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3 June 2013, 11:59 PM | #1 |
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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. |
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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4 June 2013, 12:16 AM | #3 |
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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.
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4 June 2013, 12:32 AM | #4 | |
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Quote:
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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4 June 2013, 12:33 AM | #5 |
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If it's a blue Sub, that's pretty easy.
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4 June 2013, 01:14 AM | #6 |
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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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4 June 2013, 01:23 AM | #7 |
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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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4 June 2013, 01:33 AM | #8 |
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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. |
4 June 2013, 01:36 AM | #9 |
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Appearance wise, all three of those white metals are indistinguishable just by looking at them.
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4 June 2013, 01:41 AM | #10 |
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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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4 June 2013, 02:21 AM | #11 |
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4 June 2013, 02:46 AM | #12 |
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4 June 2013, 02:51 AM | #13 |
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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. |
4 June 2013, 02:55 AM | #14 | |
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Quote:
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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4 June 2013, 03:13 AM | #15 |
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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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4 June 2013, 03:16 AM | #16 |
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Some yellow gold bezels did not have the triangles but all WG bezels have, IIRC.
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4 June 2013, 03:24 AM | #17 | |
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Quote:
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4 June 2013, 03:25 AM | #18 | |
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Quote:
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4 June 2013, 03:31 AM | #19 | |
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Quote:
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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4 June 2013, 03:31 AM | #20 | |
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Quote:
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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4 June 2013, 03:34 AM | #21 |
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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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4 June 2013, 04:26 AM | #22 |
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I looked at upgrading my SS to WG but after seeing it in person I like looks of SS better. AD told me the WG is covered with another material for protection and to my eyes looked matted. Your mileage may vary.
I didn't compare with platinum. |
4 June 2013, 04:32 AM | #23 |
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4 June 2013, 04:44 AM | #24 |
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if you look close, you can see the difference in the metal if the three are sitting next to each other.
The plat looks a bit more white than the SS and WG. The WG has a bit more shine than the SS, and the SS has a crisp look on the brushed parts. Weight, though, is probably the best way to tell, besides model differences, such as the triangles instead of the lines on the daytona. |
4 June 2013, 05:38 AM | #25 |
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Since Daytona has already been discussed - I won't mention Daytona
(and outside the fact dials can be swapped) popular sport models: Yachtmaster: if it is ALL steel looking (dial and bezel) it probably is the Platinum model. Anything else is probably SS or YG. Submariner: If the bracelet looks like all steel and the dial and bezel is blue.. then it's white gold. All others will be SS or YG. (no Platinum) SD and DSSD: probably just SS. Any other models with all steel looking sport bracelets will be SS. ------------------ In short there are very few white gold and/or platinum sport watches. (outside of Daytona) Best advice is first identify which model and tell us what color the dial is (and bezel) this link has a good list of watch and descriptions and what they come in. http://www.bernardwatch.com/Rolex-Model-Overview
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4 June 2013, 06:06 AM | #26 |
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SS rocks!
One thing I do not like about gold is the softness of the metal. I save the precious metals for dressing up occasions. SS for every day use.
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4 June 2013, 06:26 AM | #27 |
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Easiest way to tell is by either checking the hallmark on the case / bracelet (gold and plat will be stamped), or by looking at the crown. The crown on gold / platinum is different than SS. SS has three small dots on the crown, vs small and large on gold vs platinum. There is a pic of the comparison somewhere.
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4 June 2013, 06:35 AM | #28 |
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Here's a pic of the different crowns:
Differentiates twin vs. trip lock; SS / yellow gold, white gold and platinum. |
4 June 2013, 06:40 AM | #29 |
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WG just pops
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4 June 2013, 06:56 AM | #30 |
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I bought the Smurf, cos i cant tell its WG....looks just like my SS Sub. That's what I love about it....almost more than the blue dial!
Regards. |
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