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What did I buy for $25.00 at the pawn shop today?


FloridaSam

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WM9 way back when they was WM7, made a TT blue dial with think gold wrap over brass and solid 18k gold end links, i have one and it still runs as strong as ever purchased in 2000 for $425. The bezel and crown were solid 18k as advertised on thier then web site.

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If you've ever seen them test for gold, they generally just rub the link against a very fine sandpaper type of paper and then use different types or grades of liquid (I believe acids) to see which makes the gold disappear. By seeing which one dissolves the gold, they can tell the carat.

So, if they don't get under the gold plate, they won't know anything about the total gold content. That would be done by weighing it vs. water displacement.

Or maybe some fancier new methods, of course. I'm certainly not a jeweler or an expert.

.

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I have a very similar TT sub I purchased almost 12 yrs ago. It was sold as a super rep from an outfit called "fakegifts". The band is thick gold wrap over brass but not solid gold. The serial number on the clasp should end with "18" for the 18k band

Ok one quick point. There is no such thing as gold wrap, gold is plated by dipping the metal into a liquid solution which is ionized and the metal attracts the gold from the solution.

I'm not an expert on rolex, but, I want to echo the post about. There was quite a mini war over solid gold mid links, and it has been proven to be brass. Dealers, I believe, were fooled by the makers and genuinely thought it was gold.

We did have a limited run one time of full solid gold rolexes. I think it was like 1500?

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This is true and just shows how much the scam sites' lies permeate our hobby. Check any of the hundreds of pages with actual industry information on plating and the only people who mention gold wrapping are rep watch scammers.

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There is no such thing as gold wrap, gold is plated by dipping the metal into a liquid solution which is ionized and the metal attracts the gold from the solution.

Gold wrap is known by many names, Gold Plaque, Gold filled, Rolled Gold are but a few.

.

Read about it here.-

http://en.wikipedia...._filled_jewelry

I have a 50's Omega pocket watch, which is formed in composite layers, with a layer of 10k gold plate each side of a steel pressed plate which forms the shape.

I understand the process involves heat.

Inside the back cover reads-

"English Make-Guaranteed to be made of two plates of 10K gold with plate of composition between and to wear for 20 years"

By the mint condition it still exhibits, the guarantee could have been for 50 or 100 years.

I consider this watch to be a classic example of gold wrap or rolled gold.

So gold wrap does exist...maybe not very often in reps, but it is common place in genuine watches and jewellery.

Offshore

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Gold wrap is known by many names, Gold Plaque, Gold filled, Rolled Gold are but a few.

.

Read about it here.-

http://en.wikipedia...._filled_jewelry

I have a 50's Omega pocket watch, which is formed in composite layers, with a layer of 10k gold plate each side of a steel pressed plate which forms the shape.

I understand the process involves heat.

Inside the back cover reads-

"English Make-Guaranteed to be made of two plates of 10K gold with plate of composition between and to wear for 20 years"

By the mint condition it still exhibits, the guarantee could have been for 50 or 100 years.

I consider this watch to be a classic example of gold wrap or rolled gold.

So gold wrap does exist...maybe not very often in reps, but it is common place in genuine watches and jewellery.

Offshore

+1

Although the brand name eludes me, upon last visit to my watchmaker he was showing me a vintage watch, upon pulling out the crown, the 'gold wrap' came right off... Lol an it wasn't a rep!

Doh!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Gold filled objects have to be a certain percentage of gold by weight. It's a large number if I recall, like 30% or some such thing. I highly doubt that although i suppose gold filled can mean gold wrapped, that this is the truth with regards to replica watch parts.

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Hmm. Well that would be 7 yrs of forum general wisdom turned on it's head. I'm glad someone finally told me.

From what I can gather from a little research, 1. It is odd that Wikipedia does not mention wrap, cause wiki pedia is usually overly inclusive. 2. If it is the same, it would seem to be a very expensive application (making it less likely to be in a rep). Since, according to Wikipedia, it is regulated to use the term "gold filled" my guess is wrap looks like it's being used to avoid using the word plated (not high brow enough) and not wanting to meet the regulated definition of filled.

I have seen many jewelers who use the term "dipped in gold" when they mean "gold solution" which is just plating.

Offshore, is it your understanding that it is a rare and or expensive application?

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Gold filled objects have to be a certain percentage of gold by weight. It's a large number if I recall, like 30% or some such thing. I highly doubt that although i suppose gold filled can mean gold wrapped, that this is the truth with regards to replica watch parts.

Agreed Jkay!

I think the % required has been lost in the annals of time, Just as the exact definition, which has "rolled", "filled", "wrapped", and "plaque", all being lumped under the one banner.

I guess anything which has been applied over another metal NOT using an electro plating process, has come under this heading.

Would be interesting to dig up some of the early definitions and requirements of the various processes.

O/S

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Pho,

I believe the process used on my Omega PW is one using gold leaf or rolled gold. It is certainly far superior to an electroplated gold finish, as is evidenced by a watch which still looks like new after more than 50 years.

I understand the gold buyers are prepared to buy "wrapped" jewellery, as they can relatively easily remove the gold from the interior metal (I'm guessing with heat)

In fact I purchased this PW from a gold merchant for basically his perceived gold value.

There seems to be some thinking which says any solid gold watch (regardless of make) is worth its value by weight in scrap gold plus $200.00.

I was offered some Omegas in scrappy condition at around $1500 ( and didn't think they were worth that money) and a Geneve with a solid bracelet had a value of some $4600 due to the amount of gold. (I passed on that one as well.) I did get a nice solid 14k Longines for around $700. You do need to weigh the case only, not movement or glass.

So there are some decently priced gens around, but you need to find those in good condition, not knocked around scrappy stuff.

Back on subject.- The gold buyers are also buying a lot of "rolled gold" jewellery and scavenging the gold- dunno how they arrive at a weight for the gold content, just by guessing, and telling the seller thats what its worth I assume!

O/S

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Gold wrap on reps exists, for long time.

This as been documented mulitple times on the fora in my time (2003-2012) post pics tommorow from real time pieces.

Only simple surfaces though, gold wrapped rolex bezel = bullcrap, cold wrapped case = bull. gold wrapped crown 90% chance bull (gold cap at best).

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I would love to see those pics for educational purposes. Whether my band is solid or "wrapped" I cannot be positive. All I know is there is absolutely no difference in the metal where HUGE chips, gouges and divots are on the mid links. I bet this particular bracelet is 10-12k solid. It doesn't shine a deep yellow like solid 18k but mor4e like 10k. No matter what I love this bracelet and will have it restored, it will make a nice bracelet for a nice rep.

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