Will Rolex White gold turn yellow?

[dgt1031]

After years of wear, will the white gold president bracelet need to be rhodium plated or will it maintain it's white color?

[WatchSmith]

Rhodium plated? Good lord don't do that!
I've never owned a WG watch so I can't tell you, but rhodium plating would be a huge mistake on a fine Rolex.

[generic0]

I hear that Rolex watches aren't rhodium plated to begin with, which should mean they won't behave badly and turn yellow...any experts around?

[Tri-National-Man]

"white gold" can be rhodium plated yellow gold which does tend to yellow after lots of wear but in watchmaking the norm is a mixture of 24K fine gold and a variable proportion of copper and silver which makes it possible to increase its hardness and vary its colour. So white gold will have proportionately more silver in than rose gold (more copper) and yellow gold. Hope this helps..

[gold4u2]

I am not sure if Rolex rhodium plates their watches but, I would have to guess yes. I have been in the jewelry business for over 28 years. I would say most if not ALL white gold items are rhodium plated. This is just a standard pratice for a bright white finish. Keep in mind gold is yellow. 24k is 24 parts pure gold. 18k is 3/4 parts pure gold. White gold is 'white" because of the alloy mixture. Only 1/4 of the alloy mix in 18k white gold is white metal. White gold items do sometimes appear yellowish after wear and the rhodium finish is worn off.

Just a side note. A lot of yellow gold items are "gold washed" or plated in 18k or 21k gold too. Sometimes when you look at gold chains in a showcase some items are more yellow than others, some of them are gold washed.

[rajurama]

Good question. White gold is made of 75% pure gold and 25% special alloy which gives a warm white color. Usually the bezels or white gold jewellery is rhodium plated to give out a bright white color. However rolex watches and bracelets are not rhodium plated and the secret to the color is their special alloy, which will never lose its color! :)

[kingel]

Actually, Rolex touts their white gold as not being rhodium plated and never turning... My Ad let me read the Rolex training manual that is given to AD's a while back, and in there was an extensive section on Rolex having a unique alloy to their white gold that makes it more pure and doesn't turn. It specifically says unlike other watch companies, Rolex does not have to rhodium plate their gold. They use Platinum and other more expensive alloys vs. silver and other that most white gold is made with...

I believe they do the same thing with the rose gold and it's talked about on their website.. My Ad told me that's one of the reason's white and rose are priced a little higher

[worktolivelife]

Rolex solid white gold watches are made from a gold alloy mix 75% gold 25% mix of palladium / silver /copper combination no plating whatsoever it will remain the colour/hue the same the date you bought it brand new. wear or polishing will not effect it its a solid alloy

[Jocke]

Yes it will be yellow, here is one of my bezel's.



Jocke

[2th Dr]

Hey Jocke, would that be your "banger"?

[Jocke]

Originally Posted by 2th DR

Hey Jocke, would that be your "banger"?

That is my beater.

Jocke

[rajurama]

Originally Posted by Jocke

Yes it will be yellow, here is one of my bezel's.



Jocke

Yes as i mentioned earlier fluted bezels were rhodium plated. But i suppose the the newer models would not turn yellow for sure.

[GeoGio Greece]

Originally Posted by Jocke

Yes it will be yellow, here is one of my bezel's.




Jocke

Oh Lord ! I have seen EXACTLY the same colour back in 1987 in a WG DayDate my uncle had. Thank you Jocke for posting.

On the other hand, my wifes' bezel is still shinny but also unworn and is cleaned every month by me !!

[Jocke]

Originally Posted by GeoGio Greece

On the other hand, my wifes' bezel is still shinny but also unworn and is cleaned every month by me !!

Are you sure you don't mean belly?



Jocke

[GeoGio Greece]

Originally Posted by Jocke

Are you sure you don't mean belly?



Jocke

The belly and the surounding area I clean regularly so the friends will not complaint ( I think they will ban me !)

The watch I do every month or so !!

Did you see my plans for the blue vintage ? Do you like it ?

[GeoGio Greece]

Am I still allowed ?

[Andad]

Hey Jocke,

Is that brass showing through on your beater?

[Dalton]

Rolesor is white and should never turn yellow. If it does then it's not Rolesor. Rolesor is Rolex WG, which differs from everyone else. No Rhodium plating needed.

[WatchSmith]

I have also been in the jewelry industry for nearly 30 years and IMHO rhodium plating a white gold Rolex would be a huge mistake. But I would advise getting an opinion from the folks at Rolex.

[rijowysock]

but over time.. all gold variations will turn yellow... as the bonds with the other elements break up and the true gold shows thru.. everose they say was stabilized with platinum and therefore the copper bonds cannot be broken by chlorine as they usually are in rose gold.. but maybe not by chlorine but i bet over long enough time it will yellow.. good thing is only the outermost layer yellows and once polished you bring out a new layer that has not seen the chemical in question that broke the bonds..

rolex's white gold might be stabilized with platinum as well, but regardless of what they say.. over enough time it will yellow... just takes time and certain elements that will break down the bond.. nothing in life is 'permanent"

other brands that dont have the "magical" combination of metals rolex foundry uses will yellow quicker.. but again a polish will alleviate this.. personally i love when white gold yellows and when rose gold yellows... and some rose golds actually darken depending on what they have been mixed with... it gives it character

as far as "rhodium" plating.. that was done to make sure the gold wouldnt yellow because they had not yet perfected a good enough mixture to make it deter yellowing... most watches are not rhodium plated now because they have come up with better mixtures that deter it better, but of course none are permanent......

rhodium plating sucked anyways because it inhibited refinishing.. which to me is 1000x more important than yellowing.


as far as rolex's gold watches being more expensive.. i guess they could be given they go thru more trouble to hinder yellowing.. but rolex also i think is the only watch company with their own foundry for precious metals... so this would cause a great deal of savings... gold watches are more because of the metal, because of the tooling needed (bits get gunked up quicker than steel).. most lower end watch companies such as rolex charge a huge premium for precious metal watches because they can, theirs really no justification for it on metal costs and tooling alone given the amount of pieces they make... most expensive watch companies openly say "we are in the business of selling fine movements and not cases.. the cases are only there to house our movements" and for that reason their gold models are only a tiny bit more to cover the metal and tooling needs... white gold being more than rose always because of the process to whiten is harder than the process to make gold rosey.

gotta always do your own research because if you believe all the hype some brands throw at you you'll never know what is correct.

ill put 5 million dollars down on everose yellowing over time and rolex white also yellowing over time... just depends on how much time... nothing is permanent unless its an element... even then it can decay/age... but will remain pure...

white gold, rose gold, blue gold, black gold, purple gold, green gold, pink gold, kings gold, etc... are all mixtures with the base of gold.. which in time the gold will last longer and show thru.

[BigHat]

Originally Posted by rijowysock

white gold, rose gold, blue gold, black gold, purple gold, green gold, pink gold, kings gold, etc... are all mixtures with the base of gold.. which in time the gold will last longer and show thru.

So what is your estimate as to how long before Rolex WG begins to yellow? 5 years, 15 years, 100 years? Just curious. This is the first I have ever read that this happens.

[rijowysock]

Originally Posted by BigHat

So what is your estimate as to how long before Rolex WG begins to yellow? 5 years, 15 years, 100 years? Just curious. This is the first I have ever read that this happens.

all depends on use, but just for shits and giggles i would say that someone that daily wears their watch and does not remove for showering/swimming/other activities the watch would fade after maybe 5 years or so.. of course would all depend what they are exposed to...

they keep the combo very closely guarded and last ive read they just say their rose is copper/gold and a little platinum and ive never seen what they say the white is but im guessing other elements used as well.. so one just has to figure out what will break the bonds of the elements not noted..... and if a watch is daily worn without the wearer removing everytime he does anything im sure they would eventually come across the element needed to break the bonds and therefore cause the exterior to "fade" yellow.. of course with a simple 2 minute polish/brush the outermost layer that faded would/coule be removed so its nothing to worry about but saying a colored gold is fade PROOF is just like saying a watch is waterPROOF which is impossible... there is always an extent... which is why the proper term is resistant.

[Dalton]

Originally Posted by Dalton

Rolesor is white and should never turn yellow. If it does then it's not Rolesor. Rolesor is Rolex WG, which differs from everyone else. No Rhodium plating needed.

I retract my Rolesor comment. What am I? High?

[Cato]

Originally Posted by rijowysock

all depends on use, but just for shits and giggles i would say that someone that daily wears their watch and does not remove for showering/swimming/other activities the watch would fade after maybe 5 years or so.. of course would all depend what they are exposed to...

I never heard of WG yellowing until now. I have been wearing a WG wedding band for 5 years now and will be looking for the yellowing. Wow, my grail watch was a WG DD; that may change.

[Dalton]

Originally Posted by Cato

I never heard of WG yellowing until now. I have been wearing a WG wedding band for 5 years now and will be looking for the yellowing. Wow, my grail watch was a WG DD; that may change.

Rolex WG does not Yellow. You shouldn't have a problem Cato, it will tarnish and darken a bit within time but it wont yellow

[toph]

rolex WG is an alloy that will never turn yellow.
Some WG is yellow gold that is rhodium plated which will turn yellowish over time BUT not rolex WG

[zeppelin55]

Originally Posted by rijowysock

but over time.. all gold variations will turn yellow... as the bonds with the other elements break up and the true gold shows thru.. everose they say was stabilized with platinum and therefore the copper bonds cannot be broken by chlorine as they usually are in rose gold.. but maybe not by chlorine but i bet over long enough time it will yellow.. good thing is only the outermost layer yellows and once polished you bring out a new layer that has not seen the chemical in question that broke the bonds..

rolex's white gold might be stabilized with platinum as well, but regardless of what they say.. over enough time it will yellow... just takes time and certain elements that will break down the bond.. nothing in life is 'permanent"

other brands that dont have the "magical" combination of metals rolex foundry uses will yellow quicker.. but again a polish will alleviate this.. personally i love when white gold yellows and when rose gold yellows... and some rose golds actually darken depending on what they have been mixed with... it gives it character

as far as "rhodium" plating.. that was done to make sure the gold wouldnt yellow because they had not yet perfected a good enough mixture to make it deter yellowing... most watches are not rhodium plated now because they have come up with better mixtures that deter it better, but of course none are permanent......

rhodium plating sucked anyways because it inhibited refinishing.. which to me is 1000x more important than yellowing.


as far as rolex's gold watches being more expensive.. i guess they could be given they go thru more trouble to hinder yellowing.. but rolex also i think is the only watch company with their own foundry for precious metals... so this would cause a great deal of savings... gold watches are more because of the metal, because of the tooling needed (bits get gunked up quicker than steel).. most lower end watch companies such as rolex charge a huge premium for precious metal watches because they can, theirs really no justification for it on metal costs and tooling alone given the amount of pieces they make... most expensive watch companies openly say "we are in the business of selling fine movements and not cases.. the cases are only there to house our movements" and for that reason their gold models are only a tiny bit more to cover the metal and tooling needs... white gold being more than rose always because of the process to whiten is harder than the process to make gold rosey.

gotta always do your own research because if you believe all the hype some brands throw at you you'll never know what is correct.

ill put 5 million dollars down on everose yellowing over time and rolex white also yellowing over time... just depends on how much time... nothing is permanent unless its an element... even then it can decay/age... but will remain pure...

white gold, rose gold, blue gold, black gold, purple gold, green gold, pink gold, kings gold, etc... are all mixtures with the base of gold.. which in time the gold will last longer and show thru.

I don't understand your comment, nothing is permanent unless it is an element. Elements undergo chemical changes and even fission/fusion as well as nuclear decay if radioactive.

Maybe I don't understand alloys very well. 18k gold is a mixture of several golds, depending on the the temperature it was formed, and pressure with which it was formed it will move towards a certain internal structure (Physical Chemistry is coming back to me). So when the temperature and pressure change back to room temperature, it will be moving back towards it's favored structure which may change the color of the structure.

Anyway, if that is the process that changes the metal to a different color, then it would change the middle piece as well. If Chlorine is a catalyst that speeds up the change which changes the color then that would make some sense.

I remember this, my guess is rose gold --> yellow gold is similar. The thermodynamic-ally favored structure of carbon is graphite at room temperature and sea level. So diamonds are thus constantly turning into graphite as you watch them. However it is happening so slowly that it will take until the end of the world to happen.

Anyway, I want to know the mechanism for how Rose Gold --> Yellow Gold. I'm guessing at this point it is a structural change, not an ox-redox change affecting the copper.

Please someone refresh my memory of alloy chemistry.

[Chpdesign]

Then I'll have a YG Daytona! Sweet!

[Erson]

Originally Posted by worktolivelife

Rolex solid white gold watches are made from a gold alloy mix 75% gold 25% mix of palladium / silver /copper combination no plating whatsoever it will remain the colour/hue the same the date you bought it brand new. wear or polishing will not effect it its a solid alloy

Are u sure?

[beshannon]

Originally Posted by Erson

Are u sure?

Rolex is.

Rolex exclusively uses 18 ct gold, a princely alloy composed of 750‰ (thousandths) of pure gold, plus exactly the right mixture of elements including silver and copper necessary to produce the different types of 18 ct gold: yellow, white and Everose, Rolex's exclusive pink gold alloy. Jealously-guarded formulas ensure exceptional durability, polishability – and an extraordinary sheen that lasts for generations.

https://www.rolex.com/about-rolex-wa...materials.html