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Patek Philippe Grand Complications
18K Rose Gold 6002R-001 - ATS-W007922
£3,950,000
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Chrono24 Direct
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£230,000
+ £42 for shipping
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Rolex Day-Date 40
60th Anniversary | Everose | Olive Roman Dial
£37,950
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Rolex Yacht-Master 42
White Gold | Black Dial | Box & Papers | 2021
Chrono24 Certified
£20,475
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Rolex Daytona
116505
£28,950
+ £42 for shipping
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Rolex Daytona
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£45,449
Free shipping
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Jacob & Co. Astronomia
CASINO (Limited of 88 pieces)
£372,409
+ £248 for shipping
Rolex Daytona
Cosmograph Daytona | 116505 | Rose Gold
£31,500
+ £42 for shipping
Rolex Daytona
OysterFlex meteorite dial
£71,500
+ £200 for shipping
Rolex Yacht-Master 42
226659 with Box and Papers
Partner Certified
£20,395
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Rolex GMT-Master II
126715chnr
£28,450
Free shipping
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Richard Mille RM 010
Rose Gold 2014 Excellent Condition Box & Papers
£97,450
+ £87 for shipping
Rolex Day-Date 40
40mm 228235 Olive Dial 2018 Rose Gold Full Set
£35,995
+ £42 for shipping
Rolex Daytona
2021 18kt White Gold Daytona Oysterflex Grey Dial Ghost 116519LN
£29,750
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Rolex Day-Date 36
Yellow Gold 18238
Chrono24 Certified
£13,495
+ £42 for shipping
Breguet Classique
7147BB white gold automatic skeleton case back with box
Chrono24 Certified
£8,900
+ £42 for shipping
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Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked
Unworn 2023 Double Balance Wheel Open Worked Rose Gold
£164,687
+ £166 for shipping
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Rolex Submariner Date
126618lb
£28,995
+ £100 for shipping
Rolex Yacht-Master 42
226658 | Yellow Gold
Chrono24 Certified
£22,950
+ £42 for shipping
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Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph
50th Anniversary
£90,000
+ £200 for shipping
Richard Mille
RM72-01 - Ceramic/Rose Gold | Black Dial | Box & Papers | 2024
£367,500
Free shipping
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Rolex Yacht-Master 40
40mm 18k Everose Gold Matte Black Dial Oysterflex 116655 Box and Booklet
£20,648
+ £166 for shipping
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Cartier Santos Dumont
Skeleton Micro Rotor
£30,000
+ £250 for shipping
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Rolex Sky-Dweller
2023 Rolex Sky Dweller Rose Gold Blue Dial Oyster 336935
£48,949
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Rolex Sky-Dweller
326238 Black Oysterflex Yellow Gold
Chrono24 Certified
£24,950
+ £100 for shipping
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Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Duoface
TRIBUTE DUOFACE TOURBILLON
£81,516
+ £248 for shipping
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Vacheron Constantin Overseas Chronograph
Rose Gold Green Dial BNIB
£79,902
+ £207 for shipping
Rolex Daytona
Oyster Flex Black Dial Rose Gold 2022
£29,500
+ £42 for shipping
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Patek Philippe Calatrava
6119G-001 | White Gold
Chrono24 Certified
£19,500
+ £42 for shipping
Promoted
Rolex Day-Date 36
18238 Champagne Baton Dial 1992 Box & Papers
Chrono24 Certified
£14,950
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Rolex Sky-Dweller
326238
£26,250
+ £42 for shipping
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Rolex Day-Date II
Like NEW 2012 Day-Date II President Yellow Gold Champagne Roman Dial 218238
£28,961
+ £207 for shipping
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Patek Philippe Annual Calendar
Moonphase Complication Blue Dial White Gold 5205G-013
£33,800
+ £25 for shipping
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Rolex Day-Date 36
President MINT Silver Dial Yellow Gold Fluted Bezel 1979 Quickset 18038
Partner Certified
£7,862
+ £124 for shipping
Rolex Daytona
"GHOST" [2022] White gold - Grey dial - Oysterflex - 116519LN-0027
£30,500
+ £50 for shipping
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Rolex Day-Date 40
RBR Chocolate Baguette Dial 2023
£49,995
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Rolex Day-Date 36
118239-cm8-dc715
Partner Certified
£14,995
+ £100 for shipping
Rolex Daytona
Pikachu 116518 LN 18K Yellow Gold OysterFlex 40mm Watch B&Ps
Partner Certified
£33,995
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Rolex Sky-Dweller
326935-cm1-dc715
£35,000
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Vacheron Constantin Historiques
222 | 4200H/222J-B935 | Yellow Gold
£61,500
+ £42 for shipping
Rolex Day-Date 36
single quickset RARE matte blue-purple dial
Chrono24 Certified
£12,999
Free shipping
Promoted
Rolex Day-Date 36
Champagne Tapestry Baton Dial
Chrono24 Certified
£15,600
Excl. shipping
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Rolex Sky-Dweller
326235
Partner Certified
£29,950
Free shipping
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Patek Philippe Chronograph
2023 Complications Chronograph Salmon Pink Dial White Gold 5172G-010
£47,995
+ £25 for shipping
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Patek Philippe Nautilus
5712/1R-001
£160,000
+ £200 for shipping
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Cartier Santos
De Cartier
£25,750
+ £250 for shipping
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Blancpain Villeret
Quantième Phases de Lune 18K Rose Gold
Partner Certified
£7,427
+ £82 for shipping
Promoted
Patek Philippe Nautilus
5712R-001 Rose-Gold - Unworn
£78,999
Excl. shipping
Private Seller
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Rolex Day-Date 40
Unworn 2023 Day-Date 40mm Chocolate Dial 228235
£37,655
+ £166 for shipping
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Rolex Datejust 36
Vintage 1979 Datejust Blue Dial Yellow Gold 36mm (16018)
£9,103
+ £166 for shipping
Rolex Submariner Date
18K Yellow Gold 126618LN - COM003595
£27,750
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Chrono24 Direct
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Rolex Day-Date 36
36mm Yellow Gold Head only Champagne Dial 1969
£6,037
+ £83 for shipping
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Rolex Sky-Dweller
326238
£29,172
+ £165 for shipping
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Rolex Day-Date 40
40mm Rose Gold Olive Day-Date 228235 Full Set
£39,995
+ £42 for shipping
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Patek Philippe Calatrava
Pilot White Gold Blue Dial Travel Time
£25,995
+ £25 for shipping
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Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso
UNWORN 2024 Tribute Rose Gold Blue Silver 219.2.D4
£17,105
+ £165 for shipping
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Glashütte Original PanoMaticLunar
40mm 1-90-02-45-35-62 Red Gold White Dial
Partner Certified
£6,757
+ £331 for shipping
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Rolex Day-Date 36
Floretine Finish
£6,620
+ £124 for shipping
Rolex Day-Date 36
118235F - Everose Gold - Meteorite Diamond Dial - Box & Papers
£32,500
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Rolex Daytona
Diamond Dial 2023
£38,450
+ £87 for shipping

Gold Watches: Elegant and Valuable

A gold watch is the epitome of luxury. For thousands of years, this precious metal has been a symbol of permanence and wealth. Most gold watches are elegant dress watches, though some have a sportier design.

Features

  • 18-karat or 750 gold indicates it's 75% gold
  • 14-karat gold or 585 gold is less common
  • Many gold-electroplated vintage watches
  • Watches with modern PVD coating are in the lower price range
  • Some manufacturers offer their own alloys such as Everose or Sedna gold

Gold Cases: The Mixture Makes the Difference

When gold comes to mind, people most often think of yellow gold. However, many types of gold are used in the watch industry, such as white, pink, and red gold . There are also in-house alloys made by manufacturers like Omega's Sedna gold and Rolex's Everose, both red gold alloys. A unique alloy is Hublot's Magic Gold, which combines yellow gold and ceramic, making it extremely scratch resistant.

Technically, a timepiece can only be considered a gold watch if the case is made of solid gold . However, you can count watches in a lower price range as well, as their cases are made of stainless steel which is then coated in gold.

A gold watch is almost always produced from an metal alloy. Pure gold, which you find in the form of coins or bars available for purchase, is used to plate the surfaces of cases made of a different material. As it's relatively soft, some manufacturers mix it with other metals in-house in order to make it harder and more scratch resistant or to give it another hue.

A value of one karat means that the material is composed of 1/24th gold. Pure gold is thus 24 karat. Watch cases with the highest percentage of gold are 18-karat cases , a value equal to 750 gold. The 750 represents the percentage of pure gold out of 1,000. In a 750 alloy, 75% of the material is pure gold, while the rest consists of other metals. Silver and copper are mixed together with yellow gold. The amount varies, however, in order to slightly change the tone of the yellow gold.

Red and pink gold have a much larger percentage of copper than silver, which gives the gold its reddish-pinkish hue. White gold, on the other hand, has more silver than copper. Particularly valuable 18-karat white gold watches are made with an alloy containing platinum or palladium.

Cases made of 14-karat gold (585 gold) can also be found, although most manufacturers offer 18-karat gold watches today. This applies to watches in both mid and upper price ranges, such as those from Longines, Maurice Lacroix, and Tissot.

Some manufacturers use gold-colored coatings that resemble gold, but are actually something else entirely. The most common of these methods uses a PVD (physical vapor deposition) coating. During this process, the coating is applied via vacuum deposition. PVD coatings can also be made of gold and are regarded as very scratch resistant.

An alternative is electroplating gold on stainless steel cases. The gold layer is very thin; 20 microns is the norm. One micron is 1/1,000th of a millimeter. The gold plating is either 18 or 24-karat gold and prone to scratches, but can be redone if necessary. The PVD method has grown in popularity in recent years, so you will most frequently encounter electroplated watches in the vintage market.

Buying Advice

If you want to buy a gold watch, then you should pay attention to the karats. An 18-karat gold watch is an 18-karat gold watch, regardless of the manufacturer.

The price difference between gold and stainless steel versions of the same watch can be quite considerable. A stainless steel Rolex Submariner with a date display costs about 7,000 euros new, while a yellow gold version in the same condition costs 21,000 euros.

The price and value of an 18-karat gold watch also depends on the price of gold. The market price varies, but has usually been over $1,000 for one troy ounce (31 grams) of gold over the last few years. In the summer of 2011, it shot up to around $1,900. It is unlikely that the price will drop below $1,000. The price of gold watches has gone up simply due to their material worth. In the 1990s, the price was still oscillating between $300 and $400. Since gold also functions as a replacement currency in crisis situations, gold watches are a relatively secure investment. In the worst case, the watch retains value based on the weight of its gold. For this to be the case, however, one should imagine that times are tough and the gold price is thus very high.

Normally, the collector's value and the manufacturer's reputation play a deciding role in determining the price of a timepiece. Gold watches from an independent manufacturer powered by in-house calibers cost the most. Rolex's Submariner isn't the only expensive gold watch they offer. Other series have gold models, such as the Daytona or the Day-Date. The Day-Date is offered with a white gold, yellow gold, or Everose alloy, and the cases are available in many different sizes.

The story is similar with Omega. Their diving watch Seamaster is available in 18-karat gold, and the company offers a large selection of gold watches in their De Ville collection.

Patek Philippe is the ultimate manufacturer of gold watches. No other renowned Swiss manufacturer relies so much on the precious metal like the Genevan family business. The Calatrava is Patek Philippe's most classic series.

Patek Philippe is one of the few manufacturers who doesn't only make the case out of gold, but important parts of the movement as well. A good example is the rotor of an automatic movement, which is often decorated with engravings. Rolex also uses white gold indices - even on the models with a stainless steel case. Not just for aesthetic reasons, either: Gold doesn't tarnish.

Swiss Dominance

According to tradition, the first solid gold wristwatch was made by Girad-Perregaux and was delivered to the German Emperor William I in 1879. Now, around 500,000 gold watches are produced each year, with 90% of them being made in Switzerland. Rolex plays a prominent role in this, as they alone produce 200,000 of these gold watches. In one year, Rolex produces around 800,000 watches, making gold watches a quarter of their total production. The company produces cases in their own foundry. Gold plays an even more important role for the luxury manufacturer Patek Philippe, however. Gold watches dominate Patek's portfolio; there are only a few stainless steel models available. Usually, it's the other way around. Gold remains an expensive exception for most companies. A popular compromise is to create a bicolor watch, where parts of the case and bracelet are made of stainless steel and others of gold. Rolex calls this Rolesor.