RobbieG Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 So I was with my girl today and she had taken a liking to a platinum watch I tried on (a pre-owned Lange 1 stealth) and was amazed by the cost. After I finished explaining that a good deal of the cost could be chalked up to the particular brand, she then identified another L1 in rose gold and noted that it was ten grand cheaper. With that, I shared some interesting facts about a very well known metal that many don't know much about. I realize much of this is already known to many here at RWG, but there are also many new members just entering our beloved hobby who might not. So in the spirit of education, which I feel is our greatest differentiating asset amongst the forums, here are a few interesting facts about the second most precious of metals... - The second most precious? Wait Robbie I thought platinum was number one. Nope. Rhodium, which is also found in platinum ores is technically more precious even though much more widely used. Chances are, the watch you have on right now has bridges plated in rhodium and/or your wife's or your white gold engagement ring is plated in it. It isn't used to make watch cases and braclets for two reasons: First is rarity and as such its cost. Total annual production is only 25 tons and on average it costs 8 times more than gold. Currently it is trading at around the same price of platinum and does fluctuate quite a bit, but in 2008 prices rose to over $10,000 and ounce and the recent averages are running over $4000 in recent years! The second reason is it has an extremely high melting point and poor malleability due to extreme hardness. As such it is used as a "brightener" for other white metals including white gold as opposed to a construction material. - Now that we got that out of the way, platinum is presented in jewelry as a 95% alloy typically. In other words, it is 95% pure platinum in contrast to gold which in the 18k variety used in watch cases is 75% pure. These are denoted on watch cases with a stamp or engraving with the numbers 950 and 750 respectively. The main reason for the purity of platinum alloys in jewelry is its high melting point. This allows the impurities to be easily melted away. Unlike gold it never tarnishes and never wears out. In fact, when scratched no material is even lost. It simply gets displaced. the metal actually moves out of the way to "make room" for the scratch! In contrast, when you scratch gold, material is more certainly lost, as it is when refinishing. It takes some training, but due to its hardness and purity, platinum watch cases can be restored to new condition with no signs of ever being repolished like gold. - Platinum stays naturally white throughout the years with no added maintenance. White gold, on the other hand, is simply yellow gold that has had other alloys added to it to make it appear white. In additon to those additives, white gold is most often rhodium-plated which is where it really gets it color from. Over time, platinum develops a natural patina that many people prefer over the "just polished" look. But as I said, it can always be repolished to give it the wet, high gloss look. If you compare white gold and platinum, you will see that platinum is really much whiter and the white gold might have a faint yellowish tinge - unless it is plated with rhodium to achieve the whiter look. But it is really amazing how yellow white gold is. You don't normally realize it until you see them side by side. One exception is Rolex white gold which uses a small percentage of platinum in their alloy to make it whiter and "lock in" the color which will never fade or change. - Finally, this last section will blow your mind: Platinum is extremely dense and as such is roughly 60% heavier than gold. This is easily noticed if you handle two identical watches in each metal sometime. It will really amaze you. Glashutte is a good one for the test. Go to an AD sometime and have them pull out something from the Pano collection in all three metals - steel, gold, and platinum and compare them. The gold will feel closer to the steel to you in those watches and the platinum kind of stands on its own. Not what you would really expect, which is for the steel to stand on its own and the other two to be similar. Consider a block of metal just 6" square. For illustration in your mind, go get one of your watch boxes. Like a typical Rolex or Omega watch box and note how wide it is. Now take that and imagine it is as deep and tall as it is wide. Not really that big huh? Well if it were made of 950 platinum alloy, it would weigh 165 pounds! As much as I do!!! And now for another frightening number. At this moment the current spot price of platinum is $1074 per ounce. If your little 6" block were made of platinum you could sell it for $2,835,360! Of course you will probably need to get someone (or something rather) to help you carry it to wherever you need to take it to! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdv Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Very interesting read. Thanks Robbie. C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Very cool info Robbie. Just polished my Platinum Wedding Band Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizzon Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Good stuff to know. I am going to sound really smart at my next dinner party. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utheman Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Whoah! That was heavy! Thanks Robbie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobbieG Posted February 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Thanks guys. A lot of times people kind of crap on 950 as being overly expensive and not worth the upgrade from SS or WG. But that is sort of unfounded. Of course cost is sometimes insurmountable for sure, but beyond that it is a real eye opener when you realize the advantages and looks it has over the other metals. It isn't just another white metal that isn't worth the money believe me. The only problem is most platinum watches are so unaffordable. The average cost of a platinum watch sold in 2008 was almost fifty thousand dollars. Of course a lot of that is because many platinum watches with many makers are only the special editions and high complications. On average though, they are at least 20% more than the gold versions when there is a choice. Personally, I would rather pay the upcharge from white gold to platinum, than pay the upcharge from steel to WG if I had a choice (and a big IF I could afford it). If a certain watch I loved came in both steel and white gold I would most likely just get the steel version. But if it came in only white gold or platinum, assuming I could afford it, I would get the platinum and pay the price without a doubt. It just looks so amazing in both states - especially if you have both brushed and polished surfaces. You can leave the polished a high gloss and let the brushed take on that wonderful greyish-white patina. Or if all polished both that and the super gloss look you can switch between from time to time. The onel exception to that rule is with Rolex. I would consider getting a white gold Rolex as theirs is just WAY superior to any other. It looks more like platinum almost and has no rhodium plating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Robbie, that was GREAT. I learn something new every day here at RWG. Here is an apple for your virtual desk. -Ronin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 I can personally attest to the price of Platinum... As folks might remember, my wedding ring was custom made for me in Titanium, and cost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Another great article! Man you have become almost like RWG's official journalist lately! Platinum aside, I simply don't "get" white gold, even on a Rolex. I've seen a gen white gold Daytona. Beautiful watch, but the additional $20K for something that looks almost like SS. Hmm... no! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobbieG Posted February 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Yeah I hear yeah. I only meant to point out that Rolex white gold is a nice alternative to platinum and will look good and most importantly always look like that. One thing about precious metals though - and this phenomenon wouldn't affect BT with his taste aligned with braceleted sports watches: When you are dealing with sub 42MM strapped dress watches -even chronos, they just feel cheap and flimsy unless in gold or platinum. When you have a sports watch on a bracelet you actually welcome steel as it is heavy enough usually, but in a strapped smaller watch, the pieces just come alive with a little weight to them. A little story to illustrate: I had a beautiful Glashutte Panomaticreserve piece for a while and I liked the design and all but it just didn't feel right being steel. Hard to describe. Just light as a feather and felt like a toy. You just need that weight on a 39MM non-chrono strapped watch to let it be itself. The same watch in 950 gives me chills. I just jumped the gun and bought the wrong watch thinking it would be OK because I couldn't afford the platinum version. Lesson learned. A nice watch should feel like a well made, substantial item. That is one of the things that differentiates them from the cheap ones in the most basic sense. You all know how I am about feel, but man you could walk into a pawn shop in the deep south with some obscure brand that a non WIS would never know of. But if that watch is cheap or expensive when you hand it the guy behind the counter he is going to know right away just by touching it for five seconds. It is a very tactile thing that comes from a very non-WIS part of the brain. What I describe above is the same kind of thing except it just applies in this sense to smaller watches without bracelets. Sometimes you need precious metal to get that feel. But I'm with BT on anything larger than 42 and anything with a bracelet (DD's aside) in that steel is the only way to go as anything else is either a waste of money, too damn heavy, or both. Food for thought... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spider87 Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Wow thanks for all that info robbie. Damn that's heavy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Yeah that weight thing is weird. It's the age old belief (for non-watch people) that Rolexes are very "heavy". Wonder where that comes from. Probably from the days when the only reps were made of those solid gold day-dates or two-tone DateJusts... and the reps were $10 quartz/brass cheapies with painted gold. I got that kind of DJ from my dad back in 1987 (from his Far East trip). It was horrible. We still get noobs who whine about "Why my Explorer II is so light?" and they don't realize that the gen is just as light. "B-but isn't the gen Rolex very heavy and solid?", etc. I always wondered how people think... how they could be any heavier? Both rep and gen are just stainless steel and Rolex don't use led plates inside the caseback, do they? Rolex has always been a lightweight watch... yet they are considered the "best" by the non-watch people. When I gave my SFSO rep to a friend to handle he was impressed, yet amazed of the weight... and wondered how anyone could possibly wear a watch that heavy and still feel comfortable? My Rolexes (rep or gen) don't impress ANYONE (except myself). Sad but true. Those riveted bands on the vintages are even flimsier... unbelievable! What I like about 7750 reps is the weight. 7750 is a heavy movement and watches that sport it feel very solid and impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 I'd agree totally about 'the feel' of the watch coming into play. I don't mind knowing I'm wearing a watch (such as a PAM), just as I don't mind a watch being ignorable (such as my GMTSub), but, I do want the watch to feel good when I wear it. The first time I tried a Sub on, I was not impressed. Infact, I was the reverse. When I tried on the GMTIIC, I was impressed. Not sure what the difference is (if any), but the GMTIIC felt (to me, at least) like the superior watch. When I tried on a gen Ebel Discovery Chrono, I was immediately struck by the feel of the caseback on my wrist. It was incredibly comfortable, almost like a well-worn pebble. I loved how the watch felt, and am seriously tempted to get a rep of one, but, given my actual taste in watches is for plain diver's watches, not chronos, I don't think I'd actually wear it daily, and a watch like that, for the money I would spend on it, I think deserves to be an absolutely 100%, no doubt in my mind at all, day in day out, never come off the wrist watch, and at present, I simply don't think it would get that kind of wear... Oh well, maybe one day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonthebhoy Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Superb Robbie. Now proceed with haste to the 'Platinum Members' section and tell those sons a bitches what they're made of! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kronos twin Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 you're the man, Robbie. Thanks for sharing. Very illuminating. No pun intended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Superb Robbie. Now proceed with haste to the 'Platinum Members' section and tell those sons a bitches what they're made of! Wee need a Rhodium level me thinks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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