# How much gold in the average vintage watch?



## panamamike

Curious to know just how much gold is in an average vintage 18k watch.
I'm thinking of the 30 to 33mm diameter watches that are sold as 18k watches.
Looking over some vintage chronometers, I noticed some of these watches aren't truly
18k solid. Their crowns and buttons are typically pitted or have their gold layer worn.
I'm assuming only the case is solid 18k on these watches. It's a shame because it takes away from the nice look of a
solid 18k watch.

I also note that some watches have additional metal caps below the case back making me wonder, just how much 
gold are we talking about. Does the movement, crystal and other non gold parts make up 50% of the watches gross weight?
Head only. Are we talking about 1/2 troy oz. of 24k gold?

I've seen quite a few vintage watches I like, but I'd like to know how much I'm paying for the watch part as opposed to the metal value. Seeing that they're vintage, I'd hate to buy one and have it fail in short order and be stuck with a big loss.

Mike


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## Roland Ranfft

Hi Mike,

average? between 0.1 oz (oil-can type) and 3 oz (truck proof).

So if you want gold at a reasonable price, take a bar from your bank. Watches are usually more expensive than their gross material value.

Regards, Roland Ranfft


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## panamamike

Roland Ranfft said:


> Hi Mike,
> 
> average? between 0.1 oz (oil-can type) and 3 oz (truck proof).
> 
> So if you want gold at a reasonable price, take a bar from your bank. Watches are usually more expensive than their gross material value.
> 
> Regards, Roland Ranfft


That would be fine, but I can't really wear a gold bar on my wrist. I don't mind paying the premium for getting a watch, but I'd like the premium to be reasonable or small.

Mike


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## AbslomRob

I know how you feel. At this point, buying solid gold watches nearly seems like a waste of money if you're more interested in the watch part.


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## gatorcpa

panamamike said:


> That would be fine, but I can't really wear a gold bar on my wrist.


Ummm...yes you can:









There are many variables to the amount of precious metal in a particular watch. The only rule I can think of is that the higher line brands (Audemars Piguet, V&C and Patek) tend to be more generous with the gold than lesser brands. But this is not always true.

Also, auxilliary parts like crowns, buckles and chronograph pushers may be gold plated even on the top brands.

The only way to know for sure is to remove the band, movement, crown assembly and crystal and weigh the naked case.

Hope this helps,
gatorcpa


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## panamamike

gatorcpa said:


> Ummm...yes you can:
> 
> View attachment 550539
> 
> 
> There are many variables to the amount of precious metal in a particular watch. The only rule I can think of is that the higher line brands (Audemars Piguet, V&C and Patek) tend to be more generous with the gold than lesser brands. But this is not always true.
> 
> Also, auxilliary parts like crowns, buckles and chronograph pushers may be gold plated even on the top brands.
> 
> The only way to know for sure is to remove the band, movement, crown assembly and crystal and weigh the naked case.
> 
> Hope this helps,
> gatorcpa


LOL, yes you're right, there's also the eagle and double eagle watches.  As you mentioned, quite a bit of the older chronos have plated buckles, pushers and crowns. A bit of a disappointment in my book because then they start to go it cheapens the look of the watch.

Yeah, I suppose there's not real good way to gauge watch gold content.

That being said, what's the average weight of the watch movements? As far as I can tell, they are made of brass or other base metals. Don't know what they typically weigh. I suppose the crystal is the heaviest non gold part on the watch itself.

Mike


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## Kungfucowboy

There was one seller on taobao who would weigh the empty case of his vintage gold watches and post a picture, they were usually in the 10-12 gram range including crystal. You can take a look at his site it's usually the last photo.
http://kkd2.taobao.com


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## panamamike

Kungfucowboy said:


> There was one seller on taobao who would weigh the empty case of his vintage gold watches and post a picture, they were usually in the 10-12 gram range including crystal. You can take a look at his site it's usually the last photo.
> http://kkd2.taobao.com


That's a good find, thanks for sharing! Is it just the one page or is there a next button? Can't be sure if I'm getting an error or if there's no next button.

Mike


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## gatorcpa

panamamike said:


> As you mentioned, quite a bit of the older chronos have plated buckles, pushers and crowns. A bit of a disappointment in my book because then they start to go it cheapens the look of the watch.


The flip side is that if these parts were solid gold, it is unlikely that any shop could have afforded to keep an inventory on hand to replace worn-out parts. These were not meant to be "forever" parts.

They would cost even more today, if not melted down for gold content.

Take care,
gatorcpa


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## Ben_hutcherson

For pocket watches, Roy Ehrhardt's "American Pocket Watches... Beginning to End" lists weights for many American movements. 

I've had several gold cases. I've kept a couple, although I don't hold onto many of them for very long. About three months ago, I scrapped one because it was damaged beyond repair(two large gashes in the back cover and a torn hinge). Despite being paper-thin 14K gold, the 16 size case still scrapped for over $500.


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## Kungfucowboy

The easiest way is to click on the right side where it says 
18K实金，14K实金，10实金，9K实金 
Then you can click 1,2,3,etc on the bottom to change the page


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## watchersam

Back in my stacking days, a guide we used was 20% to 25% of the total weight of the watch.
These were vintage or antique, sometimes pocket watches.


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