HELP. my rolex is yellowing.....

[CanuckRolex]

Originally Posted by Markg

i didnt think rolex used rhodium on its white gold.....

All white gold has a rhodium covering seeing white gold cannot hold a gloss for very long and is not very durable.

[hienpham04]

These type of polishing cloth do take off the Rhodium plate on the outside of most white gold jewelry. The rouge is made for lifting a thin layer of gold to get rid of scratches and in some case dings, if polished by a machine. It's very odd to hear that Rolex watches have a Rhodium plate. If I remembered correctly, Rolex uses more nickel and platinum metal when mixing the white gold. So, all Rolex should be naturally white color without the need for rhodium plating. In your case, please make sure that the model is a white gold daytona. It might be that someone used a yellow gold daytona and cover it with rhodium. I'm hoping this is not the case. If you bought it from an AD, then have them make it right for you. This should be considered as a defect. If it's under warranty, then you should be o.k. Also keep in mind, the rouge on the cloth will take off the bezel markings if polished hard enough. Be careful, good luck.

[Trurolexer]

So sorry to hear that. Hope you can fix it back to normal.

[Andad]

Originally Posted by CanuckRolex

All white gold has a rhodium covering seeing white gold cannot hold a gloss for very long and is not very durable.

You have made some firm statements.
I think if you check the facts, you are wrong and you should make the correction.

http://www.rolexreferencepage.com/Daydate/review.html

[NitroRacer]

It seems to be the case that the watch is in fact YG with a plating of some sort to make it white (a variant of platinum, or whatever the case). If it were in fact uniformly blended, then the individual would not see the yellow tint after removing a layer. Regardless of what anybody says, this is empircal evidence. If it is an even blend, I suggest trying to get an AD or Rolex to admit this, then you can get it repaired under warranty. One way or another, you need to ask them what the WG is comprised of and then hopefully you can use it against them in an argument. I am currently wearing a WG ring from college graduation. It is very beat up and there are no signs of yellow under it. It is 18k. It is also possible that this is all in your head. You may have roughed it up a bit due to imperfect polishing, and as a result, you could see light being reflected in various directions, giving it a yellowish appearance. My rolex has a WG bezel and if I stare long enough in the light, I can convince myself that I am seeing yellow spots. Just something to think about.

[EvEr34]

So tell me...do you always become so serious and snappy when someone dares to not agree with you??? One hour explanation seems like alot for something you were able to describe in 2 lines.

Originally Posted by CanuckRolex

Give me a break, I just got back from the jewlers where they just resized my fiancees white gold band and showed me that anything white gold is actually standard gold with a rhodium plating overtop.

They showed it right there and the goldsmith has 45years experience and he showed me and explained to me right in front of me.

He told me never to polish the ring seeing it will remove the rhodium and the ring with get yellowish tinge with the underlying gold is showing through.

IT IS NOT AN ALLOY AND PURE WHITEGOLD THROUGHOUT.

So don't even go there and argue with a goldsmith with 45 years experience that explained this to me for an hour.

[Destroy]

Here's a question....has anyone ever SEEN a WG rolex gone yellow???

[buz-lh]

Rolex white gold is 75% gold and 25% Palladium ( a platinum alloy). Rose gold is 75% gold and a blend of copper and platinum. The platinum stabilizes the copper so that the color won't change when exposed to certain chemicals. This is on the Rolex website. I don't think Rolex uses a rhodium plating on their white gold, but I do know for a fact that it is NOT yellow gold with a rhodium coating.

[buz-lh]

Originally Posted by CanuckRolex

Give me a break, I just got back from the jewlers where they just resized my fiancees white gold band and showed me that anything white gold is actually standard gold with a rhodium plating overtop.

They showed it right there and the goldsmith has 45years experience and he showed me and explained to me right in front of me.

He told me never to polish the ring seeing it will remove the rhodium and the ring with get yellowish tinge with the underlying gold is showing through.

IT IS NOT AN ALLOY AND PURE WHITEGOLD THROUGHOUT.

So don't even go there and argue with a goldsmith with 45 years experience that explained this to me for an hour.

18kt gold is not pure gold. It is 18 parts gold and 6 parts other metals. So whatever metals are used will impact the color of the 18kt gold. 45 years experience may be 5 years experience repeated 9 times.

[DRKBC]

I think it is really very strange and I would take it in to an AD. Rhodium plating is really kind of an odd thing to put on a watch because it does wear off pretty quickly even just from daily use. Is there an area that didn't get polished like say the case back? Is it at all yellowish?

Dwayne

[Scarface]

I used CapeCod for removing scratces on my SS Datejust, worked well.
In your (worst) case scenario, your watch could be restored by Rolex...

[ohsixx]

As recommended in one of the tutorials, wrap the cap cod around the end of a Q-Tip and use like a pencil. Works pretty well on TT.

Be careful to keep it off the brushed links.

[Baptistman]

That happened to a friend of mine who polished there Sub, and yellowing came through which happened to be the base material (brass) of the case. It was then he realised he had a fake..... Doh

[ZROLEX]

Why you buy Rolex? For quality. Why you buy gold or white gold? So it lasts forever! In this case, polishing it and seeing yellow underneath is odd. I'm sure it is covered by the warranty! This is not some cheap watch and cheap gold plated watch, we talking about WG Daytona!!! I don't know anything about blending the metals and plating as well, but I'm sure I know if I pay for a WHITE GOLD ROLEX IT SUPPOSE TO STAY THAT WAY FOR ALL IT'S LIFE!!! No matter how many years you wear the watch it has to stay the same without any discoloration and you NEED to talk to your AD and I'm sure they will help!!! Again if it says white gold it is white gold, does it says white gold plating? NO...so I'm sure u'll be fine and AD will either replace to a new watch or reimburse your money! GOOD LUCK!

[toph]

Not on a rolex but i had a white gold bracelet 18kt and it went yellowish after a few years. Not like yellow gold but you could see a slight yellow colour coming through.

White gold is not a natural substance. Whatever way you look at it is modified yellow gold

[Baptistman]

What is White Gold and Where Does It Come From?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



There is no such thing as white gold!
There are however gold alloys which appear white, silvery, or grey.
When jewellers speak of white gold, they mean white gold alloys. In most other major languages these alloys are described as grey rather than white. We will stick to "white".

Gold Alloys
Gold itself is a yellow metallic element but, in its pure form, it is too soft to be used for general jewellery purposes, although there are some cultures which do wear pure gold jewellery, it would need to be heavily made and carefully used. The yellow colour of gold is caused by gold absorbing violet and blue light, but reflecting yellow and red light.
It is usual for gold to be mixed with other metals to produce an alloy, which is simply a mixture of two or more metals. Throughout history, most people have preferred the colour of gold jewellery to remain close to that of pure gold itself, and so most jewellery has historically been made using yellow gold alloys. Other metals mixed with gold to produce alloys include copper and silver, which are the common components of most yellow gold alloys, and nickel, zinc, and palladium to produce white alloys.

White Gold Alloys with Nickel
White gold alloys became fashionable in the 1920's, mainly as a substitute for platinum, which had itself recently become fashionable. Platinum is quite expensive, needs greater temperatures than gold, and is generally considered harder to work with than gold, although it is ideal for use in diamond settings. At least three patents were issued for different "recipes" of white gold alloys during the 1920's, using different components to produce the whitening or "bleaching" effect. Simply mixing a white and a yellow metal together does not just produce a pale yellow colour, alloying produces a difference in the atomic structure which alters the reflectivity of light of different wavelengths.
The commonest metal which causes a significant bleaching effect in gold is nickel, which has the great advantage of being inexpensive, and also providing, in 18 carat alloys, a good colour match for platinum, however its colour matching in 14 and 9 carat alloys is poor. It also has the serious defect that it commonly causes dermatitis, through allergic reactions when worn in contact with the skin. It is also considered to be slightly carcinogenic. E.C. Regulations covering the use of nickel in jewellery are being implemented, and soon all or most new jewellery sold in the Community will have to be nickel-free, or at least "nickel-safe". Most American and Italian white gold alloys use nickel.
A typical nickel containing white gold alloy might be, in parts per thousand:
Gold 750, Copper 55, Nickel 145, Zinc 50

White Gold Alloys with Palladium
The other metal which is ideal as a constituent of white gold alloys is palladium, which is a close relative of platinum. Its main disadvantage is that it is quite expensive, indeed at the time of writing this, the market price of palladium was higher than that of gold, due to Russian economic and production problems. Its second disadvantage is the high melting point, although jewellery manufacturing and repair equipment has improved, so that most workshops can now cope. A hidden factor in the high cost of alloy components is that there are large proportions of scrap produced during jewellery manufacture. Because this involves expensive precious metal alloys, recycling and reclamation of the precious metals is very important. When scrap contains high levels of expensive metals like palladium, there are extra costs involved in recovering it, which have to be added back to the production costs.
Other possible whiteners include silver, platinum, chromium, cobalt, tin, zinc, and indium. Silver would be an ideal constituent, with excellent working properties, but unfortunately it does not have a very great bleaching effect. Copper does not tend to whiten, but is used to improve the ductility of most white gold alloys.
A typical palladium containing white gold alloy might be, in parts per thousand:
Gold 750, Silver 40, Copper 40, Palladium 170

[Pauss]

thanks guys. you had convince me that there are nothing wrong with my watch. may be its the reflection of my rooms light, or may be there is still some of the cape cod chemical that is left over and make the reflection turn yellow abit. well i will talk to my AD too. :)

[Destroy]

I've been wearing my WG wedding band for a year now - it's been in salt water, showers, bashed with coins - heated with direct Aussie and Kiwi super-ultra-violet sunlight.....it's hit against many a schooner of beer and glass of moet...it's been scrubbed with a toothbrush for cleaning...it's got a fair few nicks and dings in it......and guess what? Not one trace of yellow.............

[ZROLEX]

Originally Posted by Pauss

thanks guys. you had convince me that there are nothing wrong with my watch. may be its the reflection of my rooms light, or may be there is still some of the cape cod chemical that is left over and make the reflection turn yellow abit. well i will talk to my AD too. :)

Interesting...U can't decide if it's yellow or not? If you can't decide on your own, I'm sure your AD will tell you that it's totally fine! But if you ask me it's not. WG should be WG. That's why it called white gold, other wise it would be called WG plate over YG....my 2 cents...

[toph]

WG is either an alloy of yellow gold mixed with the metals named before. Or yellow gold plated with rhodium- that is white gold- it is not an actual substance. it is name they give to the new material. thus they would not have to name it YG with WG plate- the plating gives it the name white gold

[ZROLEX]

Originally Posted by toph

WG is either an alloy of yellow gold mixed with the metals named before. Or yellow gold plated with rhodium- that is white gold- it is not an actual substance. it is name they give to the new material. thus they would not have to name it YG with WG plate- the plating gives it the name white gold

I don't know, maybe I'm wrong about this....and I do not understand in metals or combining them together but something is not right here, even if it is aka plated i don't think rolex would do it that way it can come off. I never heard anyone saying that gold is coming off from bluesy's buckle, even though gold is plated on buckles of TT Bluesy over SS noone reported shows of SS underneath by polishing the clasp ( i mean the gold stripe on the clasp) ...

[toph]

Yeah rolex use an alloy- the mixing of metals-yellow gold with other metals that make it a new material WG. It is 18 carat gold mixed and it is not plated so it should never ever fade. but i do not know how long they have used this process. Im not a scientist myself but i know that WG is manmade from combining natural metals

[CanuckRolex]

Originally Posted by Destroy

I've been wearing my WG wedding band for a year now - it's been in salt water, showers, bashed with coins - heated with direct Aussie and Kiwi super-ultra-violet sunlight.....it's hit against many a schooner of beer and glass of moet...it's been scrubbed with a toothbrush for cleaning...it's got a fair few nicks and dings in it......and guess what? Not one trace of yellow.............

Since when did anyone say normal wear and tear over a year or cleaning it with a toothbrush will cause it to yellow or wear off Rhodium?

[CanuckRolex]

Here is a good link with some good info on White Gold:

http://www.18carat.co.uk/whitegoldturnsyellow.html

[toph]

Originally Posted by CanuckRolex

Since when did anyone say normal wear and tear over a year or cleaning it with a toothbrush will cause it to yellow or wear off Rhodium?

your right- bit rude but right! its the chemicals in certain cleaning agents that remove the rhodium- there are warnings for a reason

[Destroy]

Originally Posted by CanuckRolex

Since when did anyone say normal wear and tear over a year or cleaning it with a toothbrush will cause it to yellow or wear off Rhodium?

This used to be such a nice, friendly forum.

[CanuckRolex]

Originally Posted by Destroy

This used to be such a nice, friendly forum.

I never said anything insulting. Being a little sensitive aren't we?

[daytona lad]

very confusing.

so is my 18k YG daytona more durable than a WG?

i am currently looking at a WG Beach series, but this frightens me,
never heard of a discoloured rolex before

[entropydave]

I'm confused... not a great fan of WG - for me if you want a white metal then either SS or Pt. End of story. I can't quite understand why people opt for WG and now I find out WG is rhodium plated! why is it plated? That does seem pointless! I presume they plate it for aesthetic reasons ie that WG just isn't "white" enough - well, if that is the case then we got back to either SS or Pt.
Hmmm... all a bit odd to me - I guess I am not a fan of WG I suppose - gold is yellow, not white! But the Rh plating is sort of like the icing on the cake!
Don't get me wrong - if I had to have a WG Rolex I'd force myself! But at the moment, I would like an AK in Pt if there wa an alternative to SS.

[gsgarbear2]

I have always thought that white gold is an ALLOY. Never heard of yellow gold with a plating. Maybe this was done many years ago, but not with Rolex. I would think their white gold would never yellow, no matter how much you polish it, it being an alloy.