: If this were an older watch like a classic gold filled Hamilton
: from the 1930's to 1950's, we would refer to the wear as
: "brassing". That's where the gold layer has worn
: through around the edges revealing the base metal which is
: usually of a different "color". In a gold filled
: watch, there are three "layers" of metal. The outer
: layer is gold (usually 10kt or 14kt), the next layer is a base
: metal like brass and, the next, inner layer, is the same gold
: fill (10kt or 14kt) as the outer layer. IE-the brass base metal
: is surrounded by gold. A gold plated watch, conversely, has gold
: only on the outer layer and that layer is usually thinner (40
: microns vs. 80 microns) versus a gold filled watch. IE - it's
: two layers, not three.
Just 20 microns in this case (no pun intended) Stephen, so it's pretty common for the base metal to be showing around the edges.