:
According to Rene Rondeau in "Hamilton Wristwatches - A
: Collector's Guide" (page20), "Rolled gold plate,
: prevalent in watches of the 1960's, is essentially the same as
: gold-fill except that the layers of real gold are
: thinner--generally half the thickness of gold-fill, or 1/40 of
: the total weight. As a result it is less durable than gold-fill
: and will wear more quickly. Cases can be marked with the
: abbreviation "R.G.P."."
: I'm curious about the gold capped Connie's, too. Hopefully someone
: else has the answer to that question.
: Steve
That's true of RG. I would add also that after the laminations are put together (gold and base metal) they are rolled out...hence "rolled gold". Application is the same as gold filling. RG pieces tend to be pieces that are more easily made from flat sheets or tubes...pens, parts of pens, rings, pocket watch cases, etc.
Gold capped is just another term for gold filling with a thinner layer. Again, technically none of these processes can be considered a true plating process. Plating happens on an electron level these process happen on a molecular level. They basically "push" the gold into the spaces in between the molecular matrix (crystalline structure) of the base metal. Think of Velcro for these processes and soldering for a plating process...at the bond line.
