Question about AP RO 33mm Quartz (56303ST)

[zwilhelm]

Hi all, new to this forum.

I'm considering picking up a Royal Oak Quartz 33mm 56303ST with a D-series serial number, but am not sure if it's such a good idea after reading Submarino's sticky.

10. Stay away from a RO Quartz as changing the battery is something that needs to be done every 2-3 years. To change the battery you need to disassemble the whole watch. Remove the bezel, dial, hands, crown, etc. to access the movement and then replace the battery. If done by an independent there are a ton of things that can go wrong. Then again you will need to have AP do it and it gets really pricey even when it's just a battery change as they will still force you to do a periodic service.

I'm wondering if this still applies in 2022 and my case. The AP website says it will cost $600 USD minimum per service. Is it really $600 every 2-3 years still? Furthermore, the same service page says prices are only valid for "quartz watches which were produced within the last 15 years" and I think the D-series was made before 2007 (2022 minus 15), so the service charge will be even more than $600?

Does anyone else have a similar or same model? What's your experience with the 33mm quartz? I love the Royal Oak design, I sincerely don't mind that it's a quartz, the small size fits my small wrists, it's been a grail for many years now, but I'm wondering if the juice is (or is not) worth the squeeze.

Thanks in advance!

PS: I need a higher count to post links, so I apologize in advance for not providing link references