Found a company that plates watches etc.

[jfreeman420]

I was searching online today to find a place that could plate some old silver i have with rhodium and I came across this site: Artisan Plating

I remember some people were worried about replating their watches. These people say they do small to large jobs and the prices are reasonable. I have some great ideas for them................

The one thing I found quite interesting is the chart that shows thickness of gold plate. This just reinforces the fact that there are still dealers who are outright lying to us. You know who they are claiming 10 micron gold plating. That is a bunch of bull. The highest of the highest end of items get 10 microns where 2 microns is usually the norm. Yes I believe that most of the gold plated watches I have bought have super thick plating but at the most I would say 5 microns and that is being generous.

What is intersting though while reading through the site they say that new gold plating processes have made the finishes much more durable and long lasting. They go on to say that you no longer need plating that is super thick to last.

I am sending them some items next week. Will let you know how it turns out. I plan to build a relationship with them and see if they will super heavy plate a TW best yachtmaster. Then all I need is a gen dial crown and tube and I have the holy grail.

[Victoria]

Cool, thanks Jfreeman! Trust you to find a company which does plating.

One thing though -- our local jeweler (the one who fixed the Fiddy crown) said that he could plate the rep gold 5 mills Rolex with 15 mills in case it wore off. Not sure it's worth it, but I rather thought you didn't have to jump through hoops to find someone who does plating?

[Dizzy]

i have one of those portable gold plating machines for gold plating emblems on cars and such. The gold LOOKS good but its thin and impossible to build up any thickness. Doesnt work well for jewellery but its ok for emblems and display things that arnt actually used.

I am interested in the rohdium plating and i will have to check into this site

thanks!

[ChronoKing]

Looks good, please keep us informed!

[Watchmeister]

J-

I tried to do a project with them a couple of years ago but the issue was plating smaller pieces. I can't remember whether I was looking to match hands or plate the crown but there was some issue so make sure you are covered on all the parts.

[lanikai]

i have one of those portable gold plating machines for gold plating emblems on cars and such. The gold LOOKS good but its thin and impossible to build up any thickness. Doesnt work well for jewellery but its ok for emblems and display things that arnt actually used.

I am interested in the rohdium plating and i will have to check into this site

thanks!

I have the same machine ... but I haven't used it to gold plate in ages. you can actually build up a pretty good layer of plating ... the thing is doing it on car emblems is one thing ... cause your plating the nickel under the chromium... steel is another thing .. the plating does not go on as even with the electodes ... nickel is easy, steel :yucky: I only have the chemical acid to bond the nickel and aluminium

Actually my cousin is a jeweler .. manufactures hawaiin hierloom.. has a complete production shop .. I could ... if I bought the gold for plating... he works with 14 and 18K .. engraving and lost wax .. mostly engraving hawaiin bracelets and rings .. but it may be possible to use his equipment to plate. i would just have to buy the strips of gold for it... all it is, is chemicals and positive electrical charges .. it's really how you treat the metal your plating first... if members are interested .. i could inquire ... easier to impose on family

[itreeman]

Very interested in how this turns out for you. Keep us posted.

[jfreeman420]

Not sure it's worth it, but I rather thought you didn't have to jump through hoops to find someone who does plating?

True there are probably many local people here in FL that could do this for me but i don't get out much. Easier to send it off from the office and have it shipped back. I have a jeweler in Boynton who is an AD for a couple brands and sells used Rolex as well. He has worked on several of my reps for free sizing, etc. as I have done lots of business in the genuine side with him but he doesn't plate anything. Said he would have to send it out. If you have someone who is rep friendly and does custom plating locally please pm me.

I also looked into those plating machines but it looks like too much of a hassle. I actually watched a couple videos on how to deplate items and salvage the gold. Again very messy and not worth the trouble.

[ironmarshal]

Very interesting topic. I'm curious to see how the rhodium plating turns out. On the gold side, if it actually turns out to be more durable then I might have to reconsider adding some TT to the collection.

[longshot]

back in my seiko collecting days a forum friend had a very rare 6138 chronograph re-plated by artisan. they removed all the old plating and kept the case lines nice and crisp while polishing out all the scratches and did an amazing job on the new finish

but i do remember reading somewhere (i think?) that they would not do replicas?

let us know how it goes!