What Is A Gold Capped Watch?
Perhaps have you heard about something called a Gold Capped watch? It might be a watch that is both in stainless steel and gold, or perhaps a watch that is all gold, but with the text 18ct Gold Capped. Have you ever wondered what Gold Capped really means? We’ll cover the topic in this article.
Producing a watch in all 18-carat gold can be quite expensive, not only for the manufacturer but also for the purchasers. Because of this, there are several different solutions out on the market which involves gold mixed with another material, such as stainless steel, as an option for a solid gold watch.
By combining gold with steel, the price tag of the watch is cheaper. We can see two-tone watches from many manufacturers such as Rolex, Breitling, Omega, and even Tudor. Some of these watches, such as the Submariner from Rolex in two-tone are made from solid 18-carat gold, combined with stainless steel. Tudor on the other hand, which is associated with and commonly known as the daughter company of Rolex, uses a technique known as gold-capped, which is totally different from how Rolex manufactures their two-tone watches.
What Is Gold-Capped?
Just as the name suggests, a gold-gapped watch is a watch that is in a material other than gold, which is then capped with gold on top.
Tudor uses this technique to achieve the results of their two-tone watches, such as their Black Bay Chronograph, reference 79363N, seen in the picture above.
This means, that in Tudors’ case, the center link of the bracelet is made in stainless steel, and is then capped with 18-carat gold. This essentially means that the link is not solid gold, but gold-capped.
This technique gives the illusion of a solid gold two-tone watch, but in fact, is not.
The tricky part with gold-capped watches is that the gold can wear out after some time, depending on how thick the cap is.
Previously, such as during the 70s and 80s era, 0,1-0,2 micron were used on gold-capped watches, which made the gold layer very thin, which after some wear wore out quite easily.
What Is Important To Know When Purchasing A Gold-Capped Watch?
The important thing to know is that the gold-capped layer must be rather thick, in order not to wear out when wearing the watch. Choosing a watch that has a thicker layer of gold on top, will take years to wear out, meaning the gold-capped solution will not be affected, at all, for a very long time. What happens when, or rather if, the gold-capped layer wears out, is that you essentially will have to replace that specific part of the watch with a new one from the manufacturer, or have a goldsmith re-do the gold-capped area.
What Is The Difference Between Gold-Capped and Gold-Filled?
Gold capped is a method used where the gold more or less is a cover on top of something, in one solid piece, whereas gold filled is a process that is a thin layer which is on top of another material, such as stainless steel. Generally, a gold-capped watch is more durable, than a gold-filled watch.
Question!
What do you think about gold-capped watches, such as the Tudor Black Bay Chronograph 41mm reference 79363N?
I’ve also heard on The Rolex Gold links on the Jubilee bracelets from back in the 70’s 80’s and 90’s were not Solid Gold either. I read the Only Solid Gold part of the watch was the Fluted Bezel, is this true?
Hi,
It’s true that many older Rolex watches did not have solid gold links. When it comes to the Jubilee bracelet, the reason you have perhaps heard that they are not solid gold is that Rolex did not use solid links up until about the year 2000.
With that said, just because the links are not solid but rather hollow doesn’t mean that the gold itself is gold-capped. All Jubilee bracelets that Rolex has made have been in solid gold, albeit the links may be hollow rather than solid.
For two-tone watches, the crowns were made in solid gold much earlier than the 90s, just like the bezel.
Hope this answers your question!
Kind regards,
Millenary Watches