Man its simple gold is the best conductor so therefore, so there is gain to plate the whole thing sure just plating the contact area is good enough but I think it more of a hassle to plate the ends and in the end would cost more to manufacture plus it looks cool and generally when anyone one that knows about conductivity it shows quality
You just made my point for me. I've been an electronics tech for over 20 years... I know about conductivity. Which is why I said that plating the entire head is useless as far as conductivity goes...