Why do you go for white gold?

[sunnygps]

I wanted a DD40 and was not sure if I could pull off a full YG or RG watch. The WG was it and I made the right choice. For the second one, I can see a RG in my future.

[huncho]

there's definitely a difference in color when you have them side by side. hard to tell if you're watch spotting though unless you know the config is only available in white gold

[Sub*Man]

Originally Posted by huncho

there's definitely a difference in color when you have them side by side. hard to tell if you're watch spotting though unless you know the config is only available in white gold

This should end the thread... perfect example here, cheers.

[Kinnakeet]

Because the particular watches we wanted come in WG. My husband liked the look of the WG Sub. For me a WG GS Snowflake. The heft, look and being under the radar are all appealing. WG has a nice glow about it.

[casadecamporolex]

Been a Rolex WIS for over 40 years and have many SS Professional references.
Never had a desire for PM until about 5 years ago, when I held the WG Submariner.
In those 5 years, I purchased BLNO Oyster, BLRO Jubilee and SS SkyDweller.
Yet, that blue/blue combination kept calling.
There are numerous reasons to love it. #1 is I earned it.
My retirement gift to myself.

[upsidedownbelt]

I am always shocked at how many people only think gold is worth it if others can tell it’s gold. Why don’t most people just wear SS wedding bands? Gold is a precious metal and cost much more than SS, that means something to the owner. Who cares about other people knowing it’s gold.

[StevePirates]

I admire WG on other people, it’s elegant and understated. A WG submariner in particular is a 9 to 9 watch - appropriate at work, at dinner, at the beach, and the boardroom.

[fskywalker]

Love white gold because of the warm color, the heft and the fact only a
WIS will be able to tell is not plain regular SS. Love platinum for the same reasons!




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Mystro]

Originally Posted by upsidedownbelt

I am always shocked at how many people only think gold is worth it if others can tell it’s gold. Why don’t most people just wear SS wedding bands? Gold is a precious metal and cost much more than SS, that means something to the owner. Who cares about other people knowing it’s gold.

That superficial viewpoint is also drawn to the brand Rolex. It is a good amount of their demographic. Its been that way now for 30 years.

[RollinMoses]

I like the weight, it has a noticeably different colour with a warmth to it and also feel on the skin (not better, just different).

Yellow gold does not suit my skin tone (my wife did not approve). I would like something in full rose gold, but I was not really taken by any of the available configurations just yet.

I wear my watches entirely for my own pleasure - it only matters that I know what I am wearing. In many cases I strongly prefer that no one around me knows what is on my wrist and how much it cost.

I can wear it everyday and everywhere without drawing any more attention than steel. In the case of the Daytona I think it is actually even less noticeable than the current ceramic bezel steel variants.

Have not had any more issues with scratches than any highly polished steel watch.

[upsidedownbelt]

Originally Posted by Mystro

That superficial viewpoint is also drawn to the brand Rolex. It is a good amount of their demographic. Its been that way now for 30 years.

I agree, but for me it goes deeper than that. Do this people also say why buy a diamond instead of a CZ, why not just buy fake everything? If they can get their head around paying for a Rolex, why can’t they get their head around paying for gold? Both are as good as cash.

[TheVTCGuy]

Originally Posted by Rollieo

So I’ve always been curious about this.

1. The weight of white gold is more than stainless. So does that make it feel better? Some people just like a heftier watch?

2. Is there actually a different look than stainless? I find it hard to tell the difference.

3. It’s a less hard material than stainless, and seems like it will scratch more easily. So seems like a negative.

4. Costs way more (obviously) than stainless.

So why do people go for white gold? Doesn’t seem like there’s any benefit compared to stainless?

These are actually very fair questions, my grail is a white-gold sub, I’ll try and list the reasons.

1. Yes, I prefer a heftier-watch, just can’t stand the light ones.

2. Probably, but I don’t find it substantial.

3. Yes, I believe it will show scratches more then stainless so to me anyway, this is a drawback

4. Oh yeah... WAY more then stainless, another drawback.

As to why I would choose a White Gold over a yellow or Rose, I am just not a (yellow) gold kind of person. They are absolutely beautiful timepieces, but I just prefer a more low-key watch.

I think something you may not have touched on, is the Pride Of Ownership factor. I am aging myself but back in the day, when you retired from a job after 25 years of dedicated service, the accepted trophy of your achievement was a solid-gold watch. White gold does not present itself as obvious as a Yellow or Rose Gold piece does, but YOU know that it is solid gold, and that’s the point. IMHO, it is representative of an accomplishment, or a celebration, whatever. WHEN I buy my white gold Sub or GMT, I will be wearing it with internal pride. Other people may not know it’s a solid gold watch, but I will.

[scrappy]

Originally Posted by zion_rasta

The only problem with wearing WG is that going back to steel is really hard. Steel feels cheap and light after you get used to the heft of gold.

That said, it took me a while to get use to the heft coming from SS.

WG has a different luster and tint to it that makes it more pleasing to the eye.

100% agree..... until you wear a platinum Daytona and then WG feels cheap and light

[Speedbird-1]

A lot of white gold jewellery is Rhodium plated and is often recommended to be re-plated periodically, to maintain the, 'whiteness'. (apparently the yellowness of the white Gold alloy, can show through after a few years of wear)

Does this apply to white Gold Rolexes?

[Max 66]

My opinion is that if SS Rolex would be available at MSRP and with the same dial offered in the various WG models (Daytona Blue and Silver Panda, or GMT Pepsi Meteorite, or Submariner Blue) nobody would spend 3+ times to get the WG.   

[Kinnakeet]

Originally Posted by Speedbird-1

A lot of white gold jewellery is Rhodium plated and is often recommended to be re-plated periodically, to maintain the, 'whiteness'. (apparently the yellowness of the white Gold alloy, can show through after a few years of wear)

Does this apply to white Gold Rolexes?

No.

[Kinnakeet]

Originally Posted by Max 66

My opinion is that if SS Rolex would be available at MSRP and with the same dial offered in the various WG models (Daytona Blue and Silver Panda, or GMT Pepsi Meteorite, or Submariner Blue) nobody would spend 3+ times to get the WG.   

I’m not so sure. Look at what some spend on a car.

[4 Aussies]

Originally Posted by Kinnakeet

I’m not so sure. Look at what some spend on a car.

Or a house!!!

[NeedMoreCoffee]

Originally Posted by Speedbird-1

A lot of white gold jewellery is Rhodium plated and is often recommended to be re-plated periodically, to maintain the, 'whiteness'. (apparently the yellowness of the white Gold alloy, can show through after a few years of wear)

Does this apply to white Gold Rolexes?

No, they don't use plating. Rolex uses a proprietary blend...I don't 100% recall but I believe it's either palladium or rhodium mixed with the 18ct gold.

[YoyoGift8]

Originally Posted by rajurama

To stay low key and its sort of an understated class.

This!

[Rollieo]

Originally Posted by szabo_martin

Gold is gold, steel is steel. Buy what you like and can afford. If you need others to justify it to you then stick to SS

Originally Posted by upsidedownbelt

I am always shocked at how many people only think gold is worth it if others can tell it’s gold. Why don’t most people just wear SS wedding bands? Gold is a precious metal and cost much more than SS, that means something to the owner. Who cares about other people knowing it’s gold.

Not trolling or anything. I enjoy all kinds of watches. There’s specific reasons for me on why I have a BLNR, a GS, a BB58, list goes on. I’m not looking for others to justify WG to me, I’m trying to understand why people enjoy WG watches since I don’t have one or understand it myself. Isn’t that the point of TRF - to share knowledge, opinions, etc.

Also I didn’t say it’s worthless unless others can tell it’s gold, just that it looks very similar to stainless steel. I understand why people get yellow gold, everose gold, etc because it looks very different. It’s like why someone rather have a black dial than white dial, it’s a preference in color choice and I get that. Fair to say that we watch fanatics pour over details on the different hues of blue, so makes sense that can spill over to material. Again personal choice - I’m a stickler on color hues as well, but usually that difference in color hue doesn’t come with a 3x cost difference.

So interesting points people have brought up - configuration seems like one of the biggest reasons, some people do like the heft, the low key but self appreciation, and the difference in luster.

[OceanMagic]

Originally Posted by Speedbird-1

A lot of white gold jewellery is Rhodium plated and is often recommended to be re-plated periodically, to maintain the, 'whiteness'. (apparently the yellowness of the white Gold alloy, can show through after a few years of wear)

Does this apply to white Gold Rolexes?

No. Never needs re-plate.

I like WG Rolex because it plays to a crowd of watch enthusiasts. I would also assume anything precious in the sports range gets a smaller production run in WG versus steel.

WG is something you buy for yourself. YG is something you buy to let other people know you made it. To each their own. Serious buyers of WG models are probably not too overly concerned with the value proposition versus steel appearances. Steel also trades at 100% premiums in some cases. Most WG closer to or below retail. It will be interesting to see how the WG OF models do over 25 years.

[OceanMagic]

Got this at the AD. Thought I was gonna sell it off but I am gonna keep it at least a while. Really enjoy it. Stealthy and nothing really quite like it. This is why I will never be a watch dealer; love the watches too much to get rid of them.

[peterskinner]

You choose white gold because you like white gold. I’ve had four and enjoyed them all. There is no other ‘why’; you just like them. It’s not about carrying out some task well.

[Handey0465]

Originally Posted by Bladeshot

1. Yep. I love the way it melts into your wrist. It just seems glued to your arm. I like the lightness of steel, and WG is a nice change.

2. It’s warmer looking. I can tell and that’s all that matters. WG is just for me. Less ostentatious (I have YG, but sometimes I want to wear less flashy pieces).

3. It’s hard enough. I’ve put some big dings in SS. WG is not like butter. It’s plenty durable.

4. Yep. Cost is a factor. Why do people buy a Tesla when a Prius will do the job?

Congratulations. I was reading through the thread just waiting for someone to use the “warm” terminology when referring to WG references.

I’ve read it before and still don’t get it. Is there a lack of visual descriptive adjectives?

[Bladeshot]

Originally Posted by Handey0465

Congratulations. I was reading through the thread just waiting for someone to use the “warm” terminology when referring to WG references.

I’ve read it before and still don’t get it. Is there a lack of visual descriptive adjectives?

here is a pic of a couple that have gone onto new homes. I had natural light (studio bulbs) and a gray card as background. Had hoped to allow people to balance their colors.... but I don’t think it was helpful.

Steel has a shinier look and a little more blue. WG has a yellow tint (barely) and that variation between a cold, blue steel and a perceived warmer hue in WG could explain it. It’s all really subjective and personal. We see colors differently. We have emotions tied into our beliefs. We see what we want to see - in most everything in life. That’s my 2 cents.

126710BLRO Mk2 on a Rolex 97200 bracelet on left. I liked the oyster bracelet and glidelock on mine.

116719BLRO on right.

[JodyHighroller]

Originally Posted by Handey0465

Congratulations. I was reading through the thread just waiting for someone to use the “warm” terminology when referring to WG references.

I’ve read it before and still don’t get it. Is there a lack of visual descriptive adjectives?

Look at post #32 and that photo will explain everything.

[HansSolo]

For me yellow or rose gold just doesn't look good with my skin tone, but steel, silver, white gold, or platinum is more me. If I wore a yellow gold watch I would look like McLovin trying to fit in..

[AR5150]

How about you buy what you want because you want it and because you can afford it.

[JSCP]

I have them all. There is nothing like the fell of gold weight. I bought a dd WG because olive dial and for looks, if it was a black or white dial could have looked a bit like steel. But DD doesn’t come in steel.

You buy wg if you like the watch. But I like all YG, WG, RG, and SS.