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Gold Plate or Buy Gold aluminum watch?

A

Apple2015

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 11, 2015
26
3
hello all,

I am in a bit of a dilemma here, I bought the SS Apple watch back when it came out but since then they have released the gold aluminum watch. My question is should I spend the $399 to get my SS plated in shiny gold or should I just get the gold aluminum and not have to worry about peeling? Thanks in advance!
 
J

JayLenochiniMac

macrumors G5
Nov 7, 2007
12,819
2,388
New Sanfrakota
I'd highly suggest that you not go with WatchPlate for $399 so you'll have to spend a little bit more to get it properly plated. There's no need to worry about peeling if it's done properly. Otherwise, get the gold aluminum.
 
fania123

fania123

macrumors regular
Jul 29, 2015
140
117
If you can't buy the real McCoy then get the aluminum looks nicer in my opinion anyway. Also I'm pretty sure it would void out the warranty by gold plating it anyway.
 
A

Apple2015

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 11, 2015
26
3
fania123 said:
If you can't buy the real McCoy then get the aluminum looks nicer in my opinion anyway. Also I'm pretty sure it would void out the warranty by gold plating it anyway.
Click to expand...
Yea I'm aware it voids the warrenty I just like the shiny look of either the yellow or rose gold plating.
 
Jvjlite

Jvjlite

macrumors regular
Jul 16, 2015
193
155
Apple2015 said:
Would you suggest thetimepreserve.com for the gold plating? They seem very reputable. @JayLenochiniMac
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I used thetimepreserve.com on 7/6/15. My watch still looks just like the
⌚️ Edition (I never claim it is one tho). They are very professional & communication w/them is terrific. I had ⌚️ and 2 bands gold plated. They have a two year warranty.
image.jpg
image.jpg
image.jpg
 
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A

Apple2015

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 11, 2015
26
3
maflynn

maflynn

Moderator emeritus
May 3, 2009
69,097
36,978
Jvjlite said:
I used thetimepreserve.com on 7/6/15. My watch still looks just like the
⌚️ Edition (I never claim it is one tho). They are very professional & communication w/them is terrific. I had ⌚️ and 2 bands gold plated. They have a two year warranty.
Click to expand...
Looks nice, though I wonder how well it will hold up vs. buying a gold watch from apple directly.

I've seen some very negative posts regarding watch plate, but I've not heard of thetimepreserve.com. Personally, I'd be concerned about quality of work after the fact but I have to admit, that those images look really nice.
 
C

CobraPA

macrumors 6502a
Mar 12, 2011
733
175
Lansdale, PA, USA
Nice that they have a two year warranty. They look really good.

Do they plate aluminum and stainless steel? I don't see any mention of plating the Apple Watch Sport, just curious if that's possible or if they only do Apple Watch (which is what they specify on the order form, but they make no mention of the Sport model at all, so not sure.)
 
fania123

fania123

macrumors regular
Jul 29, 2015
140
117
They only do steel not the aluminum. What kind of Cobra do you have?

CobraPA said:
Nice that they have a two year warranty. They look really good.

Do they plate aluminum and stainless steel? I don't see any mention of plating the Apple Watch Sport, just curious if that's possible or if they only do Apple Watch (which is what they specify on the order form, but they make no mention of the Sport model at all, so not sure.)
Click to expand...
 
fania123

fania123

macrumors regular
Jul 29, 2015
140
117
I have both the gold sport and the stainless steel but would never think of buying the edition watch big waste of cash right there.


maflynn said:
Definitely and given the outrageous price point (my opinion) of the Apple Watch Edition, the sport is the better option imo.
Click to expand...
 
maflynn

maflynn

Moderator emeritus
May 3, 2009
69,097
36,978
Four oF NINE said:
I would never gold plate a SS watch. That seems tacky.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't either and I'm not a fan of a gold watches but I will say the images attached were nice looking. By far the best I've seen of any gold plating. I figure different strokes for different folks, I'm happy with my space gray sport model, but others may want a little more pizzaz :D

CobraPA said:
I thought aluminum might not take plating, but wasn't sure.
Click to expand...

Well its already anodized so I would think they'd need to prepare the surface for gold plating. They'd also need to do that with the SS model as well, but I assume the preparation work would differ thanks to the different material (SS vs. Alu)
 
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fania123

fania123

macrumors regular
Jul 29, 2015
140
117
Love the rose gold special edition but can't see forking that kind of dough out for that watch. To me gold plating a SS is like putting S63 badges on a S500, tacky. IMHO
 
J

JayLenochiniMac

macrumors G5
Nov 7, 2007
12,819
2,388
New Sanfrakota
fania123 said:
True, but it's the way it came from the factory it's not trying to be something it's not, just sayin.
Click to expand...

Most members here who've plated their watches aren't trying to pass it off as an Edition, but they did it because they dislike wearing silver/chrome jewelry or they simply like the look of gold.

Many guys feel uncomfortable wearing the rose gold aluminum models as they're quite pink. Plating the SS model in real rose gold, which achieves the proper copper color, is a good way to circumvent this problem if they really want rose gold.

I have the link bracelet and I personally think all single-tone gold watches are tacky whether they're solid gold (like Beyoncé's link bracelet) or gold plated. However, I'm aware that not everyone shares my opinion.
 
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Jvjlite

Jvjlite

macrumors regular
Jul 16, 2015
193
155
You would have to decide if the scratches on your ⌚️ would bother you very much. Both SS & gold plated accumulate scratches over time. With SS, some have posted easy, quick fixes. With a gold plated ⌚️ - not so easy to fix yourself. (With Time Preserve, their warranty does not cover scratches, but they will refinish at a greatly reduced cost.) I'm not certain whether the aluminum ⌚️ shows scratches. Before you try a service, look at their history in business. A history of "20 years of services for in restoring fine watches" got my attention over a startup service within the last year. That said, I just learned the hard way that "you get what you pay for". Below are images of 2 modern buckles that have been gold plated - the black one by thetimepreserve.com in July when I had my ⌚️ gold plated & the brown one gold plated this past week by a different company (not Watchplate, I knew not to use this service from other posts). I just received the brown one back yesterday. I used a different service to save a few $$ & to see what their quality was. Needless to say, I'm disappointed. As you can see, the brown MB is deeper gold and very splotchy. The black MB is the same color gold as the ⌚️ Edition (Cuppertino gold, I believe). Both services claim that the gold plating is 18K. The final decision about whether to purchase the gold Sport model or to purchase the SS & have it gold plated is entirely up to you, just be certain to weigh your options & decide what works for you.
image.jpeg
image.jpeg
image.jpeg
image.jpeg
 
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J

JayLenochiniMac

macrumors G5
Nov 7, 2007
12,819
2,388
New Sanfrakota
Jvjlite said:
You would have to decide if the scratches on your ⌚️ would bother you very much. Both SS & gold plated accumulate scratches over time. With SS, some have posted easy, quick fixes. With a gold plated ⌚️ - not so easy to fix yourself. (With Time Preserve, their warranty does not cover scratches, but they will refinish at a greatly reduced cost.) I'm not certain whether the aluminum ⌚️ shows scratches. Before you try a service, look at their history in business. A history of "20 years of services for in restoring fine watches" got my attention over a startup service within the last year. That said, I just learned the hard way that "you get what you pay for". Below are images of 2 modern buckles that have been gold plated - the black one by thetimepreserve.com in July when I had my ⌚️ gold plated & the brown one gold plated this past week by a different company (not Watchplate, I knew not to use this service from other posts). I just received the brown one back yesterday. I used a different service to save a few $$ & to see what their quality was. Needless to say, I'm disappointed. As you can see, the brown MB is deeper gold and very splotchy. The black MB is the same color gold as the ⌚️ Edition (Cuppertino gold, I believe). Both services claim that the gold plating is 18K. The final decision about whether to purchase the gold Sport model or to purchase the SS & have it gold plated is entirely up to you, just be certain to weigh your options & decide what works for you.
View attachment 582340 View attachment 582341 View attachment 582344 View attachment 582348
Click to expand...

The black one done by thetimepreserve looks decent. You should inform us what company did the brown one so forum members will know to avoid it.
 
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