Torques Posted February 24, 2007 Report Share Posted February 24, 2007 Please tell me what you think of a purchase of this model from that dealer: Watch. It says "double gold wrapped". What is the difference between that and one that is 5 mils thick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard_uk Posted February 25, 2007 Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 One is super plated, the other is superb plated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torques Posted February 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 One is super plated, the other is superb plated. Can you explain further or are you kidding me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard_uk Posted February 25, 2007 Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 sorry I was just kidding around, there's a ton of threads around here regarding gold plating use the search function and you should find some, I've never yet bought a gold plated watch from any of the dealers so I can't really comment, but from what I've read take everything they say with a large pinch of salt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corgi Posted February 25, 2007 Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 The layer of gold in the link you specified is microscopically thin.... If I were to guess I would say it is 2-3Mils (just look at the astounding price difference) I would definitely get this watch from Joshua. he sells it with 14K WRAP - that is a very very thick quantity of gold... You will be paying more but you will get peace of mind. http://watchwindersworld.com/rlst10001-wra...362-p-2535.html Good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torques Posted February 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 The layer of gold in the link you specified is microscopically thin.... If I were to guess I would say it is 2-3Mils (just look at the astounding price difference) I would definitely get this watch from Joshua. he sells it with 14K WRAP - that is a very very thick quantity of gold... You will be paying more but you will get peace of mind. http://watchwindersworld.com/rlst10001-wra...362-p-2535.html Good luck!! I really like the look of 18k gold and don't have any 14k stuff. Do you think the 14k looks that crappy compared to the 18k? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crystalcranium Posted February 25, 2007 Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 I really like the look of 18k gold and don't have any 14k stuff. Do you think the 14k looks that crappy compared to the 18k? Wrap...Crap Dont trust a thing in dealer descriptions when it comes to gold. The web of suppliers these guys tap into changes daily as do the parts suppliers for the assemblers...that's right...assemblers, not factories. Most replicas are assembled in mom and pop operations in the basements and garages all over China. Very few replicas are factory produced. When it comes to gold, there is zero quality control. The best rule to follow is to wear a gold plated watch very infrequently. There are certain replicas that earned good reputations for the color and durabilty of gold plate but, because the supply of parts is so variable, there's no guarantee you'll get a piece of the same quality. I don't think anyone here really knows what "wrapped" means. I dare anyone to display a watch where they wrapped something akin to gold leaf on a watch. Wrapped is a marketing term and does not describe an actual process. Gold plating is cheap and easy when done to 2-3 mls thickness....and what are you going to do two years from now when sweat has discolored your gold plate? I have had plated replicas brown from oxidation of the brass base matal just sitting in the box. I own a rose gold FA Jones and so far, so good on the gold plate....but I wear it about 6 hours a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torques Posted February 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 (edited) Well, I have this 18k bracelet and case (blue dial) from Josh. I have been wearing it every day. It has a little mark where when you pull up the little release flap, the edge hit the band. Now there is a little line across it. I had a couple of shallow, small scraps on a stainless band. I used an extremely fine grind wheel (dremmel type) and held the grind wheel by hand (about the size of a quarter) and the scratches came out wonderfully. I don't expect the same outcome if I try it on this 4-5 mill band, otherwise it will probably screw it up bad. My impression of 14k is that it will be more brown and not look as snazzy as the 18k. Any opinions about the 14k appearance is appreciated. Edited February 25, 2007 by Torques Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard_uk Posted February 25, 2007 Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 Remember this is not normal 14k it's rep 14k (what I mean is it probably wont even look like regular 14k let alone 18k). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torques Posted February 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 Remember this is not normal 14k it's rep 14k (what I mean is it probably wont even look like regular 14k let alone 18k). That's reassuring, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crystalcranium Posted February 26, 2007 Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 Well, I have this 18k bracelet and case (blue dial) from Josh. I have been wearing it every day. It has a little mark where when you pull up the little release flap, the edge hit the band. Now there is a little line across it. I had a couple of shallow, small scraps on a stainless band. I used an extremely fine grind wheel (dremmel type) and held the grind wheel by hand (about the size of a quarter) and the scratches came out wonderfully. I don't expect the same outcome if I try it on this 4-5 mill band, otherwise it will probably screw it up bad. My impression of 14k is that it will be more brown and not look as snazzy as the 18k. Any opinions about the 14k appearance is appreciated. The VERY best plating on high quality jewelry and watches is 20 microns. This is usually a top plating over 10k gold fill. It is commonly known as a 20 year plating. Companies like Baume and Mercier, Tissot, and Hamilton plate their gold plate their watches to 10 microns. The typical, high quality mass produced plate on watches like Seiko is 5 to 7 microns. I'm not challenging your assertion that you have a high quality plate on your Josh Sub, just that any plated watch produced in the black in China doesn't have to do anything more than look good on delivery. What would be the risk to a supplier of watch cases or bracelets, three degrees of separation removed from the sale of a dealer claiming 5 microns of plating, in plating to 3 microns or 2? The answer is zero. The fact is that for the most part, gold plate on Chinese watches is poor and unpredictable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotoman Posted February 26, 2007 Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 The VERY best plating on high quality jewelry and watches is 20 microns. This is usually a top plating over 10k gold fill. It is commonly known as a 20 year plating. Companies like Baume and Mercier, Tissot, and Hamilton plate their gold plate their watches to 10 microns. The typical, high quality mass produced plate on watches like Seiko is 5 to 7 microns. I'm not challenging your assertion that you have a high quality plate on your Josh Sub, just that any plated watch produced in the black in China doesn't have to do anything more than look good on delivery. What would be the risk to a supplier of watch cases or bracelets, three degrees of separation removed from the sale of a dealer claiming 5 microns of plating, in plating to 3 microns or 2? The answer is zero. The fact is that for the most part, gold plate on Chinese watches is poor and unpredictable. that was some good info, i didn't know that about the 20 and 10 microns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crystalcranium Posted February 26, 2007 Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 that was some good info, i didn't know that about the 20 and 10 microns Here's a great link for gold terminology. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/jewel/pages/gold.shtml Note the def for "rolled gold". It comes closest to describing what "wrapped" means. I cant imagine this process being used on replicas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mglgal Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 has anyone acutally had any good luck with the G plated replicas out there ??? any examples or does no one buy these??? i like the rep 14k gold Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torques Posted March 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 (edited) Josh claims his 14k's are wrapped and the 18k's are plated. I am not complaining but one of his happy customers. Can anyone offer some more insight on this? Edited March 2, 2007 by Torques Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crystalcranium Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 Josh claims his 14k's are wrapped and the 18k's are plated. I am not complaining but one of his happy customers. Can anyone offer some more insight on this? You might want to refer to the "Little White Lies" thread when talking about dealer claims. The truth is that there is no generally accepted term "wrapped" in the gold jewelry nomenclature. Gold filled or rolled gold plate is a process of mechanically bonding a thin layer of gold on to a base metal, usually brass that is then usually plated. This is a more labor intensive process than bath electroplating. Is this what you believe the suppliers of "wrapped" gold watch cases are doing? The fact is that the dealers are using a non specific term to describe the gold deposition process to insulate themselves from any claims of less than truth in advertising. And who's going to check it anyway????? Are you going to go through the expense of determining the exact thickness of the gold plating on your replica watch? Of course not. The quality test is in the wearing. If it looks like crap 2-3 years from now, are you really going to go after a dealer and claim you were sold a watch that was not up to specs in the description? The fact is, dealers are reletively safe in exaggerating gold thickness claims. If they put enough gold on it to keep the customer happy for 12 months, then the risk level goes down to almost zero. The term "wrapped" or "tripple wrapped" are primarily derived from scam site claims looking to puff up descriptions of $900-$1200 rip off replicas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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