Can Rhodium plating be re-done on a watch?

[bigjack78]

Hey there, I saw this lovely old Chopard St Moritz in white gold for my wife but it is rubbed through in a couple places. Can this be done? It's a screw on the race so pretty noticable, plus a couple spots on the bracelet.

[77T]

Originally Posted by bigjack78

Hey there, I saw this lovely old Chopard St Moritz in white gold for my wife but it is rubbed through in a couple places. Can this be done? It's a screw on the race so pretty noticable, plus a couple spots on the bracelet.

Sure it can be redone. The playing lasts only a few years before scratches and scuffs affect it.

Every time a watch is replated, the old plating must be striped off. To make it look new, all the old scratches are buffed out. Then cleaned and prepared for the new plating to be applied.

Over time, poor preparation can leave you with some misshaped lugs and chamfers. If the white gold underneath is a good alloy colorwise, I’d remove the rhodium and have it polished once. Then leave it alone.


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[bigfatpauli]

I agree with 77T. Well said!

I'm not familiar with the watch but you mentioned that the white gold plating has rubbed off and I'm not sure what you are referring too, exactly. Many white gold watches are rhodium plated and when that rubs off, the more yellow white gold shows through. Is that what is happening?

Or is it white gold plated, and that is rubbing off?

[bigjack78]

That might be hard
https://imgur.com/a/9vphXpe

[SunTzu]

Yes, it can be easily done by any competent re-plating company with a certain number of microns of gold to ensure it'll never wear out again in your lifetime. Even polished properly to match the original finish. Even those screws can be done. You would have those diamonds removed by a competent jeweler first and then sent out for re-plating. You would show the re-plating company what the bezel looks like so they see it holds the diamonds in case they need to make any adjustments on their end first to accept back the diamonds with a proper fit. Sometimes too much plating in certain spots may make it harder to put them back. Kind of like re-chroming motorcycle parts and then trying to thread screws in. Sometimes an adjustment needs to be made to make things fit.

If you're looking to buy it, maybe you can negotiate the price given the re-plating you feel it needs. Try to shave off a few bucks.

[ts3]

Does anybody know if Patek changed the composition of their white gold when they did away with the Rhodium plating in the early 2000s? Worried that the stuff underneath the Rhodium plating is more yellow compared to the grey gold they are using now as I would want to have the plating removed rather than redone if I ever got a plated white gold Patek.

[bigfatpauli]

Originally Posted by ts3

Does anybody know if Patek changed the composition of their white gold when they did away with the Rhodium plating in the early 2000s? Worried that the stuff underneath the Rhodium plating is more yellow compared to the grey gold they are using now as I would want to have the plating removed rather than redone if I ever got a plated white gold Patek.

Are you asking if Patek changed their alloy composition when they switched from white to grey gold?

Yes... They are different.

They used to use white gold (that was rhodium plated), which is was slightly more yellow than what they use today. Their grey gold watches aren't plated.

[bigjack78]

Originally Posted by SunTzu

Yes, it can be easily done by any competent re-plating company with a certain number of microns of gold to ensure it'll never wear out again in your lifetime. Even polished properly to match the original finish. Even those screws can be done. You would have those diamonds removed by a competent jeweler first and then sent out for re-plating. You would show the re-plating company what the bezel looks like so they see it holds the diamonds in case they need to make any adjustments on their end first to accept back the diamonds with a proper fit. Sometimes too much plating in certain spots may make it harder to put them back. Kind of like re-chroming motorcycle parts and then trying to thread screws in. Sometimes an adjustment needs to be made to make things fit.

If you're looking to buy it, maybe you can negotiate the price given the re-plating you feel it needs. Try to shave off a ]

Good stuff, thanks

[ts3]

Originally Posted by bigfatpauli

Are you asking if Patek changed their alloy composition when they switched from white to grey gold?

Yes... They are different.

They used to use white gold (that was rhodium plated), which is was slightly more yellow than what they use today. Their grey gold watches aren't plated.

Thanks, that was what I believed to remember.