Expert: Melvin Mills - 3/13/2009

Question
Thank you for your time. I have a Wadsworth Pilot pocket watch case (only).  It states made of 2 plates of SOLID GOLD guaranteed warranted for 25 years.  I was concerned about the word "plate" so I had it checked.  My jewelers each stated that the reference to "plate" means the circular plates (front, back, and inner) -- not plated or filled.  I have had this watch ran through a battery of tests at 2 high-end jewelers in separate shops.  Every single piece has been cut, acid tested, checked through a large microscope-like machine.  The loop/screw mechanism that holds a chain was not gold, as usually aren't due to needing a stronger metal for this piece.  That was removed.  Every other piece was checked thoroughly and rated 10K, although it isn't marked.  Not all gold is marked.  Matter of fact, there is a lot of fakes out there that are marked 10K,14K, etc, so that is not a clear indicator of what it actually is.  They both offered over $300 for the case.  From what I have read on this forum, you state that because it says warranted for 25 years, that it is gold-filled. I would like to hear your opinion on this.  Thank you very much.

Answer
Ms. Valerie,

As you have stated, there are many pieces of jewelery that are not marked or forgeries/counterfeit and mislabeled.  Let's exclude them for this discussion.

Anytime you see a time frame given on a case, it means it is gold filled.  The process goes like this:  Take two bricks of gold and "fill" them with some base metal, creating a sandwich of sorts.
It is done by rolling two plates of solid gold on either side of a third, much thicker plate of base metal (usually brass) under pressure, to bond the gold outside to the base metal inside.

The term 25 years indicates how long it will take to wear through to the base metal.  If a case is solid gold, that would not be an issue and therefore, no amount of time is given because none is necessary.

Federal law was changed in 1924 to eliminate these potentially deceptive phrases from being used in the descriptions stamped inside cases.

Kind regards,

Melvin