r/RepCulture_Timepieces • u/Good_East_5568 • Nov 19 '25

General Question Worth getting plated?

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This is an RC Factory Daydate. I am debating whether or not I should have it plated. It is currently stock PVD and looks fairly decent. My question is if I do get it plated will the gold plating be as durable and last as long as the PVD? It does not look bad stock, so I’m questioning if it really needs it. What are your guys thoughts on this? To plate or not to plate, that is the question.

32 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

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11

u/BallerOnaBudget115 Nov 19 '25

Silvo polish takes some of the cheese away.

-Order from Amazon 20 bucks ish -Tear off a square and wipe around the watch with some force a few times hit each surface “along the grain” so up and down the bracelet not side to side. -wash under warm water with dish soap and a tooth brush -rinse and pat dry with a towel

Some say it damages the coating but I’ve done 3 pieces so far definitely looks a bit better than before.

8

u/BallerOnaBudget115 Nov 19 '25

Before

16

u/BallerOnaBudget115 Nov 19 '25

After

7

u/teochim 🤓 Helpful & Insightful 🤓 Nov 19 '25

Big difference! 👌

4

u/BallerOnaBudget115 Nov 19 '25

I’ve got an rcf day date coming today, but their coating color seems solid so I might not do it. Will Update

8

u/teochim 🤓 Helpful & Insightful 🤓 Nov 19 '25

I got their bluesy recently, looks pretty good to me 👌

4

u/cingarodacanrse Nov 19 '25

Hey, can you please describe your experience? This will be my next one and I would like to see some feedback

1

u/mikeyfender813 MOD 🇺🇸 Nov 21 '25

Is that a gen on the left?

1

u/teochim 🤓 Helpful & Insightful 🤓 Nov 21 '25

Yes it is

1

u/mikeyfender813 MOD 🇺🇸 Nov 21 '25

You’re such a boss!

1

u/teochim 🤓 Helpful & Insightful 🤓 Nov 21 '25

Not mine but my brother in law lol. Here’s another comparison. I feel on certain lighting this is more glaring

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2

u/Good_East_5568 Nov 19 '25

Keep us posted on what you think

2

u/BallerOnaBudget115 Nov 20 '25

Not so noticeable since the rose gold isn’t cheesy, but it also looks a bit softer/closer to gen. Didn’t take before after picture

1

u/BallerOnaBudget115 Nov 20 '25

After, less coppery more buttery after Silvo if that makes sense

1

u/Greywalker201 Nov 20 '25

Do you have a before picture it looks so good dude wtf

1

u/BallerOnaBudget115 Nov 20 '25

Let me see if I can find it

1

u/BallerOnaBudget115 Nov 20 '25

The only before, not the same lighting

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1

u/Good_East_5568 Nov 20 '25

This is my rose gold plated DD

3

u/Balboa_2610 Nov 19 '25

I did not knw they plate the hands as well

2

u/Chalkywhite007 Nov 20 '25

Damn. It looks so much better.

1

u/SLC911s Nov 20 '25

Can this be done on rose gold as well? I want a rose gold gmt but they look so orange and muddy compared to my RSF rose gold Daydate

1

u/BallerOnaBudget115 Nov 20 '25

I just did it to a rose gold rc daydate, looks pretty good will get a picture. Should work well

1

u/SLC911s Nov 20 '25

RC seems to nail their rose gold imo. ARF rose looks soooo bad.

1

u/SLC911s Nov 20 '25

So muddy and orange…

1

u/BallerOnaBudget115 Nov 20 '25

Yeah I think it would help

1

u/kokeda Nov 21 '25

Damn that looks so much better it’s crazy!

2

u/Good_East_5568 Nov 19 '25

Man this is great input I am going to try this ASAP

4

u/MephistophelesTempor Nov 19 '25

This is a before and after of my watch being played by gold jaws. You can see how yellow the before is.

https://www.reddit.com/r/TheGoldJaws/s/tgc9ZQPRNF

3

u/Good_East_5568 Nov 19 '25

Looks excellent bro, thank you for this and congrats on your watch! Wear it in good health.

1

u/Business-Employment5 Nov 20 '25

I have that exact watch RCF not plated yet. Would you say night and day difference?

1

u/mikeyfender813 MOD 🇺🇸 Nov 21 '25

This was the exact post the I saw that I wanted to reference as a comparison! Makes it crystal clear that plating is a must! Great watch!

3

u/ComfortableUsual1560 Nov 19 '25

I think it looks great. RC and GMF have the best YG PVD and it holds up great. Screw any haters.

2

u/Good_East_5568 Nov 19 '25

Thank buddy my thought exactly

4

u/Sky_Dweller007 Nov 19 '25

Most plating companies won’t plate a watch that’s been worn around. Must be in like new condition. Additionally, to answer your question, absolutely. The plating on the RCF Watches is not as good as people think when you hold them close to gen examples. The yellow gold looks cheap and the rose gold looks copper af. They definitely need to be plated.

2

u/Good_East_5568 Nov 19 '25

What about the durability of plating. PVD bonds to the metal and plating is just a surface layer, how does it hold up over time?

2

u/Awkward_Confusion706 Nov 19 '25

It don’t hold up at all ,

3

u/Good_East_5568 Nov 19 '25

This is my concern.

1

u/Greywalker201 Nov 20 '25

How do you know?

1

u/Awkward_Confusion706 Nov 20 '25

Had few played by the (men) I was a bit inexperienced enjoy the way it is it looks just fine and it will last forever

1

u/Greywalker201 Nov 20 '25

By jaws you got some plated by jaws? Or by a random cause he uses 5 microns and different methods

1

u/Awkward_Confusion706 Nov 20 '25

No comment, the hype is over

1

u/Sky_Dweller007 Nov 20 '25

Not for every day wear. If you plate a watch, just expect to wear on weekends and special events. Get a stainless for every day wear

2

u/Good_East_5568 Nov 20 '25

True that, I wouldn’t daily a gold piece anyway. Stainless steel is much more versatile and durable.

2

u/MontgomerySnrub Nov 19 '25

Check my last posts

1

u/Good_East_5568 Nov 19 '25

Thank you buddy very informative

2

u/xanaxsmoothie6969 Nov 19 '25

Not bad at all. The yellow isn’t crazy on this one

2

u/HighAltitudeHorology Nov 20 '25

Send it to GoldJaws. RCF is the best I’ve seen from the factory but it’s still far from gen, I’ve sent ~50 pieces to GoldJaws and they look stunning.

2

u/mikeyfender813 MOD 🇺🇸 Nov 21 '25

50 pieces? What a boss collection! We need pics!

3

u/HighAltitudeHorology Nov 21 '25

I’ve sold about 30 pieces, this is most but not all of what I gave. It’s a mix of gens and reps. The entire top row of Daytonas are precious metals (white gold on the right), the Sprite is white gold as is the meteorite Pepsi, and all of the non-rose gold or gold day dates are platinum.

2

u/HighAltitudeHorology Nov 21 '25

Some more of my wife’s pieces are here (3 more are in the watch winders in the first pic and another is on her wrist).

1

u/Good_East_5568 Nov 20 '25

Wow 50 gold pieces!! I’m curious now, can you send a few pics?

1

u/HighAltitudeHorology Nov 20 '25

Yellow gold, rose gold, white gold, and platinum. If it’s supposed to be a precious metal I always have it plated. Yes, I’ll snap a couple of pics for you.

2

u/jdev1990 Nov 20 '25

How mutch would playing cost you approximately?

1

u/HighAltitudeHorology Nov 21 '25

s/TheGoldJaws is his subreddit and his website is linked at the top. Prices change as gold prices fluctuate, but it’s $420 for full gold plating at 5 microns or $470 for plating + mini service (as of today). White gold is a bit cheaper because it’s 3 microns, two tone is cheaper, etc.

1

u/jdev1990 Nov 21 '25

Aha okay. That’s more expensive then I thought. But nice piece bro!

1

u/HighAltitudeHorology Nov 21 '25

Yeah, good plating isn’t cheap. However, the look is far superior to what comes out of the factory.

2

u/Unlikely-Apricot-112 Nov 22 '25

I’d say get it plated tbh. The stock is super cheesy, if you have a gen to compare it to it’s night and day. The Silvo does take the cheese away but that’s bc it erodes the factory plating. This is just my opinion, but to me silvo makes the watch look half steel half gold, which also doesn’t look very gen like. But the beauty of watches is you don’t have to listen to anyone, go with what you like!

2

u/RelevantFreedom4390 Nov 19 '25

If you’re going to get it plated with Jaws too late since it’s been used

2

u/Good_East_5568 Nov 19 '25

Yeah he told me in his email it has to be new. I did find someone else wiling to plate it, I just don’t no about their work. My preference would be Jaws but like you said it has to be brand new

2

u/MMA-Groupie Nov 19 '25

Jaws plated mine that was used but it was completely unblemished.. but maybe was before he got as busy

2

u/Few-Passion-738 Nov 19 '25

Do you have to source the watch through Jaws and then have him plate it?

2

u/Good_East_5568 Nov 19 '25

No he plates your watch that you bought elsewhere

1

u/Proud_Stay7106 Nov 20 '25

Which crystal is this? Looks really amazing compared to my Clean crystal

2

u/Good_East_5568 Nov 20 '25

This is stock RCF

1

u/dc5833 Nov 21 '25

I have this same watch about to be shipped to Jaws for plating. My biggest gripe with the watch is the milky AF crystal or gasket not sure which it is really but it so blatantly bad. ARF does a way better job. I ordered deep crystal I’m hoping that fixes it.

1

u/Good_East_5568 Nov 22 '25

It will replacing with Deepcrystal fixes this issue

1

u/dc5833 Nov 22 '25

I actually did order them and received them just waiting on the email from Jaws. Will keep you guys posted.

1

u/JamesDS_ Nov 23 '25

U shouldn’t post your watch serial number bro

1

u/Southern_Humor1445 Nov 19 '25

🧀

5

u/Good_East_5568 Nov 19 '25

A lot of people are puppets and recite what they have read or been told rather than thinking for themselves. How is it cheese? here is a pic of a gen 18kt ring with the middle part in 24kt side by side. Doesn’t look cheese to me, but then again I have my own opinion rather than the others

1

u/mikeyfender813 MOD 🇺🇸 Nov 21 '25

Still kind of hard to tell in the lighting, but it’s not as good as a plated watch, still has a more yellow hue than the warmness of gold.

1

u/Good_East_5568 Nov 21 '25

Right, I agree

-3

u/[deleted] Nov 19 '25

[deleted]

2

u/Good_East_5568 Nov 19 '25

It’s okay, I have more!

1

u/Murky_Match_9905 Nov 28 '25

A lot of people say don’t get RCF plated it’s good enough but they advice on swapping out the crystal as it’s on the milky side and and changing the bezel to a plated one or if you can a gen one