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Old 3 June 2013, 11:59 PM   #1
iloveomegawatch
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How to distinguish Platinum, White gold, Stainless Steel by naked eyes?

Some time I look at a luxury watch of my boss and cannot tell whether it is Plati, WG or SS
It is quite embarrassed to ask him, but do you have any tips or trick to know whether the watch make from Platinum, white gold or SS ? Because in my opinion it look all exactly the same.
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Old 4 June 2013, 12:05 AM   #2
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Know the watch and you will likely also know the metal. Rolex is careful to distinguish SS from WG but if you know what models are available, you can tell what it's made of.
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Old 4 June 2013, 12:16 AM   #3
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Know the watch and you will likely also know the metal. Rolex is careful to distinguish SS from WG but if you know what models are available, you can tell what it's made of.
Not always the case today especially with Rolex watches with many changing dials on the S.steel watches, to dials that are only available on the precious metal watches.
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Old 4 June 2013, 12:32 AM   #4
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Not always the case today especially with Rolex watches with many changing dials on the S.steel watches, to dials that are only available on the precious metal watches.
True, I forgot that people like to swap dials/bezels.
I guess it's a good starting point though.

To the naked eye, Rolex WG looks identical to SS, I guess the only way would be to hold it and feel the weight but even that is difficult unless you have something to compare it against.

If it was a lesser brand, the WG would show signs of yellowing as any Rhodium plating comes off but from what I can tell, Rolex WG is not plated and white all the way through.
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Old 5 June 2013, 03:11 AM   #5
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Appearance wise, all three of those white metals are indistinguishable just by looking at them.
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Originally Posted by TimeOnMyHands View Post
It appears that perhaps only the owners of the actual watch know for sure if it is white gold or platinum. To the casual observer or even a casual WIS - it remains an educated guess.
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Originally Posted by Daytona-Dan View Post

To the naked eye, Rolex WG looks identical to SS, I guess the only way would be to hold it and feel the weight but even that is difficult unless you have something to compare it against.
I'd have to disagree with ALL of you.


You need to take the time to learn/observe the differences.

Though I have spent little time examining WG, SS, and platinum watch, by having them side by side the and taking a moment to LEARN/OBSERVE/CONTRAST/COMPARE I can tell the difference without touching the watches.

Even NEW WG rolex models when held side by side to a SS version you will notice a gold/yellowish HUE to the metal that SS does not have
Comaring SS to platinum, you can certainly tell the platinum is WHITER/CLEARER more like a mirror than SS.
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Old 5 June 2013, 03:29 AM   #6
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I'd have to disagree with ALL of you.


You need to take the time to learn/observe the differences.

Though I have spent little time examining WG, SS, and platinum watch, by having them side by side the and taking a moment to LEARN/OBSERVE/CONTRAST/COMPARE I can tell the difference without touching the watches.

Even NEW WG rolex models when held side by side to a SS version you will notice a gold/yellowish HUE to the metal that SS does not have
Comaring SS to platinum, you can certainly tell the platinum is WHITER/CLEARER more like a mirror than SS.
Some don't let facts get in the way of talking about things they know nothing about.
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Old 4 June 2013, 03:31 AM   #7
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Not always the case today especially with Rolex watches with many changing dials on the S.steel watches, to dials that are only available on the precious metal watches.
Even with swapping dials etc its most likely to see that the metal is different is the color and weight.
The WG is sort of brownish/yellowish tint if you know how that looks like in person you can spot it easy. As for the WG Daytona the case and bezel is different and for the WG Sub the bezel and dial is blue but also the bracelet should be with polished center links but you always have that different color. As for Platinum... The color is much whiter and it shines more also the weight is very heavy and for a Platinum Daydate 2 the bezel is flat and For the Daytona a brown ceramic and most of the time Platinum models have ice blue dials. So there's always a way to tell.
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Old 4 June 2013, 12:33 AM   #8
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If it's a blue Sub, that's pretty easy.
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Old 4 June 2013, 01:14 AM   #9
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It would help to know which model it is, that should be easy enough to tell ... once you know that, it will simplify things a lot. For example, if its a sports model (Sub, GMT, Daytona) its probably not Platinum.
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Old 4 June 2013, 01:23 AM   #10
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It appears that perhaps only the owners of the actual watch know for sure if it is white gold or platinum. To the casual observer or even a casual WIS - it remains an educated guess.
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Old 4 June 2013, 01:33 AM   #11
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I think the OP question is to distinguish Platinum, WG and SS by optical differences.

Example: which one is shiner or more light reflecting and etc.
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Old 4 June 2013, 01:36 AM   #12
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Appearance wise, all three of those white metals are indistinguishable just by looking at them.
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Old 4 June 2013, 01:41 AM   #13
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The WG Daytona will have triangles instead of only stripes on the bezel. The platinum will have a (brown) ceramic bezel.
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Old 4 June 2013, 02:21 AM   #14
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The WG Daytona will have triangles instead of only stripes on the bezel. The platinum will have a (brown) ceramic bezel.
Thanks. I've never noticed that.
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Old 4 June 2013, 02:46 AM   #15
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Thanks. I've never noticed that.
+1
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Old 4 June 2013, 02:55 AM   #16
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Appearance wise, all three of those white metals are indistinguishable just by looking at them.
agreed.

coming back to the Daytona, we knew which one is WG and SS because we knew, whether from our own study, google or catalogue.

forget about the triangle thing, can we differentiate WG vs SS if the Daytona having same dial same marker same bezel?
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Old 4 June 2013, 03:13 AM   #17
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Is this "triangle markings" on the bezel thing a function of truly distinguishing the metals or more of a change in design over the years? Would a WG Daytona from years back possibly not have the triangle markings?
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Old 4 June 2013, 03:16 AM   #18
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Is this "triangle markings" on the bezel thing a function of truly distinguishing the metals or more of a change in design over the years? Would a WG Daytona from years back possibly not have the triangle markings?
Some yellow gold bezels did not have the triangles but all WG bezels have, IIRC.
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Old 4 June 2013, 02:51 AM   #19
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Owning watches in all three metals, I find WG is much easier to differentiate from SS/PT. There's always a slight yellowish tint to WG. There's no such thing as naturally occurring WG, it's just a mixture of alloys and YG.

Polished SS is virtually impossible to differentiate from polished PT but I find that brushed PT appears 'brighter' than brushed SS.
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Old 4 June 2013, 03:25 AM   #20
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Owning watches in all three metals, I find WG is much easier to differentiate from SS/PT. There's always a slight yellowish tint to WG. There's no such thing as naturally occurring WG, it's just a mixture of alloys and YG.

Polished SS is virtually impossible to differentiate from polished PT but I find that brushed PT appears 'brighter' than brushed SS.
I agree with you.
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Old 4 June 2013, 03:31 AM   #21
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Owning watches in all three metals, I find WG is much easier to differentiate from SS/PT. There's always a slight yellowish tint to WG. There's no such thing as naturally occurring WG, it's just a mixture of alloys and YG.

Polished SS is virtually impossible to differentiate from polished PT but I find that brushed PT appears 'brighter' than brushed SS.
But if there is nothing to compare next to this watch, can you tell the different? or just take a guess ?
For example if it was not a rolex but Patek or some other brands that you do not know much about?
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Old 4 June 2013, 03:34 AM   #22
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But if there is nothing to compare next to this watch, can you tell the different? or just take a guess ?
For example if it was not a rolex but Patek or some other brands that you do not know much about?
Yes, I believe I could tell the difference without a comparable next to it. But then again, I've been staring at precious metal watches for a long time and know most mainstream brands.
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Old 4 June 2013, 07:01 AM   #23
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Owning watches in all three metals, I find WG is much easier to differentiate from SS/PT. There's always a slight yellowish tint to WG.
Well, to my knowledge, the white gold is covered with platinum or palladium to sort the yellowish tint issue. So WG you have on your rolex should not look yellowish at all. but im not an expert.
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Old 4 June 2013, 07:08 AM   #24
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Well, to my knowledge, the white gold is covered with platinum or palladium to sort the yellowish tint issue. So WG you have on your rolex should not look yellowish at all.
Sorry but Rolex WG is not covered/plated with anything. WG is derived by mixing YG with white metals like platinum and/or palladium. You can alloy YG by 25% and blend out most of the yellow color of gold but not all of it.
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Old 4 June 2013, 07:16 AM   #25
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Sorry but Rolex WG is not covered/plated with anything. WG is derived by mixing YG with white metals like platinum and/or palladium. You can alloy YG by 25% and blend out most of the yellow color of gold but not all of it.
well, the fluted bezel on DJ II looks too "white" to me. are you sure its not covered?
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Old 4 June 2013, 07:17 AM   #26
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well, the fluted bezel on DJ II looks too "white" to me. are you sure its not covered?
The new ones are not rhodium plAted. Vintage ones are
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Old 4 June 2013, 07:32 AM   #27
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well, the fluted bezel on DJ II looks too "white" to me. are you sure its not covered?
Polished metals (like the fluted bezel) are much harder to discern any color variations like on brushed surfaces but it's there.
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Old 4 June 2013, 07:18 AM   #28
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Sorry but Rolex WG is not covered/plated with anything. WG is derived by mixing YG with white metals like platinum and/or palladium. You can alloy YG by 25% and blend out most of the yellow color of gold but not all of it.
What year did they change to their own alloy without plate metal?
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Old 11 June 2013, 08:17 PM   #29
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Owning watches in all three metals, I find WG is much easier to differentiate from SS/PT. There's always a slight yellowish tint to WG. There's no such thing as naturally occurring WG, it's just a mixture of alloys and YG.

Polished SS is virtually impossible to differentiate from polished PT but I find that brushed PT appears 'brighter' than brushed SS.

this - WG is slightly yellow, especially in certain lighting.
No such thing as white gold - all gold is yellow. Other colours are just alloys; mixed with other metals.
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Old 4 June 2013, 03:24 AM   #30
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Originally Posted by iloveomegawatch View Post
Some time I look at a luxury watch of my boss and cannot tell whether it is Plati, WG or SS
It is quite embarrassed to ask him, but do you have any tips or trick to know whether the watch make from Platinum, white gold or SS ? Because in my opinion it look all exactly the same.
White gold is actually fairly different looking than SS. It might be hard to tell looking at a picture in isolation, but next to a SS piece you wouldn't mistake it.
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