Removing gold plating from antique watch

Jewelry Discussion
1

Will electocleaning remove gold plating from an antique watch. At
some point this watch was gold plated and before I take off the
crystal I would like to know how to remove this plating.

Thanks,
Scott
Belle Meade Jewerly
Nashville, TN

2

Hi,

Will electocleaning remove gold plating from an antique watch. At
some point this watch was gold plated and before I take off the
crystal I would like to know how to remove this plating.

No, electrocleaning doesn’t remove plate totally, it only remove
some of it. Mostly what it does is makes the object ready for plating.
It might brighten it up a little.

What your trying to do is etching, which doesn’t require a current.
On rings this is not so hard a thing to do, but watches should be
taken apart. You can also buff off the plating, again the watch
should be taken apart for the best job.

Jim
Jim Zimmerman
Alpine Custom Jewellers & Repair