Hi Tim another great video. My preference is for titanium, it does scratch easily and some grades do look dull but its main benefit is that it is 30% lighter than stainless. My titanium Citizen diver is much easier to wear all day than all the S/Steel divers of any manufacturer especially if they have a S/steel bracelet. A titanium Grand Seiko is top of my Wishlist. Keep up the great work.
Patek Phillippe and Rolex are as far as I am aware, the only manufacturers who use homogenous white gold. That is to say it is un-plated. Some manufacturers of cheaper pieces plate gold with nickel while others of more expensive manufacture use rhodium. Part of the secret of PP and Rolex's white gold is that it is made with silver and other materials kept secret by Rolex and PP so the metal is "white" throughout. The Rolex 'Everose' rose gold is blended with copper for colour and the use of platinum combines at the molecular level to prevent oxidisation of the copper resulting in the alloy fading to yellow over time. Rhodium is used a lot in watch movements to prevent oxidisation and pitting, it has the aesthetic dividend of making a movement more attractive as is the case with the Omega Speedmaster's 1863 movement.
Hi Tim, you have also the platinum that is used for higher level than gold, it is not more expensive as raw metal but it is harder to work because it is very dense. And the most hard to work is tantalum not very expensive again but so hard to work that it is quite rare in the watch industry, it give a beautiful blueish colour and very resistant to scratches.
@@CasebackWatches watchmaking machines and tools wear out too quickly with harder materials, as they are often made of tantalum. platinum is also difficult to machine, e.g. polish, because it behaves (deforms) differently from steel or gold when exposed to heat.
Really interesting video Tim, thank you! How about doing a whole video on plating types - Rolled vs Filled vs Plated gold, PVD, DLC etc Maybe a bit geeky, but I would find it interesting.
As always Tim outstanding video man it has been such an unexpected treat finding your content via Archie luxury a channel I never watched but just did that one time
Thanks, great video Tim! If you want to further expand on the topic, you could also mention more exotic materials like Tantalum, Sapphire etc. or coatings like DLC. Also interesting would be to compare corrosion resistance eg for dive watches.
Titanium is rather prone to scratches not resistant (3:38) and because it's rather dull and grey I agree it doesn't do well as a dress piece. Although ~TRUE LIBERTY pointed out that Grand Seiko does great job with theirs thanks to it being grade 5 (titanium alloy) and their amazing polishing skills. What You associate with bronze I do with titanium ;-) Rrussians used a gold plating grade system how many microns of gold there was. The best was I think AU25 (or simply AU) and it could go down to AU5. And since we are in the sphere of plating you could raise the point of watch coatings? I know it's a bit of a stretch from this video topic so maybe next time.
Excellent information in here Tim, thanks 👍 I understand that Rolex oystersteel is just 916 stainless, but I can't find confirmation of that Bronze and brass were used for there availability, workability, anti-magnetic qualities, durability and corrosion resistance when compared to other alternatives to precious metals and before the development of modern stainless steels ... Or so I understand - maybe others can clarify?
This video is useful to watch. What about the Tantalum? Some very few watch cases are made of it. The Ta hardness in vickers seems to be in a range from 870 to 1200MPa.
Forgot Platinum. Also would like more information on various Stainless alloys used. I think the Rolex is 904? And perhaps Ball is also starting to use this, which may be a sign of other Swiss getting on board. I guess 904 is very hard to machine, special tools needed, but holds a finish really well?
Nice video. I would like to point out three things that you missed. Rolex steel is much softer than regular steel it's much closer to gold and easy to scratch. It's much more resistant to rusting though. Titanium is softer than steel when looking at it as a watch material. They measure the hardness compared to weight. So a 1kg bar of titanium could be much thicker and there for stronger than a steel one. Titanium scratches easily but doesn't react to our skin. So on a watch it's a little softer but a lot lighter than the steel. Plating quality is not easy to see and it's much more important on how it's done than how thick it is. Thickness is measured in microns. Typically straps are plated to 5mic and cases to 10mic. Good quality plating will wear off about 1mic per year. If you breathe on a cold window then the fog on the glass is around 5mic thick.
@@CasebackWatches 100% sure. 906L steel is a lot softer than 316 steel. Rolex had to change its milling tools because its harder to work with softer metal. However, it can be polished to a higher whiter and deeper shine. It is better against corrosion too so when your watch is 50 years old it will also look better. Before about 2010 all their bracelets were still made from 316 even though they made their cases in 906. I believe they moved over to 906 cases in the late 1990s. I'm guessing that maybe the 906 was too soft to be used as hollow center links. A good example to look at is the Explorer 1. The 14270 was made from 316. The 114270 from 1999 was 906 case and 316 bracelet 214270 from 2010 all 906 and solid links. A quick search on why my rolex scratches more than my other steel watches or my Rolex is a scratch magnet will give you all the information.
That Omega is gold capped, not filled. The difference between gold plated and gold filled is merely the difference in thickness. It is still plated. Capped is the process you describe.
You didn't mention nickel, which is the real villain where allergic reactions are concerned. Nickel is often used as a plating material, because it's rust-resistant and very pretty, but not on watches or jewelry because so many people have reactions to it. It IS used in stainless steel alloys, but the EU has regulations about the amount of nickel that can be present. Other countries, like China, do not.
I've had once a Lange 1 in platinum for a few days. It looked pretty similar to steal but was extremely heavy. The price is of course very high. I remember the clasp only was about 4k.
Tim, "replate" does seem to be correct English. It sounds really odd, but it's not something most people talk about or hear about for years at a time - and, yes, I am English! Interesting vid. Thank you!
M R It’s funny. We would say “rechromed” for a chrome car bumper, but usually “replated” for watches and jewellery. Probably sounds odd because hardly anyone goes to the bother of doing it.
What about Platinum? Seems common for high end watches and is popular but slightly more expensive alternative to white gold that doesnt have to be plated. I believe its stronger than gold as well but not sure
Platinum is harder than gold at the same percentage of pure metal. So for example platinum jewellery is commonly 95%. If your gold ring was also that %, day 23K, it would be softer. Also platinum does not normally allow its metal to be shaved off, or scratched off in collisions. It’s metal just moves. So you get bumps and ridges.
I find the watch guy aversion to titanium a little silly. In the EDC/everyday carry world _everything_ is made from titanium and it is a prized material and stainless steel is considered a cheap, budget and unimpressive material.
I have a Tungsten carbide wedding ring. It cost me twenty bucks. I've only been wearing five years, but it doesn't have a scratch, or mark on it. I look at other peoples wedding rings, and they look like rags, and that includes the Titanium ones. Does Tungsten carbide look bad? Heck no, the thing is bright and shiny as the day I bought it. Nice tye.
nitpicking: Neusilber / german silver täts noch geben, bei Lange sehr beliebt. Cu/Ni/Zk. Hab keine Ahnung über den Vickers Wert :) cooles Video, hab Spaß.
To late!! Some years ago i bought on ebay 9ct gold watches (3) but i bought them for the design,not for the gold.I normally favour 316l corrosion resitant steel and even chrome plating if the design is only available that way.
There are different grades of titanium. If you look at the Grand Seiko SBGA211 or Omega Seamaster 300 Master Co-Axial in titanium, I think you will find the case and bracelet to be quite beautiful.
Wow Tim! Alot of things I didn’t know in this video, thank you for this.
Thank you for unraveling a constant quandary unknowing and uncertainty. Much appreciated.
That's one terrific suit. It would go great with a 1920's-style Fedora or Bowler hat. Do it!
Good job choosing a subject to talk about that most of us can benefit from. Learned some interesting facts. Thanks. Mark 👍
Hi Tim another great video. My preference is for titanium, it does scratch easily and some grades do look dull but its main benefit is that it is 30% lighter than stainless. My titanium Citizen diver is much easier to wear all day than all the S/Steel divers of any manufacturer especially if they have a S/steel bracelet. A titanium Grand Seiko is top of my Wishlist. Keep up the great work.
Outstanding video! I have a vintage Cuervo Y Sobrinos Delbana, gold plate, that need to be re-plated. This was very informative.
Awesome quick review of various watch materials!
Patek Phillippe and Rolex are as far as I am aware, the only manufacturers who use homogenous white gold. That is to say it is un-plated. Some manufacturers of cheaper pieces plate gold with nickel while others of more expensive manufacture use rhodium. Part of the secret of PP and Rolex's white gold is that it is made with silver and other materials kept secret by Rolex and PP so the metal is "white" throughout. The Rolex 'Everose' rose gold is blended with copper for colour and the use of platinum combines at the molecular level to prevent oxidisation of the copper resulting in the alloy fading to yellow over time. Rhodium is used a lot in watch movements to prevent oxidisation and pitting, it has the aesthetic dividend of making a movement more attractive as is the case with the Omega Speedmaster's 1863 movement.
Very informative, thank you.
Hi Tim, you have also the platinum that is used for higher level than gold, it is not more expensive as raw metal but it is harder to work because it is very dense. And the most hard to work is tantalum not very expensive again but so hard to work that it is quite rare in the watch industry, it give a beautiful blueish colour and very resistant to scratches.
Yes, you're right. I completely forgot Platinum.
@@CasebackWatches watchmaking machines and tools wear out too quickly with harder materials, as they are often made of tantalum.
platinum is also difficult to machine, e.g. polish, because it behaves (deforms) differently from steel or gold when exposed to heat.
This a very interesting and informative video. Thank you Tim :)
Really interesting video Tim, thank you! How about doing a whole video on plating types - Rolled vs Filled vs Plated gold, PVD, DLC etc Maybe a bit geeky, but I would find it interesting.
Love the banana watch! Very jazz :)
Hi Tim, you are very entertaining and you provided some great information in this video.
Hi Tim. Bronze is actually harder than copper (CUSN8) as used in watches is anywhere from 170-220 on the Vickers scale
Interesting topic. I would like to learn more about the different steel used, and why aluminum is rarely used
Very well done Tim!
First time on your channel. I really enjoyed your presentation and I learned something. Thank you!
Thank you for watching, Milton.
Knowledge, opinion and entertainment . Good vid.
As always Tim outstanding video man it has been such an unexpected treat finding your content via Archie luxury a channel I never watched but just did that one time
Thank you very much, Jarod.
Thanks, great video Tim! If you want to further expand on the topic, you could also mention more exotic materials like Tantalum, Sapphire etc. or coatings like DLC. Also interesting would be to compare corrosion resistance eg for dive watches.
Great discussion points 👍👍
INOXIDABLE!! bravo Tim:) great video!
One metal I didn't see you mention is German Silver. Metal of choice for movements by the German watch industry.
Titanium is rather prone to scratches not resistant (3:38) and because it's rather dull and grey I agree it doesn't do well as a dress piece. Although ~TRUE LIBERTY pointed out that Grand Seiko does great job with theirs thanks to it being grade 5 (titanium alloy) and their amazing polishing skills. What You associate with bronze I do with titanium ;-)
Rrussians used a gold plating grade system how many microns of gold there was. The best was I think AU25 (or simply AU) and it could go down to AU5.
And since we are in the sphere of plating you could raise the point of watch coatings? I know it's a bit of a stretch from this video topic so maybe next time.
Excellent information in here Tim, thanks 👍
I understand that Rolex oystersteel is just 916 stainless, but I can't find confirmation of that
Bronze and brass were used for there availability, workability, anti-magnetic qualities, durability and corrosion resistance when compared to other alternatives to precious metals and before the development of modern stainless steels
... Or so I understand - maybe others can clarify?
I was waiting for a heavy metal guitar riff. ; )
Agree mostly on the titanium, although I love the pelagos in titanium
Howard Lau The Seamaster Planet Ocean GMT is also nice . It’s grade 5 Titanium which can be polished up more an almost looks like stainless steel.
This video is useful to watch. What about the Tantalum? Some very few watch cases are made of it. The Ta hardness in vickers seems to be in a range from 870 to 1200MPa.
Forgot Platinum. Also would like more information on various Stainless alloys used. I think the Rolex is 904? And perhaps Ball is also starting to use this, which may be a sign of other Swiss getting on board. I guess 904 is very hard to machine, special tools needed, but holds a finish really well?
Fascinating, top class vid.
Nice video. I would like to point out three things that you missed.
Rolex steel is much softer than regular steel it's much closer to gold and easy to scratch. It's much more resistant to rusting though.
Titanium is softer than steel when looking at it as a watch material. They measure the hardness compared to weight. So a 1kg bar of titanium could be much thicker and there for stronger than a steel one. Titanium scratches easily but doesn't react to our skin. So on a watch it's a little softer but a lot lighter than the steel.
Plating quality is not easy to see and it's much more important on how it's done than how thick it is. Thickness is measured in microns. Typically straps are plated to 5mic and cases to 10mic. Good quality plating will wear off about 1mic per year. If you breathe on a cold window then the fog on the glass is around 5mic thick.
Stephen, are you sure about the Rolex steel? I only found information that says it's much harder then ordinary steel.
@@CasebackWatches 100% sure. 906L steel is a lot softer than 316 steel. Rolex had to change its milling tools because its harder to work with softer metal. However, it can be polished to a higher whiter and deeper shine. It is better against corrosion too so when your watch is 50 years old it will also look better.
Before about 2010 all their bracelets were still made from 316 even though they made their cases in 906. I believe they moved over to 906 cases in the late 1990s. I'm guessing that maybe the 906 was too soft to be used as hollow center links.
A good example to look at is the Explorer 1. The 14270 was made from 316. The 114270 from 1999 was 906 case and 316 bracelet 214270 from 2010 all 906 and solid links.
A quick search on why my rolex scratches more than my other steel watches or my Rolex is a scratch magnet will give you all the information.
Great video
Maybe you could do a video on watches you like most!?
That Omega is gold capped, not filled. The difference between gold plated and gold filled is merely the difference in thickness. It is still plated. Capped is the process you describe.
I was hoping you would talk about tungsten, did I miss it? Was listening on the side.
No tungsten in the video, sorry. I wanted to speak only about the more common metals.
You didn't mention nickel, which is the real villain where allergic reactions are concerned. Nickel is often used as a plating material, because it's rust-resistant and very pretty, but not on watches or jewelry because so many people have reactions to it.
It IS used in stainless steel alloys, but the EU has regulations about the amount of nickel that can be present. Other countries, like China, do not.
Very informative ! Do you have any information on the use of platinum watches?
I've had once a Lange 1 in platinum for a few days. It looked pretty similar to steal but was extremely heavy. The price is of course very high. I remember the clasp only was about 4k.
@@CasebackWatches Wow ! That's incredibly expensive, I guess that's why I haven't seen a lot of information on them! Thanks Tim
Thanks for bringing Manowar back to my mind. Haha
Good point ion titanium. The titanium Zodiac Seawolf 53 looks like, er, plastic.,
Stainless steel can also show piting wich is points corrotion. Specially in the bracellets.
Tim, "replate" does seem to be correct English. It sounds really odd, but it's not something most people talk about or hear about for years at a time - and, yes, I am English!
Interesting vid. Thank you!
M R It’s funny. We would say “rechromed” for a chrome car bumper, but usually “replated” for watches and jewellery. Probably sounds odd because hardly anyone goes to the bother of doing it.
What about Platinum? Seems common for high end watches and is popular but slightly more expensive alternative to white gold that doesnt have to be plated. I believe its stronger than gold as well but not sure
I completely forgot Platinum. But i have a Platin piece incoming ;-)
I was surprised to find that platinum jewelry is usually plated with palladium, and often isn't a very high grade of platinum.
Platinum is harder than gold at the same percentage of pure metal. So for example platinum jewellery is commonly 95%. If your gold ring was also that %, day 23K, it would be softer. Also platinum does not normally allow its metal to be shaved off, or scratched off in collisions. It’s metal just moves. So you get bumps and ridges.
there is also difference between gold plating and gold PVD coating which should last longer and is more scratch resistant, although not so beautiful
I find the watch guy aversion to titanium a little silly. In the EDC/everyday carry world _everything_ is made from titanium and it is a prized material and stainless steel is considered a cheap, budget and unimpressive material.
I have a Tungsten carbide wedding ring. It cost me twenty bucks. I've only been wearing five years, but it doesn't have a scratch, or mark on it. I look at other peoples wedding rings, and they look like rags, and that includes the Titanium ones. Does Tungsten carbide look bad? Heck no, the thing is bright and shiny as the day I bought it. Nice tye.
nitpicking: Neusilber / german silver täts noch geben, bei Lange sehr beliebt. Cu/Ni/Zk. Hab keine Ahnung über den Vickers Wert :) cooles Video, hab Spaß.
Gut beobachtet! Neusilber wird eine Rolle im nächsten Video spielen ...
Tim, very interesting thank you. Might you know the relative hardness of platinum? Just curious as I looked at a picture of a platinum Daytona.
I completely forgot Platinum in the video. In fact its harder than steel. About 270 on the vickers scale but it depends. Every alloy is different.
Caseback Watches thank you Tim 👍🏼
Heavy elements, up to Iron ( Fe 26 ) are formed at the cores of population 1 stars !
Stainless steel does corrode, anyone who has had a stainless steel exhaust on their car will attest to that.
You don’t find Grand Seiko titanium beautiful?
Not my cup of tea.
coffin? next to you?
Wooden guitar case. Contains papers now 😏
Can you remove the blue skull, it is freaky, Reminds us of death, Put a small clock instead,,,,,,,,,thx
That is a traditional skull from Mexico and he's there more party decoration then mortal reminder.
I am confused if I eat 24 carrots will I poop out a bar of gold?
Correct. Orange gold.
Yes, you can authenticate it with the cereal number.
If you eat 2400, you'll poop out a diamond!
To late!! Some years ago i bought on ebay 9ct gold watches (3) but i bought them for the design,not for the gold.I normally favour 316l corrosion resitant steel and even chrome plating if the design is only available that way.
Phist me dead....I have my eye on a white-gold Day-Date-40....
Go for it!
My favorite metal is Metallica.
It is called stainless because it stains less..get it? So obvious 😂
There are different grades of titanium. If you look at the Grand Seiko SBGA211 or Omega Seamaster 300 Master Co-Axial in titanium, I think you will find the case and bracelet to be quite beautiful.
I don't get what carrots have do to with gold...
assume it was a joke carats = carrots
No, i simply forgot during filming, that there is no plural. But at least people can laugh about 24 carrots = pure gold.