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2 December 2015, 02:27 PM | #1 |
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Cool story!
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2 December 2015, 03:18 PM | #2 |
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Wow! I was born at night but not last night.
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3 December 2015, 02:32 AM | #3 |
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3 December 2015, 02:35 AM | #4 |
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Not much said about Rolex, just gold dust. So it should be right here in the open forums.
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3 December 2015, 02:35 AM | #5 |
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3 December 2015, 03:04 PM | #6 |
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Sorry, but you're wrong. My polishing machine has 2 separate and enclosed polishing areas and has 2 separate filter systems, one for gold and silver and one for platinum. The jewelry/watch industry goes to great lengths to recover precious metal filings/polishings. Large manufacturing businesses often have rugs on the floor near exit areas that attract metal dust.
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3 January 2016, 08:59 AM | #7 | |
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How come........
Quote:
Oh and regarding the one reply suggesting that it was a part-time gig......it's not. It's his way of making a living. I don't know why people are finding this story so hard to believe? Why would someone make up something so esoteric? Just trying to make the point that when you get your watch polished, you lose material and over time it's not insignificant. Damn people........ Last edited by hunterp27; 3 January 2016 at 09:00 AM.. Reason: Missing word |
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3 January 2016, 09:05 AM | #8 | |
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2 December 2015, 09:32 PM | #9 |
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Jewelers have been doing this for years. There are people coming by the pawn shop all the time looking to buy my "sweeps" but we don't polish in house so they waste their time. The last shop I worked for, the owner keeps a 55 gal drum full of all the sweeps. Once full she sells it. In 24 yrs he has filled it at least 3 times that I know of but it's been almost 5 yrs since I worked there.
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2 December 2015, 09:35 PM | #10 |
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Wow!
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2 December 2015, 09:49 PM | #11 |
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You can almost relate this to a barbershop except hair doesn't have value. Same concept though. Overtime you definitely accumulate a bit of dust that would eventually have a value more than expected. Good for him.
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3 December 2015, 02:40 AM | #12 |
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Would be interesting to weigh the watch right before and after polishing and measure the fraction of a gram that comes off of each.
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3 December 2015, 08:19 AM | #13 |
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In a way... he's recycling / re-using it and not letting it go to waste!
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3 December 2015, 08:47 AM | #14 |
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I like it! Great story! I never would have thought about something like that!
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3 December 2015, 02:49 PM | #15 |
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I wouldn't be surprised if the official Rolex service centers in New York and Texas don't do something similar considering how many watches they polish on a daily basis.
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3 December 2015, 02:58 PM | #16 |
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I'm a jeweler, and this story makes complete sense. I send my bench sweeps and polishing dust out twice a year to be refined. I save anything that comes in contact with gold/silver /platinum filings or dust. This includes paper towels I use to dry my hands after washing them. It adds up quickly.
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6 December 2015, 12:18 AM | #17 | |
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Quote:
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3 December 2015, 03:12 PM | #18 |
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The amount of gold removed from a single watch during polishing would be nearly impossible to detect, unless the watch is extremely abused, and even then it would still be an insignificant amount. I work on dozens of pieces of gold every day, and it takes months to accumulate a significant amount of material. Next time I polish a gold Rolex, I'll weigh it before and after.
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3 December 2015, 09:55 PM | #19 |
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The local pawn shop let me go "mining" for gemstones in their dust, I found a few small diamonds and a ruby that they let me keep. But you could see the gold piling in the corners.
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3 December 2015, 10:00 PM | #20 |
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who would have thought one guy polishing watches would accumulate so much gold dust? esecially doing it part time and all. anyway, interesting story.
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3 December 2015, 11:31 PM | #21 |
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I believe it. Just look at all over polished Rolex watches.
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5 December 2015, 07:32 AM | #22 |
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Can you tell if a Rolex is SMALLER because of over polishing too much over the decades?
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6 December 2015, 12:23 AM | #23 |
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Seems plausible that he found a few ounces of sweeps. I imagine it was mostly polishing compound with gold mixed in... Check out the video link below.
https://youtu.be/YKOfk_78dx8 |
6 December 2015, 02:43 AM | #24 |
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Seems plausible.
I was reading the other day that in the sewer water in London now the concentration of Gold is at the same level as to be profitable for commercial mining operations. Same for Platinum which is washed into the drains after tiny amounts come out of catalytic converters. Edit - Source - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/scie...-platinum.html |
3 January 2016, 09:19 AM | #25 |
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You might wanna just admit you were wrong and leave it at that........just sayin
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3 January 2016, 09:27 AM | #26 |
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I think it is fair to understand the skepticism.... But more importantly, do not take it personal (sounds like you might be).. We are all allowed different thoughts here..
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3 January 2016, 02:41 PM | #27 |
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Skepticism is one thing
But to have someone use the phrase "I call BS and it's total nonsense" is quite another. However, if you could have seen the smile on my face as I typed my replies, you'd know my skin is far thicker than that. It's fun to call someone out when they've stepped in it.
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3 January 2016, 09:29 AM | #28 |
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I see both sides of the debate.
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3 January 2016, 11:35 AM | #29 |
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Wow amazing makes me think twice about polishing a watch. Nice Lilly's bonus for him though.
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3 January 2016, 12:15 PM | #30 |
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Very interesting story.
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