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Old 27 June 2019, 08:56 PM   #1
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Gold is soft

Or is it? Look at the steel springbars, yet there is no sign of wear on the gold where it touches the springbars.

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Rolex uses rare elves to polish the platinum. They have a union deal and make like $90 per hour and get time and half on weekends.
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Old 27 June 2019, 09:36 PM   #2
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Bas, I’ve had this discussion so many times that I no longer reply. People believe gold is soft no matter what. They don’t understand that all metals can be heat treated, tempered, etc to achieve various levels of hardness and maliability. Have you been to the factory where they smelt and process gold?
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Old 27 June 2019, 10:26 PM   #3
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Bas, I’ve had this discussion so many times that I no longer reply. People believe gold is soft no matter what. They don’t understand that all metals can be heat treated, tempered, etc to achieve various levels of hardness and maliability. Have you been to the factory where they smelt and process gold?
I haven't been there myself, but I know a few who have.

Gold is a durable material and I wouldn't worry about daily wear at all, just keep it clean and it will last a lifetime, and then some
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Rolex uses rare elves to polish the platinum. They have a union deal and make like $90 per hour and get time and half on weekends.
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Old 27 June 2019, 09:42 PM   #4
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indeed. people do seem to think gold watches will disintegrate. not true. plus i am pretty sure rolex gold is fortified with vibrianium.
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Old 27 June 2019, 09:47 PM   #5
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indeed. people do seem to think gold watches will disintegrate. not true. plus i am pretty sure rolex gold is fortified with vibrianium.
And Rolex SS is fortified with unobtainium
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Old 27 June 2019, 10:26 PM   #6
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And Rolex SS is fortified with unobtainium
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Old 27 June 2019, 11:37 PM   #7
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And Rolex SS is fortified with unobtainium
Rolex SS IS unobtanium
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Old 28 June 2019, 09:17 AM   #8
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Gold is soft

Quote:
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And Rolex SS is fortified with unobtainium


No!!!

that aerospace alloy is reserved for 116500 Daytonas and ceramic Pepsi GMT’s


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Old 28 June 2019, 10:44 AM   #9
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Gold is soft.

Here is my dad's Day-Date, he wore it daily for 20yrs. I'm planning to put it on a leather strap since the bracelet is completely worn out from stretch. It has some dings and scratches:


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Old 28 June 2019, 11:01 AM   #10
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Gold is soft.

Here is my dad's Day-Date, he wore it daily for 20yrs. I'm planning to put it on a leather strap since the bracelet is completely worn out from stretch. It has some dings and scratches:


Not sure your age but likely Jack Nicklaus wore his gold DD longer than you've been on the planet.
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Old 4 August 2019, 08:23 PM   #11
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And Rolex SS is fortified with unobtainium


Hahah


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Old 27 June 2019, 10:47 PM   #12
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indeed. people do seem to think gold watches will disintegrate. not true. plus i am pretty sure rolex gold is fortified with vibrianium.


Haha nice. A fellow marvel fan I see. X2 on this though. My uncle’s PM Daytona has been his daily for years and he is pretty hard on it and it still looks amazing with crisp lines. Gold holds up well.


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Old 27 June 2019, 10:54 PM   #13
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Haha nice. A fellow marvel fan I see. X2 on this though. My uncle’s PM Daytona has been his daily for years and he is pretty hard on it and it still looks amazing with crisp lines. Gold holds up well.


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Old 27 June 2019, 11:57 PM   #14
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indeed. people do seem to think gold watches will disintegrate. not true. plus i am pretty sure rolex gold is fortified with vibrianium.


Yes Rolex is actually made in a unseen location in wakanda. X X


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Old 28 June 2019, 12:27 AM   #15
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indeed. people do seem to think gold watches will disintegrate. not true. plus i am pretty sure rolex gold is fortified with vibrianium.
Most here with these skewed opinions don't wear or have never owned a solid gold Rolex before. Ever. I should know and you and everyone else here knows. Solid gold watches hold up just as well as any other. Just take care of them, ie proper bracelet fitment, keeping it clean.
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Old 28 June 2019, 01:25 AM   #16
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Great to see but honestly not surprised.
Gold is in fact more durable than many believe it to be.
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Old 27 June 2019, 10:15 PM   #17
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I'm all ears if anyone can explain that. Repaired once before?
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Old 27 June 2019, 10:23 PM   #18
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Reassuring!
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Old 27 June 2019, 11:23 PM   #19
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This is also a reflection of the quality of the old springbar ‘steel’
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Old 27 June 2019, 11:24 PM   #20
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This is also a reflection of the quality of the old springbar ‘steel’
Very true
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Rolex uses rare elves to polish the platinum. They have a union deal and make like $90 per hour and get time and half on weekends.
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Old 27 June 2019, 11:45 PM   #21
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Bite into the gold on your Rolex. If it leaves an imprint of your teeth then it’s the real thing.
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Old 28 June 2019, 12:20 AM   #22
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Or is it? Look at the steel springbars, yet there is no sign of wear on the gold where it touches the springbars.

Wow!
I would never have guessed that!
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Old 28 June 2019, 01:28 AM   #23
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Wow that's very interesting. How many years of wear?
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Old 28 June 2019, 01:31 AM   #24
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One part has a uniform smooth surface. The other has crisp, well defined edges. Not surprised by the outcome.


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Old 28 June 2019, 02:18 AM   #25
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We know gold scratches by staring at it! I do think we can now agree that Rolex's gold is tough as nails though!
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Old 28 June 2019, 10:49 AM   #26
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Always appreciate your practical insights Bas
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Old 28 June 2019, 09:16 PM   #27
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As we’ve all seen, sandpaper is tougher than the wood or metal from which it removes material. The sand is removed from the paper but not vice versa.

Keep it clean and gold alloys do quite well.


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Old 1 July 2019, 11:13 AM   #28
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Or is it? Look at the steel springbars, yet there is no sign of wear on the gold where it touches the springbars.


Gold is softer than steel, yes.

Elgin used copper to lap jewels. Soft agents often pick up harder agents and grind/cut.
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Old 4 August 2019, 05:55 PM   #29
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I know this is an old thread but I am a new guy so all these are new to me. Gold is very soft and in fact it is one of the most malleable metal and can be pounded into a very thin sheet, much thinner than our tin foil in the kitchen.
The gold use in Rolex is 18K which is 75% gold contain as pure gold is 24K. By mixing in different metal with gold, we have gold alloys. This is how we have different colors of Gold Rolex. As far as I know, current Gold Rolex have Pink, Yellow and White colors.
Unless someone who owns Rolex Gold watchers is willing to perform hardness tests, we probably will never know what is the hardness of Rolex 18K Gold.
The only reason that I answer this thread is that everyone is talking about Gold but technically Rolex are not made with pure gold but only 75% gold (not counting some old Rolex that were made with 14K Gold).
18K Gold is much harder than 24K Gold.
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Old 4 August 2019, 07:35 PM   #30
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Some members have posted hardness comparison numbers here between 904L SS and 18K Gold.
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