Gold vs. Platinum

[sparky]

I know platinum has a history of being higher priced than gold, but the price of gold being double that of platinum, should the daydate be 50% higher in platinum than gold?

[Nanasaka90]

I think the premium often paid for platinum jewelry over gold is commensurate with the difficulty in working the metal (which also makes it more scarce).

Also, given that the cost of the metal to Rolex is a very small percentage of the watch’s MSRP, it is very unlikely that the price of gold or platinum will dictate the free market price of the watch; unless of course the value of the precious metal far exceeds the MSRP of the watch, making it more profitable to extract the metal from the watch than to sell it as is.


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[georgekart]

A)Price you're quoting is price per gram, platinum is denser, so while per same weight platinum might be cheaper, per volume it isn't as significant since it has more weight per same volume.
B)As mentioned, you are paying for work done to platinum as it is significantly harder to work on.
C)Price of metal never mattered for a watch. Gold Sub does not have enough gold to warrant premium it has over SS Sub. Yet it sells for that premium. Same for platinum. Does platinum watch actually have enough metal weight plus difficulty associated to platinum work to warrant its higher price? Probably not. Is it still valued as more expensive metal due to perception? Absolutely.

[Michael T]

Originally Posted by georgekart

A)Price you're quoting is price per gram, platinum is denser, so while per same weight platinum might be cheaper, per volume it isn't as significant since it has more weight per same volume.
B)As mentioned, you are paying for work done to platinum as it is significantly harder to work on.
C)Price of metal never mattered for a watch. Gold Sub does not have enough gold to warrant premium it has over SS Sub. Yet it sells for that premium. Same for platinum. Does platinum watch actually have enough metal weight plus difficulty associated to platinum work to warrant its higher price? Probably not. Is it still valued as more expensive metal due to perception? Absolutely.

Also, the Platinum is 950 or 95% Platinum versus 18K gold which is 75% gold.

[EtherBrown]

Originally Posted by Michael T

Also, the Platinum is 950 or 95% Platinum versus 18K gold which is 75% gold.

The more you know, the more you realize you don’t register what’s already in front of your face!

I was today years old when I learned that! Thanks!


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[georgekart]

Originally Posted by Michael T

Also, the Platinum is 950 or 95% Platinum versus 18K gold which is 75% gold.

And that's also a fair point. While I'll argue it still doesn't cover the premium you pay with platinum even with density and being more pure, it doesn't matter at the end of the day. I think out of all the points I made C is the most significant.

[fskywalker]

I like white PM metals, so either WG or PT for me


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[csaltphoto]

.950 platinum is about 35% heavier than 18K gold. Right now platinum is about half the price of gold. So the absolute value of the platinum in a PM Rolex is actually less than the value of the gold in the same watch. I think platinum is perceived as being more luxurious. It is certainly a better PM to use, being harder than gold alloys and very resistant to corrosion or any other chemical reactions. The upcharge for it makes no sense though. If the pricing were similar not sure if it would eat into the WG market. For some the additional weight is a feature and others a bug.

[acheronsgrief]

I eventually want a platinum watch but I really can’t get behind the price point of the platona - id rather get 2+ gold ones instead. I’m usually not one to have this issue but given the opportunity cost, it’s hard for me to justify. But a PT DD40 or especially a DD36 I can get behind.

[77T]

Originally Posted by sparky

...should the daydate be 50% higher in platinum than gold?

Definitely.

And there’s the rub. It has nothing to do with the spot price of the metal.



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[jimcarver]

Lets say a Gold Rolex was case was 100 grams (no idea how much is actually weighs but doesn't really matter). Platinum being 40% heavier than 18K gold would mean the case is 140grams.

Rolex platinum is 95% pure there for 133g of platinum used.
Rolex gold is 75% pure therefore 75g of gold used.

Don't get me wrong I still don't think the mark-up is worth it but it is what it is.

A gold Sub contains about $5k or so worth of gold yet it is probably $25k more expensive than a SS sub making the mark-up huge. No point even trying to put logic to it.

[Snake Plissken]

Kind of off topic: I have never examined a platinum watch in person. Is there an appreciable visual distinction between plat and SS?

For WG I think there is, but I understand platinum is more "white"

[kilyung]

For me the weight of the watch adds to the distinctiveness of the watch. A Pt DD is very different feeling than a YG DD.

[EtherBrown]

Originally Posted by Snake Plissken

Kind of off topic: I have never examined a platinum watch in person. Is there an appreciable visual distinction between plat and SS?

For WG I think there is, but I understand platinum is more "white"

Yup. The white you mention comes across as a brightness that almost sparkles.


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[csaltphoto]

Originally Posted by Snake Plissken

Kind of off topic: I have never examined a platinum watch in person. Is there an appreciable visual distinction between plat and SS?

For WG I think there is, but I understand platinum is more "white"

I think there is. WG doesn't do much for me but there is something about Platinum... Although I'm sure someone could formulate a SS that looks about the same. Yes, it is very "white" and there is both a softness and a sheen to the it.

[Calatrava r]

Platinum is the "noblest" of metals and watch companies rarely use it and when they do, they ask a huge up charge for it. Most any Patek watch is worth far more if its in platinum than if it was in gold. The rarity spikes the demand. Plus, platinum has a cold white color no other metal can match.

[SearChart]

Nothing comes close to platinum IMO, the weight and colour of this metal is insane.

I hate polishing it though

[77T]

Originally Posted by SearChart

Nothing comes close to platinum IMO, the weight and colour of this metal is insane.

I hate polishing it though

Agree - have had several gold DDs & Daytona models over the years.

My Platona trumped them all.

So much of the difficulty polishing it seems to be in the “hand feel” against the wheel while lapping. I’ve heard the brushed surfaces are harder to do well versus the highly polished surfaces.

Anything in that being true?


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[JSolution]

Originally Posted by SearChart

Nothing comes close to platinum IMO, the weight and colour of this metal is insane.

I hate polishing it though

why do you hate polishing it? be interested to know from first hand experience some of the techniques involved if you dont mind sharing

[SearChart]

Originally Posted by 77T

Agree - have had several gold DDs & Daytona models over the years.

My Platona trumped them all.

So much of the difficulty polishing it seems to be in the “hand feel” against the wheel while lapping. I’ve heard the brushed surfaces are harder to do well versus the highly polished surfaces.

Anything in that being true?


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"hand feel". My friend, it just takes a sh#t ton of force to get any sort of desired result. And yes, getting a good brushing is not easy.

[SearChart]

Originally Posted by JSolution

why do you hate polishing it? be interested to know from first hand experience some of the techniques involved if you dont mind sharing

Where gold loses scratches incredibly easily, steel also quite easy. For platinum you're spending 3 times the force and time and feel like literally nothing is happening. It's an odd material to work with.

[MILGAUSS88]

Gold just went up 66% in the last two years.
Should we be paying 66% more for a day date now?
Whoops it took a 5% dive, one day this week, I guess we should have seen that reflected in lower prices, that day.

[JSolution]

Originally Posted by SearChart

Where gold loses scratches incredibly easily, steel also quite easy. For platinum you're spending 3 times the force and time and feel like literally nothing is happening. It's an odd material to work with.

thanks, whilst we're on the subject and i have the attention of an expert , what would you say is the most amount of times you can polish a gold watch in its lifetime, before you start to "damage" it?

[SearChart]

Originally Posted by JSolution

thanks, whilst we're on the subject and i have the attention of an expert , what would you say is the most amount of times you can polish a gold watch in its lifetime, before you start to "damage" it?

If done properly and the watch doesn't get 'trashed' in between services I'd say 3-4 times.

[77T]

Originally Posted by SearChart

"hand feel". My friend, it just takes a sh#t ton of force to get any sort of desired result. And yes, getting a good brushing is not easy.

Thanks.

I think a lot of people don’t realize the Mohs scale of Platinum vs Gold and it’s alloys. So even 14K gold is softer than Pt.

Gold: 2.5-3
Silver: 2.5-3
Copper: 3
Nickel: 4

Platinum: 4-4.5


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[fsprow]

Not correct. The Mohs scale applies to pure metals. 18 karat (pure is 24K) gold is slightly harder than platinum which is normally sold as a 95% Pt alloy.

[77T]

Originally Posted by fsprow

Not correct. The Mohs scale applies to pure metals. 18 karat (pure is 24K) gold is slightly harder than platinum which is normally sold as a 95% Pt alloy.

Mohs is also used for alloys.



So I agree some gold alloys could be harder due to amount of Palladium


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[macrowatch]

Originally Posted by SearChart

If done properly and the watch doesn't get 'trashed' in between services I'd say 3-4 times.

What about same question but how many times for a platinum Daytona? Thanks!

[Tools]

Originally Posted by sparky

I know platinum has a history of being higher priced than gold, but the price of gold being double that of platinum, should the daydate be 50% higher in platinum than gold?

This seems to come up every couple of weeks.

Luxury products like jewelry are not sold by the ounce. What the product is made of is irrelevant, it is a market decision to determine price.

If Rolex made a watch out of wood, but they only made a dozen of them, the price would likely exceed that of platinum versions.

[CHRONOLEX]

Same reason platinum credit card higher status than gold, or platinum club status higher than gold level. World sees platinum as premium.