Seiko gold plating - how good is it ?

[koryong]

I'm a Seiko newbie and since my first vintage King Seiko purchase a couple of weeks ago, I've not stopped looking for the next one... a common "ailment" shared by most here, I'm sure

A manual wind KS or GS would be my next, thanks to seeing Adam's lovely 4502..

And then somewhere down the road, maybe a nice 18k gold KS but these are rare & relatively pricey. There are a lot more gold-plated or gold tone KS and GS out there but IMHO, worn down gold plating looks pretty horrible though some might say it adds "character" to the watch.

I'm wondering if anyone has had much experience with the durability of Seiko's gold-plating? Thanks in advance.

[Old Expat Beast]

Any vintage Grand Seiko or King Seiko that's not full gold will be gold capped, not gold plated. This means that the base metal will be covered by a relatively thick layer of gold, rather than just thinly plated. These seem to hold up quite well, though I have never owned one, as I prefer stainless steel. The case backs of these models will say "CG" (for Cap Gold) rather than "SS" or "Stainless Steel", and they tend to be priced slightly lower than the SS counterparts. Hope this helps

[cajunron]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Any vintage Grand Seiko or King Seiko that's not full gold will be gold capped, not gold plated. This means that the base metal will be covered by a relatively thick layer of gold, rather than just thinly plated. These seem to hold up quite well, though I have never owned one, as I prefer stainless steel. The case backs of these models will say "CG" (for Cap Gold) rather than "SS" or "Stainless Steel", and they tend to be priced slightly lower than the SS counterparts. Hope this helps

Correct me if I'm wrong, but gold capped is the same as gold filled, which has a substantially larger amount of gold than plated. I found this:https://www.halsteadbead.com/article...vs-gold-plated

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by cajunron

Correct me if I'm wrong, but gold capped is the same as gold filled, which has a substantially larger amount of gold than plated. I found this:https://www.halsteadbead.com/article...vs-gold-plated

Yes, gold capped and gold filled are the same thing.

[NicoD]

I have a cap gold Seiko Grand Quartz 4843-8040. The watch is from 1975, and the case is holding its own very well (way better than a PVD Hamilton that I had a couple of years ago).

As explained, gold capping means thicker layer of gold, which tends to hold the abuse of time (and wear) better than platting.








Fun fact: the watch is still within the original tolerance of +/-10s per year, 45 years later. That is impressive.


Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk

[koryong]

Thanks everyone, for your advice.

From what I've seen so far, there seems to be 2 types of gold-toned King Seikos - one is marked "Cap Gold" as Adam pointed out, and the other much more common version is "SGP" which I assume means Seiko Gold Plated.

Price differences between them are marginal, so I guess it makes more sense to go for the former.

Thanks again, guys.

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by koryong

Thanks everyone, for your advice.

From what I've seen so far, there seems to be 2 types of gold-toned King Seikos - one is marked "Cap Gold" as Adam pointed out, and the other much more common version is "SGP" which I assume means Seiko Gold Plated.

Price differences between them are marginal, so I guess it makes more sense to go for the former.

Thanks again, guys.

Yeah, sorry I'd forgotten there were a few models (mostly KS, a couple of early GS) that came in SGP (gold plate). They rarely look good by now, though, and if you like the gold look it's worth getting a Cap Gold model in good condition. Those sharper Taro Tanaka "Grammar of Design" cases usually look quite soft around the edges fifty years later, though, when done in anything other than stainless steel.