Gold is the finish we sell most of. It runs from a slim Philippe Lauren at 58 euro (5,400 L) to a Swiss-marked Hislon at 199 euro (18,400 L), and it covers almost every brand on the counter. This is the whole of it, sorted by what the gold actually is, because that is the part nobody explains in a shop window.
What Gold-Tone Means on This Counter
Every gold watch we sell is plated stainless steel. None of them is solid gold, and we would rather you heard that from us than worked it out later. Plating is a thin gold-coloured layer bonded to a steel case and bracelet, which is why a watch that looks like jewellery costs what a steel watch costs.
That is not a warning, it is the point. Solid gold at these sizes would cost more than a car and would be too soft to wear every day. Plating gives you the colour, steel underneath, and a price you can hand over as a gift. What it will not do is survive scrubbing, swimming or the sea, and the section near the bottom of this page says exactly what to keep it away from.
Three words appear on our product pages and they are not interchangeable. Full gold-tone is case and bracelet both. Two-tone is steel with gold on part of it. Rose gold-tone is the pinker shade, which reads softer against the skin.
Full Gold-Tone: Case and Bracelet Together
This is what most people mean when they come in and ask for a gold watch. The whole watch is one colour, so it reads as jewellery from across a room.
The Navimarine NVM112-B4 at 70 euro (6,500 L) is the one we reach for first: a faceted bezel, a champagne sunburst dial and a date window, in full gold-tone steel. Beside it the Navimarine NM001101 at 65 euro (6,000 L) does the quieter version, slim and minimalist with fine baton indices, built for an office rather than an occasion.
At the top of the range the Hislon Classic CL213G-02SG at 189 euro (17,400 L) is full gold-tone with a fluted bezel and a horizontal-stripe silver dial, under a sapphire crystal. The Hislon Classic Queen QL113G-09SG at 169 euro (15,600 L) is the ladies' version, with a mother-of-pearl dial set with crystal indices and the same sapphire glass.
Two-Tone: Steel Carrying Gold
Two-tone is the safer buy for someone who does not usually wear gold. The steel carries the design and the gold is an accent, so it sits closer to a watch than to a bracelet.
The Hislon Classic CL214S-04SS at 199 euro (18,400 L) is the most considered version we stock: a silver case with gold-tone accents, a fluted bezel, a sapphire crystal and a date window. Lower down, the Navimarine NM229-06 at 75 euro (6,900 L) is a square two-tone with a white dial and black Roman numerals, and the Navimarine NM282-04 at 65 euro (6,000 L) puts a deep green dial in a cushion-square case.
Two of the two-tones are the ones customers actually stop at. The Navimarine NM268-06 at 85 euro (7,800 L) has a curved case, a crystal-set bezel and a blue sunburst dial with gold-tone Roman numerals, and it is the most jewellery-like watch on the counter. The Navimarine NMM1013 at the same 85 euro (7,800 L) puts a green malachite-look dial under crystal hour markers. That one gets noticed.
Rose Gold, Which Is Not the Same Thing
Rose gold-tone is pinker and warmer, and on most skin it reads quieter than yellow does. We keep two versions and they sit at opposite ends of the price list.
The Daniel Klein F at 60 euro (5,500 L) uses rose gold-tone only for the stick indices and hands, on a steel case with a soft white sunburst dial, so the pink is a detail rather than the whole watch. The Hislon Classic Queen QL145T-09SG at 189 euro (17,400 L) commits to it: rose gold-tone case and bracelet, slim profile, sapphire crystal.
Gold With Crystals
A crystal-set bezel is the quickest way to make a watch look like it cost more than it did. We say crystal-set and never diamonds, because they are not diamonds.
The Bigotti Gold Square Crystal at 77 euro (7,100 L) is the dressiest square we stock, with crystals on all four sides of the bezel against a glossy black dial. The Philippe Lauren Gold Square Crystal at 59 euro (5,400 L) is the same idea for less, and the Philippe Lauren Gold Sunray Crystal at 58 euro (5,400 L) sets its crystals into the dial at eight points instead of around the bezel.
The POLOTIME Gold Crystal at 76 euro (7,000 L) is the unusual one: crystal-set indices at four points and crystal-set panels where the bracelet meets the case, so it catches light at the wrist rather than only on the face. The Navimarine NVM141-A1 at 65 euro (6,000 L) is the value pick, a crystal-set bezel over a champagne dial with gold-tone Roman numerals.
Champagne, Black and Mother-of-Pearl
The dial decides how loud a gold watch is. Champagne is the traditional pairing and the quietest of them: a warm off-white that sits with the case instead of fighting it. Black is the opposite, and it is having a moment, because the contrast makes the gold look deliberate.
For black, the Bigotti Gold Black Dial at 69 euro (6,400 L) is the classic pairing on a five-link bracelet. For champagne, the Starking Classic Gold at 74 euro (6,800 L) is the men's option, a tonneau case with a textured champagne dial and crystal-set hour accents. Mother-of-pearl is rarer, and we have it on the Hislon Classic Queen listed further up.
The Gold That Is Marked Swiss
Two things in the gold range are not fashion watches. If you want the finish to come with something underneath it, this is where to look.
The Romanson BH3054GBR at 74 euro (6,800 L) is Swiss quartz with a sapphire crystal and a full gold-plated case and bracelet, in a rectangular case with a date display. It is the cheapest sapphire crystal on the counter, which is the single most useful fact on this page: sapphire is what stops a watch face collecting scratches, and every other watch listed above has mineral glass.
Above it sits the Hislon Classic range, marked Swiss, sapphire throughout, from 169 euro (15,600 L) to 199 euro (18,400 L). A higher price there buys the dress design, the finish and the crystal. It does not buy a better movement or more water resistance, and we would rather say so than let you assume otherwise.
What Each Budget Buys
Under 6,000 L you are in Philippe Lauren, Citizen and Daniel Klein: gold-plated steel, mineral glass, a one-year guarantee. The Citizen Quartz GN at 60 euro (5,500 L) is a Japanese movement in a gold-plated case, and the Daniel Klein Mesh at the same price is the minimalist one, a woven Milanese bracelet under a clean white dial. Quieter still is the Philippe Lauren Gold Classic at 59 euro (5,400 L), a small round case on a five-link bracelet with nothing on the dial but slim baton indices.
Between 6,000 and 8,000 L the dials get more interesting and the bezels start carrying crystals. The Daniel Klein Premium at 64 euro (5,900 L), with its fluted coin-edge bezel and Roman numeral chapter ring, and the Daniel Klein Premium Gold Tonneau at 75 euro (6,900 L) are the two we hand over most often as gifts.
Above 8,000 L there is one sport option, the Navimarine NAVI 009 in gold-tone at 95 euro (8,800 L), a large multifunction with three subdials for the day, the date and 24-hour time. Past that you are into the Swiss-marked pieces above.
If you would rather have one suggestion than a list, this is the gold watch we hand people most often.
Keeping the Plating
Plating wears where the watch is touched: the clasp, the edges of the bracelet links and the underside of the case. It does not wear evenly and it does not wear quickly, but it does wear, and knowing that is most of the battle.
Four things shorten it and all four are avoidable. Salt water is the worst, so a gold-tone watch is not a beach watch. Perfume and hairspray settle on the case and dull it. Abrasive cloths and metal polish will take the layer off, so a soft dry cloth is the entire cleaning routine. And sleeping in it doubles the hours of contact for no benefit at all.
We service every watch we sell, and we can replace a bracelet, a crystal or a battery. What no workshop can honestly promise is re-plating a worn case back to new, so the sensible plan is to keep it out of the sea and bring it in when the battery goes. There is more in our guide to cleaning a watch properly and in what strap and bracelet care actually involves.
So Which Gold Should You Buy?
If it is a gift and you do not know their taste, buy two-tone: it is the version someone who never wears gold will still put on. If they already wear gold jewellery, buy full gold-tone and let it match what is already there. If you want the finish to stay looking new for as long as possible, buy the Romanson or a Hislon, because the sapphire crystal keeps the face clear long after a mineral one has picked up marks.
Everything here is brand new, carries a one-year guarantee, and can be delivered anywhere in Albania with cash on delivery. If you are not sure, send a message with a budget and who it is for, and we will send photographs back the same day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these real gold watches?
No, and we say so before anything else on the page. Every gold watch we sell is gold-plated stainless steel, which is a gold-coloured layer bonded over a steel case and bracelet. Solid gold at these sizes would cost many times the price and would be too soft for daily wear. You are buying the colour and the look, on a steel watch, with a one-year guarantee.
Will the gold wear off?
Eventually, at the points the watch is touched most: the clasp, the link edges and the underside of the case. It is slow, and much slower again if you keep it out of salt water, away from perfume and hairspray, and clean it with nothing more than a soft dry cloth. Polishes made for solid metal will take the plating off, so do not use them.
What is the difference between full gold-tone and two-tone?
Full gold-tone means the case and the bracelet are both gold-coloured, so the watch reads as one piece. Two-tone means a steel watch with gold on part of it, usually the bezel, the centre links or the indices. Two-tone is the easier one to wear if you do not normally wear gold, and it is the safer choice as a gift.
Which gold watches have a sapphire crystal?
The Hislon Classic and Classic Queen range, and the Romanson BH3054GBR, which at 74 euro is the cheapest sapphire crystal we stock. Everything else in the gold range has mineral glass. Sapphire is far harder to scratch, which is what keeps a watch face looking new.
Can I get one delivered outside Durres?
Yes. Delivery is free anywhere in Albania and you pay the courier in cash once the watch is in your hands. You have 30 days to bring it back to the shop, and we size the bracelet at the counter, including for watches that were ordered online.
The gold watch most people picture
Full gold-tone steel, a faceted bezel and a champagne sunburst dial, at 70 euro (6,500 L). In stock in Durrës and ready to try on.
Rruga Aleksander Goga · Durrës 2001 · Albania · +355 67 571 6090