The Rolex Forums   The Rolex Watch

ROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEX


Go Back   Rolex Forums - Rolex Watch Forum > Rolex & Tudor Watch Topics > Rolex General Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 3 June 2013, 11:59 PM   #1
iloveomegawatch
Member
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: US
Posts: 50
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.
iloveomegawatch is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 12:05 AM   #2
Daytona-Dan
Banned
 
Join Date: May 2013
Real Name: Dan
Location: UK
Watch: 116528
Posts: 1,049
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.
Daytona-Dan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 12:16 AM   #3
padi56
"TRF" Life Patron
 
padi56's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Real Name: Peter
Location: Llanfairpwllgwyng
Watch: ing you.
Posts: 52,110
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daytona-Dan View Post
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.
__________________

ICom Pro3

All posts are my own opinion and my opinion only.

"The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop. Now is the only time you actually own the time, Place no faith in time, for the clock may soon be still for ever."
Good Judgement comes from experience,experience comes from Bad Judgement,.Buy quality, cry once; buy cheap, cry again and again.

www.mc0yad.club

Second in command CEO and left handed watch winder
padi56 is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 12:32 AM   #4
Daytona-Dan
Banned
 
Join Date: May 2013
Real Name: Dan
Location: UK
Watch: 116528
Posts: 1,049
Quote:
Originally Posted by padi56 View Post
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.
Daytona-Dan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 12:33 AM   #5
anothernewphone
Banned
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Real Name: Bill
Location: Plymouth Meeting
Watch: 116520
Posts: 3,209
If it's a blue Sub, that's pretty easy.
anothernewphone is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 01:14 AM   #6
AAP8
"TRF" Member
 
AAP8's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Real Name: AP
Location: Cleveland, OH
Watch: SubC LN
Posts: 428
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.
AAP8 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 01:23 AM   #7
TimeOnMyHands
Banned
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Canada
Watch: 16570
Posts: 457
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.
TimeOnMyHands is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 01:33 AM   #8
CKL1213
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Malaysia
Posts: 367
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.
CKL1213 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 01:36 AM   #9
KeepTicking
"TRF" Member
 
KeepTicking's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Real Name: Brian
Location: NY
Watch: DJ2, BLNR, PO, Nav
Posts: 606
Appearance wise, all three of those white metals are indistinguishable just by looking at them.
KeepTicking is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 01:41 AM   #10
pfranze
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 15
The WG Daytona will have triangles instead of only stripes on the bezel. The platinum will have a (brown) ceramic bezel.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg rolex-cosmograph-daytona.jpg (65.0 KB, 1577 views)
pfranze is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 02:21 AM   #11
PerioBear
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Real Name: Alex
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 758
Quote:
Originally Posted by pfranze View Post
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.
PerioBear is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 02:46 AM   #12
Frosty
"TRF" Member
 
Frosty's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Real Name: Larry
Location: So Cal
Watch: Rolex GMT 1675
Posts: 5,084
Quote:
Originally Posted by PerioBear View Post
Thanks. I've never noticed that.
+1
Frosty is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 02:51 AM   #13
kilyung
2024 Pledge Member
 
kilyung's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Cave
Watch: Sundial
Posts: 33,848
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.
kilyung is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 02:55 AM   #14
CKL1213
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Malaysia
Posts: 367
Quote:
Originally Posted by bmendick1 View Post
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?
CKL1213 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 03:13 AM   #15
PerioBear
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Real Name: Alex
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 758
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?
PerioBear is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 03:16 AM   #16
kilyung
2024 Pledge Member
 
kilyung's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Cave
Watch: Sundial
Posts: 33,848
Quote:
Originally Posted by PerioBear View Post
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.
kilyung is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 03:24 AM   #17
JP Chestnut
Banned
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Ann Arbor MI
Watch: Rolex Ref 16600
Posts: 3,908
Quote:
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.
JP Chestnut is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 03:25 AM   #18
JP Chestnut
Banned
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Ann Arbor MI
Watch: Rolex Ref 16600
Posts: 3,908
Quote:
Originally Posted by kilyung View Post
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.
JP Chestnut is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 03:31 AM   #19
wesleyvs
"TRF" Member
 
wesleyvs's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: The Netherlands
Watch: Rolex,Panerai & PP
Posts: 256
Quote:
Originally Posted by padi56 View Post
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.
wesleyvs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 03:31 AM   #20
iloveomegawatch
Member
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: US
Posts: 50
Quote:
Originally Posted by kilyung View Post
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?
iloveomegawatch is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 03:34 AM   #21
kilyung
2024 Pledge Member
 
kilyung's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Cave
Watch: Sundial
Posts: 33,848
Quote:
Originally Posted by iloveomegawatch View Post
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.
kilyung is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 04:26 AM   #22
68camaro
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: USA!
Posts: 862
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.
68camaro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 04:32 AM   #23
kilyung
2024 Pledge Member
 
kilyung's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Cave
Watch: Sundial
Posts: 33,848
Quote:
Originally Posted by 68camaro View Post
AD told me the WG is covered with another material for protection...
Your AD is misinformed. Rolex watches aren't rhodium plated like WG jewelry.
kilyung is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 04:44 AM   #24
LightOnAHill
"TRF" Member
 
LightOnAHill's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Real Name: Bryan
Location: Pacific Northwest
Watch: YG DD lchdp
Posts: 2,962
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.
LightOnAHill is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 05:38 AM   #25
Evan614
"TRF" Member
 
Evan614's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Buckeye Nation
Watch: out 4 Panerai bug
Posts: 414
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
__________________
#1 Two-Tone Yachtmaster, Blue -Z series
#2 White Daytona SS - Z series
#3 PAM 88 M
Future dissolution of monetary funds will be for a Panerai 212
Evan614 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 06:06 AM   #26
zion_rasta
"TRF" Member
 
zion_rasta's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Planet Earth
Watch: GMT II ceramic
Posts: 1,589
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.
__________________
Sky Dweller WG 326139
GMT II 116710LN
Submariner 1680
Sold - Daytona 116523; YM 116622; Datejust 16233
zion_rasta is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 06:26 AM   #27
BGRINDEL
"TRF" Member
 
BGRINDEL's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Arizona
Posts: 452
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.
BGRINDEL is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 06:35 AM   #28
BGRINDEL
"TRF" Member
 
BGRINDEL's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Arizona
Posts: 452
Here's a pic of the different crowns:

Differentiates twin vs. trip lock; SS / yellow gold, white gold and platinum.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Rolex_Crown_type.jpg (55.2 KB, 1288 views)
BGRINDEL is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 06:40 AM   #29
landroverking
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Real Name: Jay
Location: TEXAS
Watch: Daytona
Posts: 7,648
WG just pops
landroverking is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4 June 2013, 06:56 AM   #30
Shikar
"TRF" Member
 
Shikar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Real Name: Azam
Location: Texas
Posts: 607
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.
Shikar is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Takuya Watches

Bobs Watches

My Watch LLC

OCWatches

DavidSW Watches

Coronet


*Banners Of The Month*
This space is provided to horological resources.





Copyright ©2004-2024, The Rolex Forums. All Rights Reserved.

ROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEX

Rolex is a registered trademark of ROLEX USA. The Rolex Forums is not affiliated with ROLEX USA in any way.