do i still need to send in rolex for service if not worn?

[ThatSubGuy]

Originally Posted by Verdi

The analogy with a car service is not so relevant. Or lets say, not entirely.

Yes, watches do need service, but not so often as a car!
Changing the oil in the car is not the same as a full service movement on a watch when the mechanism is fully taken apart.
Do you ever take the whole engine apart on a car during a service, even a major one?

If a watch is modern and it has not been worn in years......I would not run to RSC to do a full service. I would wear it and see if it keeps time. This is one aspect: is it accurate?
The other important aspect is if the watch if still waterproof, in case I want to swim with it.
This can be easily determined with a pressure test.

I am all in for maintaining a watch properly. I have sent for service around 15 watches in the last years...but these were all vintage pieces which I knew that have not been serviced in decades.
On a modern watch I would take another approach.

What the watch needs is the oils/lubricants being changed since there's a high risk that the original oils have somewhat dried up since it was put away.

Running a watch without lubricants (much like a car) will cause the components to wear out much faster.

Of course you don't need to take the engine apart on a car, because there's an oilcontainer, pump, etc..

Theoretically you could engineer a watch with a small oil-container to be topped up and mostly eliminate the need for a service. At least for the sake of adding new lubricants the watch. As long as the watch is well-lubricated there shouldn't be any wear on the mechanical parts. If you don't bash and knock the watch around using it as a daily-beater I'd assume there would be no need to ever service the watch. Perhaps a watchmaker can chime in