Nice cheap reg

[halocline]

Forwarded to me by a friend, I bet many of the regulars on this forum are already aware of this:

US DIVERS GOLDEN ROYAL AQUA-MASTER DBL HOSE REGULATOR - eBay (item 250556531186 end time Jan-16-10 17:22:59 PST) (http://cgi.ebay.com/US-DIVERS-GOLDEN-ROYAL-AQUA-MASTER-DBL-HOSE-REGULATOR_W0QQitemZ250556531186QQcmdZViewItemQQptZ LH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3a565541f2)

Edit: looks like it already sold, for a mere $2K.

[captain]

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.

[awap]

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.

You would have been better off had you put that $100 directly into gold with about a 30 fold increase today..

[halocline]

And to think I had a chance to buy one when I was a USD dealer back in 1968.

You still can, I bet whoever bought this one would take $3K for it!;)

We all know what chrome plating costs, what would you think gold plating on a RAM would cost?

[duckbill]

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!
--------------------------------------------------
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!

[vshearer]

. I had one gallon of gold plating solution at one time back in the 1980s (one ounce of gold). Wish I had kept it!

Wow, you could have done your tanks. :D

[awap]

I wonder how many regulators could be gold plated with a wedding band.:no: