Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

I successfully goldplated the applewatch!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Vgm1987 said:
I just got the box. A opened it and looks perfect. Beautiful. I tried using Siri and calling but it does not detect my voice. The speaker seems to work ok. I am reallt worried. The rest of it seems to be working well but this is somethig extremely basic and important.
To me it seems like the microphone is being blocked by something. Even when y press the digital crown to use Siri the waves dont even move....
Click to expand...

Try "hey siri" to see if it kicks into the siri screen at least, then you can see if its a lag issue or a mic issue... i would also try rinsing it off then drying it with particular care to the mic port to see if anything is in there that shouldn't be.

The plating is far too thin to actually obstruct the opening, and unless your waterproofing failed, I can't see how else it could have been damaged, so hopefully this is some software glitch....
 
Vgm1987 said:
Good idea. I just did. Its not working AT All.
Click to expand...

So "hey siri" doesn't reply, and if you manually initiate a call from the watch, no sound is received? I would check the mic port for obstruction and probably do another hard reset just in case its software.

Had you tested this feature before sending it out?
 
Also update your software to 1.0.1 if that came out while the watch was traveling...
 
Ok guys... I tried a hard reset and it seems to be working properly right now. Sorry if I freaked out anyone! I will try and take good quality pictures and post them here! Thanks guys!!
 
Vgm1987 said:
Ok guys... I tried a hard reset and it seems to be working properly right now. Sorry if I freaked out anyone! I will try and take good quality pictures and post them here! Thanks guys!!
Click to expand...

*whew* that is a relief! Definitely post some pictures.
 
Vgm1987 said:
Ok guys... I tried a hard reset and it seems to be working properly right now. Sorry if I freaked out anyone! I will try and take good quality pictures and post them here! Thanks guys!!
Click to expand...

Whow thats a stupid coincidence man. I would definitely freak out to :)

Please make some pictures, the more the better ;)
 
I just received my watch and I HIGHLY ADVISE AGAINST RIANN and watchplate.com.

1. I believe that he used to do a better quality job at first but now he's all about maximizing profits.
2. Notice he backed off the 35 micron thickness claim? Why? I speculate is so that he can spend like 50 cents or a dollar on gold instead of $6 on gold per watch like he initially claimed. I am not kidding. I think it is a very greedy organization. This is why they now charge for additional bands when I think at first he did not.
3. 30 day warranty. The guys in michigan are offering 2 years. Very good plating is offering 2 years. My gold plated movado never tarnished and has a long warranty I'm sure. These are not scratch warranties. These are for fading from sweat. I think there will be some very angry people in a few months time.
4. RIAN NOW SAYS DONT EXERCISE WITH THE WATCH. THIS IS THE MOST INFURIATING THING TO ME. MY MOVADO DOES NOT SAY DO NOT EXCERCISE IN THE WATCH. A DECENTLY PLATED WATCH WILL NOT TARNISH FROM EXERCISE. This is why I believe items #2 and #3.
5. Rian does not respect his customers enough to respond to emails. When you email him repeatedly he responds but does not address your questions. He selectively answers or doesnt even address your concern. Then to insult you further he ends his obnoxious emails with "HIGH FIVES!" or some other nonsense. High fives for him....he's making a killing. Not high fives for me. I make about 30 dollars for every person I see in my line of work, sometimes they need extra time and have extra concerns. I will stop and talk to them for an hour if I have to. Why can't riann respect my 475 bucks enough to write me a 2 paragraph email?
6. I received my watch and it arrived with a defect in the plating. And they got my apple watch box dirty. How inconsiderate are these people.
7. No refunds after you pay. Why if he hasnt sent the shipping label yet? I found out about the guys in Michigan with a 2 year warranty but it was too late.
8. I'm not hiding my identy and rian will know exactly who I am. When someone rips me off, I make sure I don't take it lying down.
9. My wife has my canon camera and the macro lens so I had to take the pic with my iphone. The defect is not just the diagnostic port. its the plating around it, it looks like it peeled. I just took delivery today and I can prove it. This was a defect upon arrival.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    792 KB · Views: 665
Last edited:
This is very disappointing to hear… I was one of his early orders and except for the email issue, I was and am extremely happy with the result. If the quality of his product has changed like you say, that would be very upsetting.

In the past he has posted updates in this thread. @RianFlynn we would all be interested to hear your commentary on the changes to thickness and about exercising. Does that second one apply to those of us that got plated originally?
 
10. Also before riann shoots back: The donation thingy suspect he does because it's a tax break or he may get a kickback (those charities are all extremely odd) or he does it for good PR for when his shoddy work is revealed. I donate to charity. I don't tell my customers (and my customers are my boss btw), 3% of what you're paying me I donate...what a joke! I highly suspect this guy is a very sophisticated con man
 
Last edited:
msaghirmd said:
10. Also before riann shoots back: The donation thing he either does because it's a tax break or he may get a kickback (those charities are all extremely odd) or he does it for good PR for when his shoddy work is revealed. I donate to charity. I don't tell my customers (and my customers are my boss btw), 3% of what you're paying me I donate...what a joke! I highly suspect this guy is a very sophisticated con man
Click to expand...

I am definitely bummed that you had a bad experience, in part because I've gone to some lengths to promote these guys as a show of solidarity for a fellow MR user.

I re-read his watchplate.com site and your comments, and I am not sure all of your statements are entirely fair. In particular:

#2, his site says:
Regarding thickness, our plating facility generally plates 35 microns thick, but we are currently awaiting more accurate test results to determine the actual thickness applied to this specific watch.
Click to expand...

That sounds to me like it is simply a matter of confirming if the watch reacts the same as the equipment he formerly plated at his facilities.

#4, any jewelry site that offers gold plating advises that you maintain and clean the jewelry to prevent tarnishing, and many mention perspiration specifically. Not sure why he is specifically recommending against it, but most likely he is just trying to add some more information about proper care.

#1 is more of a comment, #8 is not an issue, #9 is a repeat of #6, and #10 I don't think is relevant in reviewing the service.

Your other observations definitely still stand and I hope Rian responds... but I think we can narrow your list down to #3, #5, #6, and #7.
 
Buddy you're like his associate or something. All you do is promote him. You must be getting paid.

But riann is getting rich and you're getting like 12 bucks man. Think about it...stop defending this guy.

Even though you're full of it I still love you and "I ain't mad atcha". You are in no way responsible for the bad job riann makes 500 bucks off.

Copied and pasted from the watch plate site:

We do not recommend wearing your gold-plated Apple Watch while working out as excessive exposure to sweat can be corrosive.

I think this is all relevant because how did the site go up overnight? That flashy site? He was planning to make a killing from the beginning. He didn't count on us being so electronically savvy methinks.

Btw I would use these guys. They have a 2 year warranty and they don't have a flashy site but they were in wired along with riann Flynn (sounds like a made up name)

http://www.watchplating.com


Also I'm done responding. Now the word is out. In the final analysis: 30 day warranty on something says it all.

High fives! (Annoying Borat voice)
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: viewfly
msaghirmd said:
Buddy you're like his associate or something. All you do is promote him. You must be getting paid.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry if you feel like I've overstepped helpful feedback, just giving my own read on the situation. He is definitely no paying me anything -- I was an early adopter and one of several that encouraged him to start this business, and I was able to take advantage of his first-weekend $100 discount. Given that sequence, I have felt a certain satisfaction seeing him succeed, and an equal amount of dissatisfaction seeing your particular experience. My comments were only meant to give a third perspective at your list of issues.
 
zmunkz said:
I'm sorry if you feel like I've overstepped helpful feedback, just giving my own read on the situation. He is definitely no paying me anything -- I was an early adopter and one of several that encouraged him to start this business, and I was able to take advantage of his first-weekend $100 discount. Given that sequence, I have felt a certain satisfaction seeing him succeed, and an equal amount of dissatisfaction seeing your particular experience. My comments were only meant to give a third perspective at your list of issues.
Click to expand...

I posted my concerns about this website weeks ago. He seems like a very shady guy. And originally he said u get $6 of gold but went back and lied to say u get $60 worth of gold.
 
EdisEdward said:
customer photos look good, but still, i can't believe everyone thinks that OP created this business from the ground up in the last 1.5 weeks.

clearly, OP had the intention of starting this business long time ago and was using macrumors to advertise for free. I dont buy the fact that he came here just to show off his wife's watch. he came on here to see what initial demand would be, how much he should charge, and use it as a free advertising platform.


also, still turned off by OP changing the facts about the cost of gold (from $6 to $60). and the fact that he claims most of the costs are related to labor: when he just said he is able to do 1000 a day. anywho, i may end up sending mine in when i get my watch, but i hope OP becomes more transparent in his business in the future and responds to customers more actively

I also found his photography website if anyone wants to contact him

http://ryanflynnphotography.net/contact/
Click to expand...

Here is my original post
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rogifan and samiznaetekto
EdisEdward said:
http://www.goldplating.com/star.htm

Looks like anyone can purchase a kit for less than $3000 and start their own gold plating business! This kit has enough gold to cover 1300 square inches of 10micro inches. So if I did my math correctly that is 1300/3/3*400= $57,777. So that is over $50k profit just from using this kit! Excluding labor cost

Assumptions for math
1) each watch is 3 square inches
2) three layers of 10micro inches
3) sell for $400



http://www.goldplating.com/Products/products-brushgold.htm

Looks like the gold sells for about $300 for a yield of 1200 square inches. Using formula above, that is 133 watches. $300/133= $2.25 worth of gold u r paying for.

Looks like the OP correctly estimated that the gold is worth approx $6, but he edited that to $60 days later for whatever reason.

When it comes to the end, I think the service looks great. But a little turned off by OP changing his facts about the costs
Click to expand...

Here is my other post u guys should read.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rogifan, samiznaetekto and zmunkz
Status
Not open for further replies.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back