Daily driver with full gold RL?

[sweetboy0715]

Hi All,

I'm saving up for a full gold DD or a full gold Sub. A couple of weeks ago, my coworker showed me his new full gold GMT. He only wears it a maximum of one day a week (Fridays, and sometimes not at all). I asked him why, and he said gold is soft, very scratchable, and can lose its value if scratched.

I want to wear a full gold watch daily, but his comment made me think twice. I'm currently wearing my SS Datejust and don't really care if it gets beat up. However, I'm not a multi-millionaire who can afford to ignore the potential loss of value from scratches on a high-end watch (I don't mind my SS DJ because it's much cheaper).

Is anyone else in the same boat? What do you do?

P.S.: I banged my watch on the table in front of him, telling him why not buy a cheaper SS version to enjoy daily, when he stopped by making fun of me by asking what time it was :)

[paul cbc]

Jack Nicklaus wore his YG DD daily for almost 50 years. I think you'll be fine.
Enjoy the watch and wear it as you wish.

[Potawatomi]

I wear a full gold GMT all the time. I even wear it when I'm lifting weights or riding my bike because I'm not afraid like a little kid.

[casadecamporolex]

I regularly wear a RG GMT. It’s an incredible looking and wearing reference.
Like a new car, the minute you wear it the value decreases.
And the way WatchCharts sees things, the watch went down in value on the secondary market 8% this year.
Wear to enjoy.


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[1st amg]

Nonsense. They are all used as soon as you take the stickers off. If you have a couple more scratches than another similar one, big deal. The grey guys will send it most times for a polish anyway before they resell it. Nothing like a full gold watch.



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[Devildog]

Originally Posted by paul cbc

Jack Nicklaus wore his YG DD daily for almost 50 years. I think you'll be fine.
Enjoy the watch and wear it as you wish.

So did Red Adair, but that doesn't address the OPs point. I suspect neither of them cared about the aesthetics of their watches.

If you are happy to wear a solid gold watch without a care in the world, thats great but your solid gold watch will ultimately look like a beat up piece of crap.

The OP says he's saving up. I would also venture that for those who can easily afford a PM Rolex, its less of an issue.

18kt gold is softer than steel. considerably so and needs more wrist awareness or it could easily end up looking like this after a few years of carefree wearing.

Borrowed from web..

[casadecamporolex]

My WG Sub after 6 years.
Let the next owner worry about it.


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[dkg1616]

Don’t worry about it…my AP scratches just looking at it and I don’t care

[Krash]

I wouldn’t wear it everyday for a completely different reason. I just like to rotate between 3 to 5 watches. So I’d only wear it a couple days a week because of that.


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[Robison347]

With all due respect, if you are buying a watch as an item to wear proudly, then I suggest things you wear will get scratched and scuffed. As a general statement, higher end merchandise shows wear more readily than more common stuff.

Gucci loafers will look terribly beat up after use that leaves Merrill sneakers unaffected.

Stainless Rolex watches will shrug off scuffs and bangs that will mar a gold piece.

But that’s life. If you are uncomfortable with that reality, either wear the good stuff under controlled circumstances, or avoid it entirely. I accept that my gold watches will get marked by use, and that means I use them. If I meant for them to ne investments, and stay perfect, I would not wear them at all.

[geoach]

it will show very light hair line scratches more than ss .......but when it comes to dents deep scratches same as ss......I have 30 year old DD worn daily and a 20 year old sub not much diff at all in looks

[Harry-57]

Originally Posted by sweetboy0715

I'm not a multi-millionaire who can afford to ignore the potential loss of value from scratches on a high-end watch (I don't mind my SS DJ because it's much cheaper).

The question is where do you draw the line? You appear to have drawn it at SS. Everybody sets their own level and most sensible people stick to what they can afford. Your call.

[Tobias]

The gold Jubilee or Presidential bracelet will likely show less wear compared to the Oyster, but as others have emphasised - wear to enjoy.

[PenDelicate]

Gold is notoriously depreciative. Grey-market dealers often won't even stock it, or offer you dreadful low-ball figures if you try to sell to them: they can turn-over more steel watches, more often, for the same capital investment. I think that's more a concern regarding, "potential loss of value," than mere scratches (though, of course, those dealers will low-ball even further for the slightest sign of wear, especially on gold).

So unless you think it could be a keeper-for-life, I'd pass.

Although ... you will be missing-out on some pleasant daily views ...

20240913_113945 by Tom Kennedy, on Flickr