Sittin' around, polishing my gold

[crsides]

Opinions please:

1) In general, how much wear through on GF cases has been caused by normal carrying and how much by polishing?

2) Is enough gold removed with a jewelers cloth to be a concern?

Thanks,

Charlie

[crsides]

Opinions please:

1) In general, how much wear through on GF cases has been caused by normal carrying and how much by polishing?

2) Is enough gold removed with a jewelers cloth to be a concern?

Thanks,

Charlie

[jagkar]

Note that brassing always occurs at spots where gold is exposed to pocket wear (or similar effects), while logically polishing would remove gold equally all over the watch. My conclusion is that polishing loss is inconsequential. Similarly, an uncarried watch would accumulate corrosion at about the same rate as a carried one, as long as it was exposed to the air, but the uncarried watch never seems to get wearthrough. And finally a jeweler's cloth is purposely made not to lead to serious gold loss. In my experience even a gold wash, which is an extremely thin and fragile amount of plate, will withstand cautious polishing with a jeweler's cloth.

[Jon Hanson]

corrosion-on gold?

Jon

[Lindell V. Riddle]

Charlie,

You come up with some interesting questions! We should all be very careful when using any polishes on our cases. In my opinion machine polishing on any but nickel cases is STRICTLY VERBOTEN! Any polishes should be used sparingly and gently with soft, lint-free cloths. My wife, the bargain hunter buys bundles of soft cotton terry wash cloths for my hobby use, 24 for $2.97 and they're great for general case cleaning and polishing. To clean a watchcase, I start out with a bath in Wright's Jewelry Cleaner, which is available in most super markets, scrub the worst areas with an old, used toothbrush then rinse under hot water and carefully dry the case before hand polishing.

Perhaps I should mention that we should always drop out the movement first, no cleaning or polishing of any sort should ever be performed with a watch movement in the case.

Many "jeweler's cloths" have an abrasive cleaning side as well as another area for final polishing. The cleaning area can definitely remove a bit of gold. I always make sure my hands are clean and carefully wipe off my watches after any handling, then store them in individual draw-string "jewelry bags" to keep them clean and also hold wear to a minimum.

My advice would echo that of "jagkar" in most respects, and Jon I'm sure that he was referring to the corrosion that sets in on a "brassy" area where gold the has been worn away. By the way I've found a number of collectors accept a bit of wear away or "brassing" as adding a bit of "character" to an older watch case. After all, particularly with RR watches, they were out there in rough conditions, and often we're lucky they just survived at all!

I guess the best advice to those who are new to watch collecting would be to proceed very carefully, use mild cleaners and lint-free cloths. Keeping your collection clean, dry and dust-free is also of great importance.

Best Wishes,


Lindell V. Riddle

[Jon Hanson]

Huh?

[Tom McIntyre]

I think maybe we are hanging up on the word corrosion.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>A state of deterioration in metals caused by oxidation or chemical action. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Gold alloys are usually said to have "tarnish" rather than corrosion. Corrosion implies the loss of material. Tarnish only implies discoloration.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Discoloration of metal surface caused by oxidation. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Gold alloys below 12K are very subject to tarnish. 14K and higher are very tarnish resistant but even 18K can develop tarnish in the right chemical environment.

The 10K gold filled cases can tarnish if exposed to anything that will attack copper. They will not normally corrode unless they have been mechanically worn through.

I presume the mention of Wright's cream above was a continuation of the idea to never touch anything but nickel cases.

I don't agree with either of those things. Wright's cream will cause problems with the hinge pins and the lift and latch springs. Silver cases can be polished without harming them as can gold and gold filled cases. I prefer not to polish them for aesthetic reasons.

Did I misunderstand what you "huh" was about?

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Tom McIntyre
NAWCC 2nd VP Candidate
Tommy the JOAT's Web (http://www.AWCo.org)

[Jon Hanson]

No, TMcI caught much of what the "huh?" was about! But, there is more and I basically disagree with just about all that was stated ABOVE Tom's post! A total lack of knowledge and understanding!

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Jon Hanson, nawcc#8801

[Lindell V. Riddle]

Everyone,

I agree with Tom's warning about hinges and such, but I must explain we're not talking about the same thing. I never mentioned the use of "Wrights Creme" above, and I do not advocate its use.

My reference to a Wright's product was very specifically "Wrights Jewelry Care" which is (UPC# 1112100064) a very mild yet effective product readily available in most retail grocery and similar stores. It consists of a small plastic container with the mild liquid cleaner, and a drop-in basket. The advice I offered concerned basically cleaning off the buildup of "grunge" we find on and in many old watch cases. I have used this product very successfully and it is great for the cleaning of various jewelry related items. It was originally designed for easy cleaning of rings, chains and such, so it does a very credible job on pocket-watch cases, which are in fact simply larger items of jewelry! Most of those seeking advice in this forum are beginning collectors who need support, mentoring and a lot of help getting started. To expect a novice collector to have, let alone know how to use say an ultrasonic or other professional style cleaning machine would be absurd. For that reason I try to come up with simple answers using materials that are inexpensive and readily available.

My friends, the questions we answer in this forum rarely deal with scarce or highly valuable watches in solid-gold cases, but more often those recently purchased by novice collectors with moderate means. The original question was about how to avoid rubbing trough to the brass on gold-filled cases and the conversation expanded from there. Regardless of our personal level of ability, when we give advice I believe it should be cautionary and impart useful information, so that's what I always try to do.

I meant no offense in my advice above nor do I in this response. I'm just trying to be of help, and I apologize if I did not sufficiently detail my attempts to assist and "mentor" those new to our hobby, or if any of my advice was taken the wrong way.

Sincerely,


Lindell V. Riddle

[Jon Hanson]

Charlie,

1 don't polish the stuff

2 don't use these jewelry cleaners or rags

3 don't get the stuff (cases) wet

4 don't buff

5 leave them alone and let them tone naturally-there is nothing worse than a brightly polished worn out piece of ....

6 use a glass back if the unoriginal case is trashed or has brass showing (the term brassing is absurd!)

7 and, if you are attending Ft Wayne, I'll give you a case lesson in person!

Jon

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Jon Hanson, nawcc#8801

[GandalfPC]

Ok, so speaking of glass backs (screw down), anyone know of a good source for them? Is it just a matter of buying a junk watch of the same size with a good screw on crystal and bezel or do you have to match things up more closely (brand/model) for the threads to line up?

[Jon Hanson]

No, not made up "faked' ones-I was speaking of factory original ones that snap or are hinged like those signed Waltham, Hampden, Hamilton or plain ones that are plentiful in 16 and 18 size.

Jon

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Jon Hanson, nawcc#8801