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Gold plating: how much to pay?

JayLenochiniMac said:
I'll be honest and say that the brushed Space Gray aluminum looks off with the gold band. What would look better is shiny black chrome (Space Black) paired with a gold band.

That said, you seem to want to do it as cheaply as possible so you sound like a good candidate for one of those $99 DIY gold plating kits that you apply with a pen. Personally, if I'm going to possibly void my warranty I want it done right and go with a site that uses hardened gold that will not rub off. You get what you pay for.
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For sure but I can't justify the added cost for SS, I'll make do with this for 1st gen, maybe in a gen or two I'll pay a little extra. I think this combo is kinda interesting/striking though so hopefully I'll be happy with it.

I'm not too worried about the warranty because it's only the band I'm plating, but I wonder how easy it would be to do it with a pen given all the little loops etc.

If I can only find someone with a bath then I'd happily buy the gold solution, they're pretty damn cheap it seems, and then all you need to do is clean the band, set up the bath and leave it for a couple hours - bam. I really don't want to pay a $100-150 surplus just for that.

I'll just have to try and find a local amateur or professional jeweller that has a plating bath.
 
Yixian said:
For sure but I can't justify the added cost for SS, I'll make do with this for 1st gen, maybe in a gen or two I'll pay a little extra. I think this combo is kinda interesting/striking though so hopefully I'll be happy with it.

I'm not too worried about the warranty because it's only the band I'm plating, but I wonder how easy it would be to do it with a pen given all the little loops etc.

If I can only find someone with a bath then I'd happily buy the gold solution, they're pretty damn cheap it seems, and then all you need to do is clean the band, set up the bath and leave it for a couple hours - bam. I really don't want to pay a $100-150 surplus just for that.

I'll just have to try and find a local amateur or professional jeweller that has a plating bath.
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You can't just immerse in the gold solution and call it a day. Stainless steel requires special activation with a nickel or acid strike, or the gold won't stick to the work.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
You can't just immerse in the gold solution and call it a day. Stainless steel requires special activation with a nickel or acid strike, or the gold won't stick to the work.
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I hear you, but what I mean is it seems these companies, particularly the one's that market specifically to Apple Watch owners, are charging massive markups, probably assuming that we don't know how low the cost of materials are and are simply using the Edition as a reference.
 
Yixian said:
For sure but I can't justify the added cost for SS, I'll make do with this for 1st gen, maybe in a gen or two I'll pay a little extra. I think this combo is kinda interesting/striking though so hopefully I'll be happy with it.

I'm not too worried about the warranty because it's only the band I'm plating, but I wonder how easy it would be to do it with a pen given all the little loops etc.

If I can only find someone with a bath then I'd happily buy the gold solution, they're pretty damn cheap it seems, and then all you need to do is clean the band, set up the bath and leave it for a couple hours - bam. I really don't want to pay a $100-150 surplus just for that.

I'll just have to try and find a local amateur or professional jeweller that has a plating bath.
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More like two minutes. I've had a jeweler friend replate a couple of my antique razors.

And it does require some equipment to apply current to the item while it's being immersed.

And there is also the matter of paying for the plater's time, experience and training: it's not like you can expect to pay a lawyer five bucks to draft a will because you're providing her with the pen and paper.

I hear what you're saying about the SB vs the SG-S. Trouble is they're only offering the SB with the LB; if they offered it coupled with the other bands for an additional premium, I'd think about it.

To go completely off topic, I'm a little wary about the SB's ability to resist scratches. Apple's been playing it cagey with describing their items in terms of "up to 80% harder than regular stainless steel" and "diamond like carbon coating" but not making any references at all to its scratch resistance. I think I'll hang back and wait for others to beta test this before I plop down $1200 of my own money. At least with regular stainless steel scratches can be buffed and polished out.
 
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clyde2801 said:
More like two minutes. I've had a jeweler friend replate a couple of my antique razors.

And it does require some equipment to apply current to the item while it's being immersed.

And there is also the matter of paying for the plater's time, experience and training: it's not like you can expect to pay a lawyer five bucks to draft a will because you're providing her with the pen and paper.
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Absolutely but you wouldn't pay your cobbler $150 to reheel your shoes, which judging by youtube videos I've watched of people doing this themselves, is probably more labour than quickly plating a piece of metal.
 
I just received my watch back from https://thetimepreserve.com today. It took them 1 week. I used them because they offer a 2 year guarantee and they have been in the business with "20 years’ experience in providing concierge watch restoration services for fine watches, their movements and cases". They might cost a little more than some newer companies offering this service, but the guarantee sold me. My watch functions exactly as it did when I received it from Apple. Here is what it looks like: image.jpgimage.jpg
 

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Yixian said:
Well, I'm a doctor and I don't get paid more than £25 for an hour of my time, I'm not keen on paying a jeweller £150 for his!
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£25 an hour? That's excessive. When your patients come to you for a prescription, you should charge them the cost of one sheet of the prescription slip and only the ink used to write the prescription because that's all it's costing you. Don't be greedy, doctor ;)
 
clyde2801 said:
Yeah, but doesn't the UK have socialized medicine? Would that effect how much he makes?
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I was simply being sarcastic, as the OP is harping on on how cheap the gold solution must cost and missing the exact point you previously made below. His patients (or rather, the government) should harp on being charged excessively for a mere prescription slip.

clyde2801 said:
And there is also the matter of paying for the plater's time, experience and training: it's not like you can expect to pay a lawyer five bucks to draft a will because you're providing her with the pen and paper.
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How do they goldplate these? I thought in order to gold plate, it had to be submerged in a liquid....do they take the watch apart to do it?? Curious on the process I guess...Ill check youtube :)
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
I was simply being sarcastic, as the OP is harping on on how cheap the gold solution must cost and missing the exact point you previously made below. His patients (or rather, the government) should harp on being charged excessively for a mere prescription slip.
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Clearly you have missed the point, I'm fine with paying someone for labour but not £100+ for a job like this.
 
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