Ulich05

it is very relivant bc the base metal has a lot to do with the appearence of the metal that has been plated on top of it. this is especially true because the thickness of any plating on reps is minimal at best. what i think your are missing is that just bc 2 objects are plated with the same material doesnt mean they will look the same so someone who can spot the difference (dealers/engineers/metals workers etc) due to the differences in the base material, temperatures and checmicals involved in the process. the only real way around this is to plate the crap out of the case/band but then you are left with an object that wont look as refined. im taking a guess that most reps have up to aprox 5mils thick of whatever the last layer is. Keep in mind that 5mils is not very thick at all and is still translucent. therefore a 316LSS (10-14% nickel) plated object w/ rhodium @ 5 mils will apear darker than a 420SS bc the 420 will be brighter due to its lack of nickel content and its harder. as far as dealers go, im sure different dealers have different sources who plate differently by using more or less rhodium. and the end of the day, reps are still reps. rolex uses 440 (so do surgens) which contains no nickel and is easily machineable. 904L is not easily machined and is aprox 23-28% nickel. not good for jewerly bc many people are actually alergic to nickel. it causes skin rashes. not good for surgens all the stainless steel info is from http://www.azom.com/materials.asp rolex using 440 grade SS is from google

not to beat a dead horse, however this thread: http://www.replicacollector.com/members/in...ic=8505&hl= goes in detail on the differences of the metals used in replicas and why they don't (and won't) look the same as the gens regardless of how/what they are plated with. It is explained very well by an engineer (mhinagoya). i am not an engineer therefore i cant describe why i see what i see in rep vs gen. however, bc of working with various metals and plating, i can see the differences. this is a worth while read.

yes i understand that. however like i said every rep (SS) ive seen doesn't have as polished of a case or center links as the gen. therefore, to me its clear which one is which bc of that regardless of the plating. I do gold plating and used to run a full time business around it have dealt with various finishes. Silver/chrome/rhodium/gold/black paint w/ a clear coat etc can all be polished to a mirror finish. our reps most likely wont be as highly polished as the gen bc it doesn't make much sense for someone to spend the labor to do so on a rep. I'm not trying to start an argument or anything. I simply posted to make an observation based on my past experiences working with metals and plating. subfrog: i like your daydate too, no question on why it gets the most wows!

i havent seen a rep with as high of a polish a gen. the gen is like a mirror. i guess my eye just picks up on it SS vs wg

nm!

http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=tre...66966&rid=0 after seeing that, evey rep of that watch looks silly.

definitely fake, he uses 2 different pictures. look at the first and last puictures in the first column. "swiss made" is completely different in both of them. top one looks to be more real. bottom one is definitly fake, crown guards and no tick marks under swiss made.

see the blemishes? i highly doubt thats dirt. thats typically a result of a dirty surface or an overheated nickel surface when plating. no way is that solid 18K it wouldnt look like that otherwise. i can say this from experience w/ brush plating as i used to do it. Josh maybe mis-informed by his suplier b/c he obviously wouldn't try to trick someone. hes a great dealer

you have all sucessfuly changed my mind

Very interesting! the lum markers are 7,8,9 are definitely not aligned with the stick marker. funny how such an imperfect watch can comand such a high price

http://cgi.ebay.com/ROLEX-PRESIDENT-18K-GO...1QQcmdZViewItem day is totaly misaligned as is the lum on every hour marker. somsone should report this to ebay, im too lazy to find the link right now

Found this on timezone. i actually like the diamonds. i didnt even notince them at first

aparently it sold for $1250.00 however everyone who bid on it had feedback of 3 or less so I'm assuming he bid on his own item. I think my complaint worked because the seller no longer a register user.

This is the origional fiddy strap that comes with the watch. I soaked it in bleach for 20 min and then used a brush to remove the coloring like others have. I threw it in the dryer for 40 min and then applied 2 coats of leather conditioner to it to soften it up. It now has a vintage distressed look that I like. Here's before and after:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rolex-Submariner-Watch...1QQcmdZViewItem "I also scratched a bit on the band with a steel paperclip to see whether it is gold or gold-plated. Inside the scratch was gold." Sign me up.