Letter 12076

Gold plated watches 

I just purchased a watch that is gold plated. How long will this gold plating last? Can you explain what gold plating exactly is. I purchased this watch because I am allergic to the usual cheap watch metals. Please help!

Carla Baker
- Chazy, NY, USA

Hi Carla,

It depends on who manufactured the watch. Many watches are plated with 3 microns of gold. The predicted wearlife is 3-5 years. It may wear off sooner on the areas most prone to contact with the watch band or on prominant areas of the watch case itself. Some manufacturers will plate 10-20 microns of gold on some higher priced watches. With some exceptions, wear life for this a thick of plated watch usually can exceed 10 years or more. If you are allergic to nickel or base metal many of the lower end watch makers use nickel as an underplate. As the gold wears away on the corners and leading edges of the watch case the nickel is exposed to the skin.

Hope this helps,

David Vinson
Metal Arts Specialties - Leonard, MI

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