Gold plating a vintage watch
Hello fellow watch enthusiasts
I have a practical question for guidance. I have this vintage gold-plated Longines and as you can see the gold plating is chipped in various places. Does any one of you have any experience with re-gold plating a watch? Is it recommended? Should I consider it or does it has the same downsides as repolishing? Any guidance/suggestions will be helpful!! 🙏
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I had the same idea a while back. For the plating to be uniform and well done, you need to take the old plating completely off. That alone was where I gave up. Then you have to replate it and while sure you can buy all the tools on Amazon, you also have to learn how to do it right.
Plating over already plated area creates different layering of it. So while in the first few weeks it might look good, after a while you will get uneven wear, making your watch look like a cows hide.
So I don't think it's worth it, especially considering overall time and money you have to put into it, without even being sure that the final results will be any good.
Replating a gold watch will certainly make them looks far better IF done correctly. I know my shaky hand won't be able to, so I won't recommend doing it if you don't have the correct tool nor the time needed. I'm sure there ought to be an expert in replating watches near your place.
My opinion is pretty much what already was said, it's not worth it - is this regular (low cost) plating or a higher grade SGP finish? If the former it might be possible to do a decent job in removing the old later and replating - if it's a SGP finish it will be next to impossible to replate to a good standard as the existing layer will be difficult to remove, it already was a higher quality plating and is made to last - and the costs involved will make it pretty much a waste of time anyway
I have no personal experience but it can be done. I met this woman a few years ago who was totally nuts about her Gucci watch from the 1980s hugely popular with fashion obsessed young ladies who were over the moon with a watch that had a number of colourful plastic bezel rings that screwed into the head of the watch. Steel would have been sensible but gold was de rigueur! The gold plating wore badly she did have it replated by an understanding jeweller but shortly after met a young man who swept her off her feet and bought her items made from solid gold. However I cannot report on the quality of the job and wear quality.