Explorer II back from UK RSC

[Harry-57]

Purchased in February 2018, stopped and would not restart for more than a few seconds in June 2024. Probably the mainspring.

Service without refurbishment, sent in via my AD, turned around in 3 weeks, cost £592.

FYI.

[brandrea]

Glad to see you got it back so quickly

Did the receipt give you any clues as to the issue?

[77T]

^^^ x2

If it was the mainspring, hopefully they put a better one in to replace it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[exp90]

Useful to know - thanks for sharing - and enjoy!

[travisb]

Back in the mix!

[Harry-57]

Thank you all. I thought it might be vaguely helpful - and at least it's factual.

There was no paperwork from the RSC. It's had a full service. I don't know if the mainspring is routinely replaced at service. It's the most travelled of my Rolex watches. It's been a lot of places, traveled around 50k miles but managed to avoid any big knocks. The initial quote was IIRC around £750 but the AD and RSC agreed that it didn't need any cosmetic work, which knocked the cost down.

This is my third spontaneous 31xx failure. The other two were mainsprings and both were in warranty.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Harry-57

Thank you all. I thought it might be vaguely helpful - and at least it's factual.

There was no paperwork from the RSC. It's had a full service. I don't know if the mainspring is routinely replaced at service. It's the most travelled of my Rolex watches. It's been a lot of places, traveled around 50k miles but managed to avoid any big knocks. The initial quote was IIRC around £750 but the AD and RSC agreed that it didn't need any cosmetic work, which knocked the cost down.

This is my third spontaneous 31xx failure. The other two were mainsprings and both were in warranty.

In general mainsprings are replaced as part of full service,but even Rolex dont make their own mainsprings they are made by a firm called Schwab-Feller AG.Glad you got it back so quickly let's hope now it will for many years to come.

[Harry-57]

Originally Posted by padi56

In general mainsprings are replaced as part of full service,but even Rolex dont make their own mainsprings they are made by a firm called Schwab-Feller AG.Glad you got it back so quickly let's hope now it will for many years to come.

Thank you for that. More valuable info to add to the data bank while my brain is still capable of storing it (hopefully).

[RichM]

Glad to see it back where it belongs.

[WilsdorfNDavis]

Originally Posted by padi56

...but even Rolex dont make their own mainsprings they are made by a firm called Schwab-Feller AG.

But...but...but...we've been led to believe that Rolex makes EVERYTHING in-house...LOL

[Chuckwagon]

Originally Posted by WilsdorfNDavis

But...but...but...we've been led to believe that Rolex makes EVERYTHING in-house...LOL

Rolex bought out their suppliers and partners to become in-house…

[Mr. Superlative]

Originally Posted by Harry-57

Thank you all. I thought it might be vaguely helpful - and at least it's factual.

There was no paperwork from the RSC. It's had a full service. I don't know if the mainspring is routinely replaced at service. It's the most travelled of my Rolex watches. It's been a lot of places, traveled around 50k miles but managed to avoid any big knocks. The initial quote was IIRC around £750 but the AD and RSC agreed that it didn't need any cosmetic work, which knocked the cost down.

This is my third spontaneous 31xx failure. The other two were mainsprings and both were in warranty.

Thanks for sharing. Surprised you’ve seen so many failures, and this was just outside of warranty. Any ideas on what the root cause may be? Glad you got it back so quickly, however, I’d be a little disappointed at paying £600 to fix something without knowing precisely what was fixed.

[Harry-57]

Originally Posted by Mr. Superlative

Thanks for sharing. Surprised you’ve seen so many failures

Me too. It has made me think about slimming down the collection a bit but TBH I've been thinking about consolidating for some time. I can feel a PM model coming on and it will sit in a smaller collection.

Originally Posted by Mr. Superlative

Any ideas on what the root cause may be?

No. There is no pattern that I can see. They usually go into winders when not being worn and about half of the time I don't bother switching the winders on.

Originally Posted by Mr. Superlative

Glad you got it back so quickly, however, I’d be a little disappointed at paying £600 to fix something without knowing precisely what was fixed.

The turnaround was faster than I expected. They didn't do any refurbishment and this might be a factor. The £600 was for a full service. Could be they replaced a number of things and the mainspring will have been one of them. The two that failed under warranty (a 3131 and a 3135) were both returned with an explanation - failed mainsprings. The upside is you get a rather nice leather case with a service, as opposed to a soft pouch. The glass is always half full.

[Mr. Superlative]

Originally Posted by Harry-57

Me too. It has made me think about slimming down the collection a bit but TBH I've been thinking about consolidating for some time. I can feel a PM model coming on and it will sit in a smaller collection.



No. There is no pattern that I can see. They usually go into winders when not being worn and about half of the time I don't bother switching the winders on.



The turnaround was faster than I expected. They didn't do any refurbishment and this might be a factor. The £600 was for a full service. Could be they replaced a number of things and the mainspring will have been one of them. The two that failed under warranty (a 3131 and a 3135) were both returned with an explanation - failed mainsprings. The upside is you get a rather nice leather case with a service, as opposed to a soft pouch. The glass is always half full.

Good attitude. If the root cause is ever identified, do keep us apprised.

[Harry-57]

Originally Posted by Mr. Superlative

If the root cause is ever identified, do keep us apprised.

I sure will.

Thank you to all for your contributions and kind words.

[996marty]

A nice quick turnaround and hopefully years of hassle free wrist time

[richardlo]

Having to buy suppliers indicates Rolex needs other companies to keep up with whatever parts Rolex isnt able to keep up with. Which should dispell the rumors that Rolex intentionally limits their supply.

[Harry-57]

Rolex have always operated like this. From time to time they buy the supplying companies.

[Apdl]

I thought years ago there were only a few RSCs around the globe.
Looking at the Rolex site, it almost seems that a lot of ADs are now RSCs.
Harry, was your watch serviced on site?

[Harry-57]

Originally Posted by Apdl

Harry, was your watch serviced on site?

No. It went to one of the two UK RSCs, I don't know which one. I've had dealings with both West Malling and Mayfair and found them to be friendly, helpful and highly professional.

My AD has OEM equipment and a Rolex accredited technician on site. They fixed my first mainspring failure on site. They got it back to me in 3 days. The second went to West Malling. There must be some sort protocol which dictates what can and cannot be done in house, although it could come down to something much more routine like length of queue, staff holidays, off sick, etc.

[/ramble]

My 1.5 year old Z Blue died in June 2020. When I took it in to my AD who had just reopened to visitors by appointment after the first COVID-19 lock down, the two watches on my want list at the time were the TT white Sky Dweller and the SS BLRO. I had asked for the BLRO since the day after it was announced and on every visit to my AD since. When I left after this visit I was finally on the list for the BLRO (which arrived 15 months later), I had been offered a BLNR from the vault and had politely declined, and I was the proud owner of a TT white Sky Dweller. I was relaxed and polite about the dead Milgauss so maybe my demeanour helped. Whatever the reason, it was a memorable hour. And I got my Z Blue back three days later.

[\ramble]

[winst]

Originally Posted by Harry-57

No. It went to one of the two UK RSCs, I don't know which one. I've had dealings with both West Malling and Mayfair and found them to be friendly, helpful and highly professional.

My AD has OEM equipment and a Rolex accredited technician on site. They fixed my first mainspring failure on site. They got it back to me in 3 days. The second went to West Malling. There must be some sort protocol which dictates what can and cannot be done in house, although it could come down to something much more routine like length of queue, staff holidays, off sick, etc.

[/ramble]

My 1.5 year old Z Blue died in June 2020. When I took it in to my AD who had just reopened to visitors by appointment after the first COVID-19 lock down, the two watches on my want list at the time were the TT white Sky Dweller and the SS BLRO. I had asked for the BLRO since the day after it was announced and on every visit to my AD since. When I left after this visit I was finally on the list for the BLRO (which arrived 15 months later), I had been offered a BLNR from the vault and had politely declined, and I was the proud owner of a TT white Sky Dweller. I was relaxed and polite about the dead Milgauss so maybe my demeanour helped. Whatever the reason, it was a memorable hour. And I got my Z Blue back three days later.

[\ramble]

Watch looks great but I believe there are over 30 accredited RSC’s in the UK now. There are 2 alone that I have dealt with in the NW - Whittles in Preston & Preston’s in Wilslow. Jamie at Whittles is brilliant & has restored 2 x 6426’s for me to an excellent standard that then came with 2 Year Rolex Service Guarantee cards. I believe he actually served his apprenticeship in London before he moved to the NW.

[Harry-57]

Originally Posted by winst

Watch looks great but I believe there are over 30 accredited RSC’s in the UK now.

There are two RSCs in the UK which are Rolex owned, plus a number of ADs who are accredited to RSC level, and provide the OEM service grantee, my AD being one of them. They are not owned by Rolex and distinct from the two RSCs. Watchworks in Bristol is an example of an independent with a Rolex parts account, accredited staff and OEM equipment but they do not hold or claim to hold any kind of RSC status.

[winst]

Originally Posted by Harry-57

There are two RSCs in the UK which are Rolex owned, plus a number of ADs who are accredited to RSC level, and provide the OEM service grantee, my AD being one of them. They are not owned by Rolex and distinct from the two RSCs. Watchworks in Bristol is an example of an independent with a Rolex parts account, accredited staff and OEM equipment but they do not hold or claim to hold any kind of RSC status.

Ah, interesting to know. As I get the Rolex Service card and he is so good though I will continue to get my watches serviced there.

[1William]

Great watch. One of my favorites.

[Harry-57]

Originally Posted by 1William

Great watch. One of my favorites.

And mine

[MannyMann]

Great watch! Nice to know you got it back as fast as you can, thanks for sharing.

[Easy E]

That’s really quick turn around. Glad it’s back. It’s a great watch.

[Jackie Daytona]

Great watch! Nice turnaround time. Not a bad price considering how many years of worry free timekeeping you should get out of it.

[Harry-57]

Thank you all. I'm hopeful and somewhat confident that I won't be sending it in again for a good long time, if ever.

[Rebel]

Sweet.