chris russell
11
Don't polish WG
May 07, 2014,07:38 AM
A few years ago I went into a watch shop dealing mostly with 'previously-loved' PP and Rolex, looking for a 5296 in RG. They happened to have one in WG. I looked at it and noticed the left side of the case was quite scratched up, as though the previous owner had stored it crown up at night and the table had grit on it. I told the saleswoman that this was a problem, it could not be polished out because Patek plates their WG watches with Rhodium to make them look white. WG is not white, it is gray. I would have to send it back to PP to get it completely refinished and re-plated. She said, 'Patek doesn't plate their watches, I'll just go into the back and put it on the polishing wheel.' I told her again that the watch was plated and she should NOT use the polishing wheel! She airily waved me off and sauntered to the back of the shop and returned about 2 minutes later with the watch showing an ugly streak of gray on the side of the case where she had polished right through the plating. Now it was going to cost them thousands to get the entire watch refinished. I was quite unhappy about it, I said I had tried to tell her not to do that. But she was now angry with ME and would not deal with me any more. Human nature is a strange thing.
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Don't polish WG
By: chris russell : May 7th, 2014-07:38
A few years ago I went into a watch shop dealing mostly with 'previously-loved' PP and Rolex, looking for a 5296 in RG. They happened to have one in WG. I looked at it and noticed the left side of the case was quite scratched up, as though the previous ow...
Ignorance is terrible.
By: Grisar : May 7th, 2014-17:06
Ignorance is terrible and unfortunately there are always those all around the world.
Polishing WG
By: Grisar : May 7th, 2014-17:10
Patek has almost stopped plating white gold except for a few lady's jewelry pieces. The older versions of white gold watches are plated, but the latest production is non-plated and thus can be plated. In the 5296 case, there are also newer versions (e.g. ...
Are you sure?
By: tom2517 : May 8th, 2014-02:47
I read somewhere that Patek stopped plating is a false rumour from some ADs. Someone went to ask Patek service centre and they said they still plate white gold. Anyone else got info. on this?
Yes, very sure :-)
By: Grisar : May 8th, 2014-04:22
In fact, more and more manufactures stop plating as the alloy they apply is different from the former one. You can easily contact Patek SA for validation.
Anyone ever had a satisfying polish like this by a jeweler?
By: Chopper88 : May 8th, 2014-01:27
I too have a disappointing experience albeit with an unplated watch. Mind you, this was the first new watch ever bought by me. The jeweler made a scratch on a brand new watch, when insisting to set the time for me upon pickup. He put the push pin into the...
Never polish if you
By: watch-er : May 8th, 2014-15:44
can. PP does a good job but even they tell you it will be evident where there are deep marks and they limit a piece to about 3 polishing's. Never let just anyone polish a PP watch as they always leave burns and abrasions and PP will not touch a case polis...
I also found out after I purchased...
By: Chopper88 : May 9th, 2014-05:35
Luckily it wasn't a Patek, but a small independent who's willing to work with clients to keep everyone very happy :-) I also found out why people say "Don't touch a polished used watch", which is exactly what you wrote. I think the only way to be sure (an...
Please cite your source that the 5296G is rhodium plated...
By: patrick_y : May 16th, 2014-14:48
The gray streak could be from a bad polishing job. Some facts. In general, most modern Patek Philippe men's watches without diamonds on the case are not Rhodium Plated. I have this information from Patek Philippe directly. The 5296G is not generally rhodi...
Does Patek also fill deep scratches?
By: Hiëronymus : May 17th, 2014-10:50
Polishing means taking away material. But does Patek als fill scratches if they are deep? Otherwise a deep scratch could never be repaired.
They can, but only upon request...
By: patrick_y : May 18th, 2014-10:52
The short answer is yes, they can. But it depends on a variety of factors. Also, it's not something that Patek Philippe offers readily. For instance, Lange happily advertises the fact that they are willing to add material to case scratches. However, even ...
You're welcome.
By: patrick_y : May 20th, 2014-09:52
It's ultimately a practice that they don't normally offer. And if they do, they don't publicize it as much as Lange does. They're certainly capable of doing it. They have the machines to do it at some locations.
my opinion also
By: watch-er : May 18th, 2014-08:35
PP has not plated their white gold watches for several years.
