Rolex Service any advice

[Merit]

Just wanted to clarify, if a Rolex over 10 years keeps accurate timing and runs perfectly is there any reason to service? I know it’s recommended it should be serviced every 5 years. What are your experiences so far, how long have you used a watch without any service.

[joli160]

No, why spent money and worse be without your watch for two months.
The only positive I can think of is that it looks brand new after a service.

Several of mine running fine > two decades and pass the pressure test as well.

[Merit]

Originally Posted by joli160

No, why spent money and worse be without your watch for two months.
The only positive I can think of is that it looks brand new after a service.

Several of mine running fine > two decades and pass the pressure test as well.

same thing the wife told me, why…

[Dirt]

It's a hard one.
For your watch that's 10 years old, they used to say a service was advisable somewhere between 5-7 years.
Depending on the amount the watch is worn, that seemed reasonable given that lubes will be starting to well and truly dry out by the time 10 or more years have elapsed. That covers the movement side of things.
Water resistance is another matter that probably should be fully factored in.

As I've said before on the forum, movement wise I normally don't get much more than 5-5.5 years between services with a daily worn automatic before it's showing slight signs of needing a service or even stopping randomly altogether.
Though I had an Omega Co-axial which was worn occassionally that went about 13.5 years before timekeeping started to gradually slow up noticeably so it went in for a service. On a timegrapher it was running just fine and initially the watchmaker said not to worry about it just yet but when I said it was never serviced and it's about 13 years old he said a service was optional.
Of course that's without a pressure test or taking the back off.
I would say that 10 years or more and the back probably needs to come off for a proper assessment and that will only buy you a bit more time.

That's the thing, as It's a bit of a moving feast and we have to use our good judgement.
Also a timegrapher can tell you if a watch does need a service, but it can't determine if a watch actually does need a service.

Given that way way back in the day it used to be every 3 years, then it was every 3-5 years, further along down the track it became 5-7 years and now Omega are saying 8 years and Rolex are saying 10 but a number of the new Rolex movements aren't even getting out of their 5 year warranty before they've had 3 trips to the RSC to fix poor and declining timekeeping.
Take from that what you will, but 10 years is reasonable if one respects the insides of a good watch that's reliable. The water resistance will also be assured

[Calatrava r]

[QUOTE=Dirt;12821635]It's a hard one.
For your watch that's 10 years old, they used to say a service was advisable somewhere between 5-7 years.
Depending on the amount the watch is worn, that seemed reasonable given that lubes will be starting to well and truly dry out by the time 10 or more years have elapsed. That covers the movement side of things.
Water resistance is another matter that probably should be fully factored in.

As I've said before on the forum, movement wise I normally don't get much more than 5-5.5 years between services with a daily worn automatic before it's showing slight signs of needing a service or even stopping randomly altogether.
Though I had an Omega Co-axial which was worn occassionally that went about 13.5 years before timekeeping started to gradually slow up noticeably so it went in for a service. On a timegrapher it was running just fine and initially the watchmaker said not to worry about it just yet but when I said it was never serviced and it's about 13 years old he said a service was optional.
Of course that's without a pressure test or taking the back off.
I would say that 10 years or more and the back probably needs to come off for a proper assessment and that will only buy you a bit more time.

That's the thing, as It's a bit of a moving feast and we have to use our good judgement.
Also a timegrapher can tell you if a watch does need a service, but it can't determine if a watch actually does need a service.

Given that way way back in the day it used to be every 3 years, then it was every 3-5 years, further along down the track it became 5-7 years and now Omega are saying 8 years and Rolex are saying 10 but a number of the new Rolex movements aren't even getting out of their 5 year warranty before they've had 3 trips to the RSC to fix poor and declining timekeeping.
Take from that what you will, but 10 years is reasonable if one respects the insides of a good watch that's reliable. The water resistance will also be assured[/

I am not sure I follow you on the timegrapher and the need for service.

[Dirt]

[QUOTE=Calatrava r;12821640]

Originally Posted by Dirt

It's a hard one.
For your watch that's 10 years old, they used to say a service was advisable somewhere between 5-7 years.
Depending on the amount the watch is worn, that seemed reasonable given that lubes will be starting to well and truly dry out by the time 10 or more years have elapsed. That covers the movement side of things.
Water resistance is another matter that probably should be fully factored in.

As I've said before on the forum, movement wise I normally don't get much more than 5-5.5 years between services with a daily worn automatic before it's showing slight signs of needing a service or even stopping randomly altogether.
Though I had an Omega Co-axial which was worn occassionally that went about 13.5 years before timekeeping started to gradually slow up noticeably so it went in for a service. On a timegrapher it was running just fine and initially the watchmaker said not to worry about it just yet but when I said it was never serviced and it's about 13 years old he said a service was optional.
Of course that's without a pressure test or taking the back off.
I would say that 10 years or more and the back probably needs to come off for a proper assessment and that will only buy you a bit more time.

That's the thing, as It's a bit of a moving feast and we have to use our good judgement.
Also a timegrapher can tell you if a watch does need a service, but it can't determine if a watch actually does need a service.

Given that way way back in the day it used to be every 3 years, then it was every 3-5 years, further along down the track it became 5-7 years and now Omega are saying 8 years and Rolex are saying 10 but a number of the new Rolex movements aren't even getting out of their 5 year warranty before they've had 3 trips to the RSC to fix poor and declining timekeeping.
Take from that what you will, but 10 years is reasonable if one respects the insides of a good watch that's reliable. The water resistance will also be assured[/

I am not sure I follow you on the timegrapher and the need for service.

You're quite right.
I've just reviewed what I said.
Give me a moment to put it right.
Thanks

[Dirt]

It seems as though i can't edit my post for some reason.

What i should've said was that a timegrapher can't actually determine that a watch movement doesn't need a service.
Only taking the back off and an inspection by a competent watchmaker can give a better indication.

[Tools]

Originally Posted by Merit

Just wanted to clarify, if a Rolex over 10 years keeps accurate timing and runs perfectly is there any reason to service? I know it’s recommended it should be serviced every 5 years. What are your experiences so far, how long have you used a watch without any service.

Rolex has not recommended "5 to 7 years depending on conditions.." for several years now.

They have come out with a statement that Rolex owners service their watches "on average" about every 10 years.

If you believe in preventive maintenance, which rules the engineering world for critical machinery, you might consider this a routine. Naturally, a watch is seldom critical machinery so some wait until something goes wrong.

[Merit]

Thanks so much guys for the contributions, this is really an interesting topic.