Guide: The different types of gold in the watch industry
Within the watch industry it has in recent years become a matter of prestige to use one's own tone of 18 carat gold for one's cases. Having an own foundry has hereby become an important part of the production line.
Text: Britta Rossander
Within the watch industry it has in recent years become a matter of prestige to use one's own tone of 18 carat gold for one's cases. Having an own foundry has hereby become an important part of the production line.
Gold has always been one of the most appreciated metals in objects from cultures all over the world. The insatiable appetite for gold was in some parts of the world so great that it led to entire civilisations perishing. The Inca people believed that gold was ”the tears of the sun” and how it went for them we know.
Ten to fifteen years ago rose gold stormed into the ordinary watch collections, a tone that was previously reserved for extreme collector's watches with magical complications. After a few years the pink gold became the most trendy gold tone and ”everyone” wanted to use it. The most common recipe was 75% gold (18K), 8-9% silver and 16-17% copper. Today one likes to ”cook” one's own tones and preferably in one's own foundry to get the tone one wants.
Chopard has chosen another path when it comes to the gold they work with – they have no alloy recipe of their own, they do however have a care for the earth and those who work with the gold and therefore only use ethical gold that is traceable all the way down to those who found it in the small mines the gold they buy comes from. Chopard's wish with its ethical gold is that the method they work with should rub off on the other brands, which is a commendable thought. Since they are so particular about where the gold comes from they of course have their own foundry where the yellow, white and rosé-toned gold they use is melted and cast.
A couple of weeks ago Audemars Piguet launched its first own tone of gold inspired by the beige tone of the finest sandy beach. Since there does not seem to be any end to how many tones of gold we have to choose from I have looked a little at what gold the most renowned brands have in their cases that they call their own. We will return to them a little later, first some history about the significance of gold through the ages.
The metal is loved for its unique brightness and rarity, it is still a stable foundation for our wealth and our economies. Its malleability and brilliant colour have interested and captivated artists for millennia. It was believed to have magical properties and it was often used as talismans for the living, or buried with the dead for the afterlife.
From the Greek myth of the golden fleece – which the hero Jason was to fetch and King Pelias in the city of Iolchos would give up his throne to Jason if he succeeded – to the legend of El Dorado (the golden city), a utopia placed somewhere in South America filled with riches and gold. The myth was spread by the Spanish conquistadors in the 1500s. This is among other things what has cemented the idea of gold as a powerful symbol of authority, sacred power and prosperity.
In ancient Egypt gold was called ”the flesh of the gods” and was used for objects and ceremonial rituals. It was a symbol of immortality and was used to decorate the tombs of the pharaohs. The phrase ”rich as Croesus” comes from Croesus, king of Lydia (now in western Turkey) who reigned around 560–546 BC. During his time gold coins started to appear as a form of standardised currency.
In many ways gold has shaped our world, the symbolism of gold has been communicated across centuries and cultures. Its influential presence and psychology have been so great that the colour has transcended visual culture and entered our language as 'golden days', 'as good as gold' etc. And our days' talismans – the precious watches – can perhaps also bestow luck and invulnerability on their owners.
IWC
Armor Gold® is a new variant of 5N gold and has nothing to do with the colour. It is produced through a process in which the microstructure of the alloy is transformed with the result that the material is considerably harder and more hard-wearing than conventional 5N gold. 18 carat Armor Gold® was launched for the first time in the Big Pilot's watch Constant Force Tourbillon Edition ”Le Petit Prince” (ref. 590303).
Audemars Piguet
In its latest venture the brand introduces a new 18k gold alloy labelled ”Sandgold” – a blend of solid gold with copper and palladium that we can see in the model Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Openworked. It is a unique colour that swings between the shades of white and rose gold depending on the light and the angle you see it in. The paleness comes from using more palladium than traditionally, which is also good for the colour durability.
Rolex
The patented 18 carat alloy for rose gold named Everose® was introduced in 2005 with the Rose Gold Cosmograph Daytona. The blend combines pure gold, copper and a small amount of platinum so that the alloy will never lose its warm red colour. The platinum ”locks” the natural pink shade of the copper, which means the metal keeps its original colour even after prolonged exposure that would otherwise weaken the warm, pink tone.
Omega
The brand that has really made a thing out of having its own alloys.
Sedna Gold™, named after the Inuit name for the goddess who is called the mother of the sea, an own alloy that was launched in 2012 and that resists fading of colour and lustre over time thanks to a little palladium in the blend.
Canopus Gold™
A white gold alloy launched in 2015 with platinum, rhodium and palladium in the blend which makes it ideal for diamond-set cases because of its high brilliance and whiteness.
Moonshine Gold™
Was launched in 2019 inspired by a shining moon against a black-blue sky with a clearly paler shade than traditional 18K yellow gold and a high resistance to fading. The recipe is not official.
A. Lange & Söhne
Honeygold® a patented ”honey gold”, reserved for a few, exclusive models such as for example the model Zeitwerk Minute Repeter. Their Honeygold is harder than other gold alloys and registered under the trademark. The colour of the material lies between pink and white gold, the recipe for the in my opinion beautiful alloy is secret.
Chanel
The rose gold in the tone Beige is developed to get a more feminine tone than the one found in traditional yellow gold and more subtle than ordinary rose gold. Beige is a base colour for Chanel and Coco is said to have said ”I go back to beige because it is natural.” She loved the beige colour of the sand.
Hublot
King gold, from the brand that likes to be ”first, different and unique”. Here a high proportion of copper is included and added platinum to stabilise the colour over a long time and to neutralise the oxidation.
Magic gold also from Hublot is the first scratch-proof 18K gold in the world, entirely produced and manufactured by Hublot and launched in 2011. It is a blend of ceramic and 75% pure gold.
You can produce many different colours of gold with the right blend. Here come some alloys that we will probably never get to see on watch cases:
Green gold an alloy with a lot of silver and in rare cases cadmium.
Purple gold which consists of 80% gold and 20% aluminium
Light green gold whichconsists of 75% gold, 23% copper and 2% of the heavy metal cadmium.
A small aside:
Many believe that Patek Philippe's dial forEllipse d’Or blue dial is a blue alloy but it is a galvanic surface treatment.
