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And to think I had a chance to buy one when I was a USD dealer back in 1968. My thought was what the heck do I need a gold plated regulator for. Retail price was $200 but I can't recall the dealer cost. This was when a normal Royal Aqua Master could be had for less than $100. It appears to be missing what would really justify the price, the certificate that came with it personally signed by JYC himself.
And to think I had a chance to buy one when I was a USD dealer back in 1968. My thought was what the heck do I need a gold plated regulator for. Retail price was $200 but I can't recall the dealer cost. This was when a normal Royal Aqua Master could be had for less than $100. It appears to be missing what would really justify the price, the certificate that came with it personally signed by JYC himself.
Gold plating is VERY, VERY thin. The amount of gold deposited is miniscule. The real cost would mostly be in the labor, though I'm sure the plater would charge a premium just because...well....after all, it IS gold!
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Edit!:
I take that back! It sure adds up!
O.K. Figure 200 square inches of surface area (liberal estimate assuming no masked areas) plated to 20 microinches (.00002", which is the minimum for "gold plate") would give .004 cubic inches of gold. .004" of gold weighs .041 troy ounces (10.17886 troy onces per cubic inch). At today's rate of $1135.20 per troy ounce, that would be $46 worth of gold in that "miniscule" amount of plating! A "heavy gold plate" (.0001" minimum) could contain upward of $231 of gold! Sorry about my blunder here. I had one gallon of gold plating solution at one time back in the 1980s (one ounce of gold). Wish I had kept it!
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