le broodje
8
Rose gold oxidizes and turns yellow
So I recently acquired a 3137 (presumably in yellow gold, but I'll go into this later) and a 3337 in rose gold.
I then brought them to Breguet in Switzerland for servicing. After a couple of weeks, I received the estimates, and the one for the 3137 stated that it's a "3137BR".
I replied, indicating that the 3137 should be a yellow gold piece and they had apparently made a mistake. A few days later, they responded with the following:
"Regarding your 3137, please be advised that the watch is in rose gold. Rose gold oxidizes over time, and the case may look like yellow gold, but we confirm that it is rose gold."
How is this even possible? The 3137 looks entirely yellow to me, so I had no doubt it was a yellow gold piece. I actually prefer the color of the rose gold and they also seem to fetch higher prices on the market, so I guess I struck gold (pun intended).
Can anyone provide any insights?
Rose gold oxidizes and turns yellow
So I recently acquired a 3137 (presumably in yellow gold, but I'll go into this later) and a 3337 in rose gold. I then brought them to Breguet in Switzerland for servicing. After a couple of weeks, I received the estimates, and the one for the 3137 stated...
I have witnessed the change on a number of rose gold watches over the many years
One of which was a lightly worn Rolex day/date belonging to my wife. It changed in less than a decade and she was very upset. I, on the other hand, felt it looked quite nice as I dislike the Rolex rose or everose or whatever they call it. Other watches th...
I think that's nice and you'd be upset if it wasn't...
As I mentioned above, my wife's Rolex changed and it was 100% uniform including the bracelet. It looked beautiful to me but she insisted she wanted to send it to Rolex to see if something could be done. They told us they could apply some sort of coating t...
It sounds like the oxidation is throughout. Otherwise they could just polish off the oxidation layer on the surface so the watch would look like rose gold again.
I've uploaded another picture in this thread with a true yellow gold Breguet next to the 3137 and I can now see the difference. It's darker and I really like the color. It's so unique.
You are a master of making her happy after all these years.
I'm still learning with mine!
Ha! The learning never stops...
And that's coming from a guy who's been married almost four decades...😉
I wish it were like this,
but this is completely true, I have a new, unused Rolex DateDay 2019 in its vacuum plastic case in the safe, I have never used it and it is in Rose Gold and currently it is already seen in yellow gold, I must To say that it is not completely yellow, it is...
Welcome!
Can't say too much based off a single photo. Maybe with more photos and in different lighting (normal light, fluorescent light, etc.). But I suppose it is possible that Breguet is correct, and it's also possible that Breguet is mistaken!
Hmm. These two photos look more like rose gold!
Seems like Breguet's people might be right!
Hi, pure gold (24k) is too soft to work with, so cases tend to be made of 75% (18k) gold alloyed with other metals.
These other metals are what give the gold its necessary hardness, and also affect the color--leaving us with a shade of yellow, honey, pink, red, white, or grey (although older white gold alloys were sometimes plated with rhodium as well). Different alloy...
Thanks for the detailed reply!
I'm also a fan of gray gold but I think yellow/rose gold pieces are so classic Breguet and they also look better on the wrist. I won't have this polished for sure, the color is really unique.
That's very cool!
I'm having a watch made with a case of this alloy and I'm looking forward to it!
A polish of the case will make it rose again.
The colour change is due to oxidation, the superficial action of the alloy with oxygen. If the oxidated top layer is removed, all is looking rose again.
Almost makes one wonder if these guys ever clean their timepieces....
...or do they leave all the grime there after wearing (ewwww).
Rolex does their own work, and thus have a special mix to make Everose.
Some companies specify a mix to the point RG almost looks like copper. As a side note, almost got a two-year-young RG Breguet at half off this past week but decided to wait for the H. Moser Streamliner Purple Haze.
Yet another reason why yellow gold...
...(which I call 'real' gold) is the best gold : )
