carry off yellow gold, and I don't have it, I'm too pale IMO. However, I don't see the White gold version as a compromise. It's weight and feel is fantastic, and being WG makes it far more discreet. In hindsight, if I had bought the yellow gold version, I would probably have been constantly looking over my shoulder whilst wearing it, and probably ruining the experience. I couldn't care less that people might presume it's steel, they might even think it's a fake with its blue face and bezel. This, to me, is a bonus. It's not screaming 'look at what I've got' or 'come and rob me', I'm comfortable wearing it and happy in the knowledge that it's a bit more special than the SS version.
Like most on here this is only an opinion . . . But I was lucky enough to try on a WG Daytona and it was awesome. It was heavy and solid on the wrist and had the subtle red hands. If only I could afford one I'd definitely have bought the WG and I wouldn't have cared what anyone thought . . .
I love my WG Daytona. It marks about the same as my old SS polished centre link Rolex watches, and no more. I've had quite a few SS Daytona's, but only 2 WG versions, and one I effectively swapped for the other as I preferred the other dial.
The metal is both heavier, and warmer against the skin. I'd have all my watches in Platinum or WG if it was an option, and if I could afford it of course. I simply like the idea of gold, without the look of yellow gold. I also like platinum and I like the fact it appears understated, and to the casual observer they would never know they were precious metal.
It's just a matter of time...
For me WG looks different to SS. Maybe not as a watch flashes past you, but definitely if you look for just more than a glance (which all of us do when faced with a nice or unusual watch!). I can't afford WG myself but good luck to those who can.
A colleague has an allergic reaction to white gold. I assume this is to the nickel content and absence of rhodium plating of the watch in question or because it was a present from his mother-in-law.
Personally, I find white gold, plated or not, a bit sharp & bright and prefer platinum.
That said, because it's bright, white gold suits the hands and indices of Rolexes, for example, very well.
Last edited by Tinker; 19th November 2014 at 01:33.
Boy, you lot are a bunch of mugs! I am going to chuckle as I wind my eight grand mechanical watch and think about how you are simply pissing your money away on stuff that offers no tangible benefit if you buy precious metal that does not scream "i am considerably richer than you!"
Now, where is my atomic g-shock so i can set my daytona to the right time?
This has been a very interesting thread. The variety of opinions really opens the mind to the incredible variety of people and our motivations for owning s watch.
I tried a white gold sub on in Vegas and took off my GMT-II ceramic to do so. The difference in weight and look was remarkable, the white gold being considerably heavier. Yes, it could be made of lead too I guess but I don't think it would look feel the same. I have only 1 white gold watch, an H Moser & Cie, and to my eyes it looks completely different next to my steel watches.
Weight and because you can afford it, buying a precious metal always feels better a bit like why we dont mount Diamonds in Steel rings!
The ultimate lump is Platinum but after a few days its too much for me personally
RIAC
I would have been in the camp that considered that there is limited appeal to white gold because it is so similar to Stainless Steel. However, I saw a friend wearing a WG Daytona and it was stunning. Completely different to SS. The case had an almost liquidity and depth that stainless just doesn't have. At that point I decided that if I had the disposable income, I would definitely go for a WG watch.
I tried on the recent Blue/Red GMT in WG at a recent Rolex event, and it looked and felt fantastic. The only reservation for me is the price - if that was not a concern, then I would have one in my watch box, or on my wrist right now.
The old arguments, of no additional tangible benefit etc. etc. - but we are a bunch of individuals who already spend a disproportionate amount on watches - the difference between buying a steel watch and a gold one doesn't come close to most people buying a usable quartz compared to most of us buying an (or many [in a lot of cases]) expensive watch.
I like WG - I like that Rolex and a few others use a homogeneous alloy, which doesn't require plating and re-plating. I wear my WG watch more often than any other watch I own (so I feel like I get my money's worth out of it), and it has stood up very well to the weekly abuses. It was bought at the right price, and certainly less than some have spent on non-complicated steel watches. I have however found Titanium Omega watches the most comfortable of any watches I have ever owned - Each to his own.
It's just a matter of time...
Fair enough, I don't want to start arguing the point here, but 18ct white gold is by design 75% gold (750/1000) - which is yellow.
There is no getting away from the fact that you MUST use 75% of a bright yellow metal when mixing white gold, so surely it can't be possible to attain a pure white finish without some sort of plating over the top?
If you mix 75% yellow paint with 25% white paint - you won't get it white no matter how many times you try.
I fully appreciate what you are saying, however, there is no plating on my WG Rolex. It has a number of areas of swirls, dinks and wear marks from years of use etc. and a good few marks, where on a normal white gold ring you would see the dull white/off white colour usual to wg jewellery that usually needs re-plating- a few people have managed to develop a homogeneous alloy using 750 gold - Rolex just happens to be one of them.
It's just a matter of time...
Throughout this thread I kept thinking of when someone stated only a mug would pay 15K for a steel watch. I guess what it boils down to is how it makes the owner feel.
I've got a platinium ring because it looks and feels more special to me than silver or gold, so I do get the personal satisfaction thing, but I'm not sure I couldn't justify (to myself) a precious metal watch.
Congratulations on the wedding!
It's not like mixing paint.
It's not just a mixture of metals it's a new metal, an alloy whose chemical structure will be different and can have different properties (including colour) to that of its components.
Interesting Wiki article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colored_gold.
This isn't plated, and has a 750 stamp on it, which means it's 18ct. yellow gold, with 25% of something else, a large part of which will probably be Palladium.
Personally I usually like gold to look gold but the white gold bezels on old DJ's and Constellations of mine do contrast nicely with the steel cases.
Cheers,
Neil.
Yup. Also most likely silver and zinc too if it's not Rhodium plated.
Correct Zinc is the bleaching agent, as they call it.
White gold can work quite well on a watch such as the Day Date with presidential bracelet which in yellow gold can look a bit "gold".
While, personally, I still don't see the point of WG - I find some of the information pertaining to its production very interesting.
Maybe that IS the point - the cleverness that goes into it to make it so white in the face of it naturally wanting to be gold...
Last edited by Umbongo; 19th November 2014 at 21:39.
The weight and hue of WG is excellent...
I have a white gold wedding ring. To me I know it's gold and it feels heavy and solid and special. I wouldn't care what others thought.
Received my unplated white gold watch today; happy to report it really doesn't look like polished stainless steel at all. If anything it reminds me of the highly polished titanium Omega use on the PO.
It's gorgeous; beautifully heavy obviously but with a lustre and liquidity that steel doesn't have and it much 'greyer' rather than the polished steel colour of... Err, steel.
It's subtle, sure, compared to yellow or rose gold but this unplated gold does NOT look like steel. I had the opportunity to compare side by side with my lovely polished JLC today and there is a big difference.
If you can't tell the difference, you've never worn one.
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