Hi All, i have just purchased an old tudor prince oysterdate (ref# 9101/1). The watch has had a hard life by the looks of it! In restoring it i need to get the case and bracelet gold plated again. The gold plating has virtually all worn off and there are a number of scratches on the case and bracelet that i will need to buff off first.
Now does anyone have any experience with any companies that do a good job in this respect? I have read a lot of horror stories in my quick internet search and commonly the gold plating apparently just falls off!
So, any thoughts from anyone on who to use, help, tips etc? thanks! Ben.

Hi Ben,

I had a customer who insisted on having his pocket watch display case replated. It was about 50% brass showing. I just took it to a general replater here in Los Angeles and they stripped and replated it successfully. It was 10K and a little yellower than originally but he was happy with the outcome. Unfortunately, the bow was consumed by the stripping process but I found a suitable replacement in my parts junk. The most important task is to make sure that there are NO flaws showing as the plating is so thin that it doesn't hide any imperfections. Remember the old saying, "Paint covers a multitude of sins"! But that's only paint not gold plating. If I were you, I would just contact some platers in your area and see what they think.

Hi Ben,
I have done alot of plating myself, and your right, the plating is thin.
when most of these cases were made they were gold filled, That means there was a thin layer of gold applied under extreme pressure to the top and bottom of a base metal, and the manugfactures would normally warantee the case for 20 to 25 years.
When you strip the gold and replate it, it is only a thin layer of gold applied to the surface and it will wear thru fast as compaired to the gold filled case.

When I gold plate a case , I polish out off the scratches, remove the dents, and depending on the base metal, it may have to be plated with nickel first, then gold. Once gold plated, I polish out the case again, ultrasonic the case in a cleaner, and replate. This should be done several times to build up the gold plate so it will last for awhile.
Most commercial platers dont want to mess with a little watch case, and probably wont even look at it.
I guess once you get it done by a jeweler or such is to know that the plate is going to be thin and accept it for that and simply dont wear it out, or plan on having it done every few years.
I hope this helps. Mike...

Thanks guys, well my jeweller quoted me $460 but stressed that it would be a 'good job'. This was for 24kt as well.
I called up a gold plating place and they quoted $150. But when i asked whether it would wear off quickly he said "Well we hope not", ahh dear i guess i might have to make a few more calls!