F.P. Journe

albcwc
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I don't quite get it

As to your point about platinum scratches "displacing" metal (as opposed to what? removing it?), I don't get it. There is no fundamental difference on this score between platinum, on the one hand, and gold, on the other. Platinum is surely harder than most jewelry-grade gold, but in normal use this doesn't mean that a gold watch case is going to "lose metal" faster than a platinum one. Not at all. This phenomenon may be significant for people who wear rings of different metals that constantly are in contact with each other, but a watch? No way.

Also, I don't understand your point about tarnishing. Silver, sure. But in most cases, you won't see 18K or higher gold tarnish to any significant degree - and if it does, it does so slowly and subtly, and this can be easily corrected. Of course, this will all depend on the environment, so if you happen to be exposed to very high sulphur levels in your environment, really extreme levels, this could be an issue for you, but I expect you'll have other, more important issues as well.

For most people, the choice will not come down to any of this stuff, but to cost and appearance. The "purist" watch makers are busily pricing themselves beyond the reach of a tiny fringe, growing tinier every day in the current financial environment, and platinum just exacerbates that. Some people just do not like the look of platinum. I would, however, generally recommend it over rhodium-plated "white gold" for a piece you expect to own for a long time.