Does Gold Plating a Luxury Watch Affect Its Value?
Customising a watch changes its value. Whether it raises or lowers it depends entirely on what the watch is.
See our luxury watch customisation service.
When customisation adds value
For most watches — and that is the great majority — a professionally applied precious-metal finish increases what the piece is worth to its owner and to a buyer. A well-executed 24k gold or platinum (applied as rhodium) finish turns an ordinary timepiece into something distinctive, and distinctive sells.
It also rescues watches that had become unsellable. A worn, scratched or faded case can be stripped, prepared and replated to a standard better than the original, and a watch that looked tired becomes wearable again.
When it does not
If the watch is a collectable, originality is the value.
For rare references, limited editions and watches with collector followings, the market prices originality above condition and above appearance. Any alteration to the case — plating included — moves the piece out of original specification, and specialist buyers price that accordingly.
If your watch falls into that category, we will tell you before we quote. We would rather lose the job than take a piece that is worth more untouched.
How to tell which you have
A reasonable rule: if the watch has an established secondary market where original examples command a premium, treat it as a collectable and get specialist advice first. If it is a watch you wear, inherited, or bought to enjoy rather than to trade, customisation is a question of taste rather than value.
When in doubt, ask a dealer who specialises in that marque before you ask us.
What good customisation protects
Where we do proceed, the work is done to preserve the watch rather than simply coat it.
Preparation is where quality is decided — stripping, polishing and cleaning before any precious metal is applied. Our standard finish is 5 microns, and we can plate up to 10 microns; for a watch worn daily we usually recommend the upper end, because a case and bracelet are in constant contact with skin and clothing.
The movement is not affected. Plating is a surface process applied to the case and bracelet.
Work carried out on your own watch carries a three-year Goldgenie warranty, subject to applicable warranty terms and normal exclusions.
Goldgenie luxury watch customisation starts at £480 for the watch body and buckle, or £590 for the complete watch, including the strap or bracelet
Reversibility
Plating can be stripped. It is not a permanent, irreversible alteration in the way that engraving or case modification is — though stripping and returning a case to its original finish is itself skilled work, and some original surface character is lost in the process.
Worth knowing, but not a reason to be careless about the decision.
What to do next
Send us photographs of the watch, including the case back and any worn areas, and tell us the finish you are considering. We will tell you honestly whether we think it is a good candidate, what we would recommend, and what it would cost.
We customise watches from every major maker — Rolex, Omega, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Breitling, TAG Heuer, Audemars Piguet, Tudor, Longines and Seiko among them — along with Apple Watch and bespoke commissions. If your watch is not listed, send photographs and we will confirm what is possible.
We collect worldwide by insured DHL, and UK clients are welcome to post the watch to us or drop it in at our London service office in Enfield.
More on our luxury watch customisation page.
FAQs
For most watches, no — a professionally applied finish usually increases what the piece is worth. For rare or collectable references, originality is the value and any alteration moves the watch out of original specification.
No. Plating is a surface process applied to the case and bracelet. The movement is not affected.
Yes, plating can be stripped, though returning a case to its original finish is skilled work and some original surface character is lost.
Our standard finish is 5 microns and we can plate up to 10. For a watch worn daily we usually recommend the upper end.
Three ways. We operate a global insured DHL pick-up service and will arrange collection from your address. If you are in the UK you can post the watch to us, or drop it in person at our London service office in Enfield. Outside the UK and the UAE, insured DHL collection and return are included in the agreed quotation.
Yes. If we think a piece is worth more untouched, we say so before quoting.
