Golden Rules: Proprietary Gold Alloys From Top Watchmakers

Why settle for off the shelf gold when you can make your own? In the battle of the best materials to use to manufacture watches, some watch brands tinker with secret formulas to produce gold that they can call their own. Depending on the specific blend, the results vary from distinct tones to improved durability. Here are four examples of proprietary gold alloys from top watchmakers.

 Rolex Everose Gold

Unveiled in 2005, Everose is Rolex’s exclusive 18k gold alloy that promises to never fade. Whether you call it rose gold or pink gold, Rolex Everose is a special formula of gold, copper (for color), and platinum (to prevent fading). Known for its focus on vertical integration, Rolex also boasts its own foundry to create the gold it uses to craft watches. Most Rolex watch collections now offer Everose gold editions, from the dressy Day-Date, Datejust, and Cellini models to the sporty Daytona, Yacht-Master, and GMT-Master II.

Omega Sedna Gold

Named after a distant red planetoid, Sedna gold is Omega’s proprietary 18k rose gold alloy, a blend that brings together gold, copper, and palladium to ensure a long-lasting reddish luster. Omega introduced Sedna gold in 2013 after it was developed by an in-house Swatch Group team. Although Sedna gold made its entrance within the Constellation collection, the reddish rose gold has now found itself across all Omega collections including the Seamaster, Speedmaster, and DeVille.

Hublot Magic Gold

Using its own avant-garde approach to alchemy, Hublot has managed to turn soft and malleable gold into a tougher and scratch-resistant metal by infusing it with ceramic. Aptly named Magic Gold, the magical mix of ceramic—prized for its hardness and solidity—and liquid gold took two years for Hublot to develop. The resulting color of Hublot’s Magic Gold is bronze-like in tone and the special alloy made its debut in 2012. Since it is both time-consuming and arduous to produce, Magic Gold Hublot watches are few and far between.

A. Lange & Söhne Honey Gold

In 2010, the pride of German watchmaking, A. Lange & Sôhne, announced its exclusive gold alloy dubbed Honey Gold after the caramel color of nature’s sweetest liquid. Twice as hard as platinum, therefore highly resistant to scratches and damage, Honey Gold is only reserved for select limited edition A. Lange & Söhne models, such as the Langematik Perpetual, Richard Lange Tourbillon “Pour le Mérite,” Zeitwerk Decimal Strike, and a few others. The rarity of Honey Gold models makes them ever so collectible among  Lange enthusiasts.