Park
547
White vs. Yellow
GS49,
Though I'm considering some of the same PPs you list, I'm not qualified to answer your first question as I only own AP and VC. I have been keenly interested in the second question, however, and can give you an answer from the point of view of one who has stuck entirely to white, grey, and blackened metals.
As you may know, there are plenty of afficiandos of every brand and from every walk of life who still prefer yellow gold over white metals. Among the reasons I've heard them give are the warmth, the tradition, the remembrance of previous generations, the obvious value, and insuring that nobody mistake the watch for steel. Some colors look particularly good with yellow gold, hence the popularity of the YG Sub with blue dial.
It has been said for some time that tastes shifted toward white metals, and among the explanations given have been the increasing use of platinum and the discovery by the masses that it is more valuable than gold, a tendency by the younger generation to think of yellow gold watches as something their parents or grandparents would wear, and a desire to avoid robbery (as even the dumbest and most culturally deprived mugger knows that gold is valuable). Increasingly, it is being said (or perhaps hoped by those who say it) that a taste for yellow gold is returning.
Personally, the reasons I've avoided colored gold, despite being drawn to several pieces that look wonderful in colored gold, are that it does not look very good with light skin tones and that it draws attention to itself as expensive, a terrible detriment in some lines of work and in some social roles, though an advantage in others. Moreover, having avoided any colored gold or brass for decades, it would not go with anything I own. I'm among those who think any metals should match on one's watch, ring, pen, belt buckle, key chain, etc.
Ultimately, the issue is one of personal style. Some cultures, subcultures, social groups, and individuals place a premium on the overt display of wealth; others place a premium on understatement and subtlety.
Park
