Bulgari - My Rolex Datejust in SS and yellow gold

My Rolex Datejust in SS and yellow gold

Jan 12, 2014,15:35 PM

My old Rolex Datejust seems to wear fine. I've owned that watch for over 15 years now (it was my 1st mech watch=) ) and came with a gold bezel and SS/gold bracelet.

The watch aged fine considering I absolutely abused this watch. I basically never took it off. Not for baths, not for (high impact) sports, not for hammering away at my latest wood crafting project. In the 15 years, it has been to the shop 2x, both times were for general maintenance and not for any mechanical repair).

The SS case (only looks slightly) scratched up and I managed to put a deep scratch into the sapphire crystal (don't ask me how). I'm sure the gold bezel is scratched as well but due to the design of Rolex's fluted bezel designs, I haven't really noticed.

The SS/gold bracelet is shot however. Back then the gold links in the Jubilee bracelets were not solid but were hollow. My bracelet is stretched beyond repair. (sorry no pics as my Datejust is in the shop for its 3rd time).

My pt is that gold can be reasonably maintained, it just depends on the design. The gold in the Datejust bracelet is bordered with SS and as already mentioned, the bezel is fluted to minimize the scratches (yea, they are still there but you don't notice them as much).

My Bvlgari design, while beautiful - the white gold bezel is polished to a mirror-like sheen - also needs to be babied. In a way, this watch reminds me of an Omega model (sorry, not that familiar with Omegas) that my uncle owned. It had a wide mirror like bezel in SS which immediately catches the eye. I would like to see my uncle's Omega again. Interested to see how it aged.

This message has been edited by psychotic on 2014-01-12 15:36:31

Bvlgari Diagono Calibro 303 w/ white gold bezel

By: psychotic : January 11th, 2014-17:45

**Sorry for the crummy quality of the pic. I'd rather spend my $$ towards watches than a decent camera... Does anyone have the (1st gen I think...) Bvlgari Diagono Calibro 303 w/ white gold bezel? The utter softness and scratchability (is this a word??) o...

Gold a noble but soft metal.

By: farkbinder01212 : January 12th, 2014-14:16

Very handsome watch. The gold bezel prevented me from purchasing that exact model. I think a gold bezel is another in a long line of completely useless design features in a sports watch(IMHO). I had the same experience with a Cartier Santos 100 chronograp...

Gold in sports pieces

By: psychotic : January 12th, 2014-14:51

It's interesting you should mention the futility of gold in sports watches, Harvey. Cuz I think the PP Aquanaut in rose gold is absolutely beautiful. Compared to the SS model, the dial of the gold model has a much shinier tan metallic sheen (vs a flatter ...

My Nautilus in rose gold....

By: farkbinder01212 : January 12th, 2014-15:14

I agree with your frustrations completely. Helen Keller could see that rose gold looks great on just about everything. Therein lies our struggle! I own the PP Nautilus Chrono, blue dial, in stainless. But have dreamed of it in rose gold with the same dial...

My Rolex Datejust in SS and yellow gold

By: psychotic : January 12th, 2014-15:35

My old Rolex Datejust seems to wear fine. I've owned that watch for over 15 years now (it was my 1st mech watch =) ) and came with a gold bezel and SS/gold bracelet. The watch aged fine considering I absolutely abused this watch. I basically never took it...

There is

By: Spellbound : January 12th, 2014-16:14

There is. Developed by Hublot, Magic gold combines the luster of gold with the hardness of ceramic. Unfortunately I find the look of the Magic gold a little strange though and it hardly compares to 18k gold (despite having the same gold content). Dean

Highly polished gold bezels will pick up hairlines no matter how careful you are.

By: MichaelC : January 13th, 2014-08:33

I have experienced the same with a few white gold pieces.

I, too, had a SS watch with white gold bezel ...

By: Marcus Hanke : January 14th, 2014-10:50

This LE Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonphase had a tachymeter bezel from 18k white gold. Although protected by the highly domed sapphire crystal and being a lot slimmer than yours on the Bulgari, it quickly collected fine scratches. Due to the black t...