Rolex Polishing

[tudk]

I am new to the forum.
I recently sent my nine year old gmt into Rolex via an AD for service.
I wear this watch everyday as I believe a watch should be worn not
hidden away .It is scratched as you would expect with everyday use.
I would be satisfied with just a mechanical service however they offer
a polish with the service.
Yesterday we are at an AD in Melbourne Australia and the salesperson
advised that polishing if done by Rolex would not harm the watch.
I read on this forum that polishing can round the edges on the lugs
and distort the shape of the crown.
Would appreciate people’s thoughts on polishing done by Rolex.

[Heff]

I’m not a fan of polishing by anyone.


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[dcash0615]

I wouldn’t have RSC polish my watches. This is based on a few bad experiences I have had with RSC. Just my opinion.

[JonaG]

Welcome! You’ll find opinion divided on here. When I sent my GMT last year I requested no polish but that’s mainly because it was in good condition. I’m not against an RSC polish but it really depends on who you get on the day unfortunately and I suspect their case load as well.

Would be great to see some pics of the piece.

[nachopc]

Very funny, I have a 16710 from 1995 in service now and the guy convince me to “ polish a bit “


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[Dirt]

Without any pics of your watch it's hard to make an educated statement as to whether your watch could benefit from polishing or not as it must be assessed on a case by case basis.
Your definition of beaten up will be different from another's.
What I can say is that I have never had a problem with Melbourn's polishing work across a good number of watches over a number of decades. In the main, RSC is very well equipped to do the work here in OZ. Possibly better than anyone else in OZ.
I know of at least one big time Rolex collector who has no problem with Melbourne at all.

That said, personally I am very choosey as to when to go ahead with it on a case by case basis as someone who has worked on my fair share of polished metal items(not watch related) and fully understand the implications.
I have probably had between 8 and 10 polishing jobs done by them and I was most happy with the outcome
And I'm very particular
As I tap this out I am wearing a Rolex DSSD that has seen much better days from a visual standpoint. The last service(which was its first), I declined the polish component because the watch case would lose a fair bit of its definition because of the nature and extent of the damage to the case. This is despite the fact that it would look much more sparkly afterward.
I may consider a polish at the next service, but probably it will happen at the one after that in about 7-8 years or so
Who knows? The watch may have an accident in the interim and would benefit from the full spa treatment therefore bringing the anticipated polish forward

In summary, if you're content with the way it is now, then i would defer on the polish to preserve the watch as is and give it some more consideration at the next service. Or not at all.
When done right, it does make the watch look very nice/new.
If it's a keeper, you have many years to consider it at a later date like myself.
Then again, it's one of those things you have to experience to know for yourself
As far as Melbourne goes, I have no problem with their polishing work.
A pic of your watch would be nice for a further guide

[dricig]

If I let anyone polish my watch it will be RSC.
It will come back to you like new.
I don't understand the whole "unpolished" thing.

[Dirt]

Originally Posted by dricig

If I let anyone polish my watch it will be RSC.
It will come back to you like new.
I don't understand the whole "unpolished" thing.

In some cases it's debatable as to whether it's been worth it or not.
A badly beaten up watch is a good candidate for polishing as long as one is prepared for losing a bit of the original "crispness" for it to look better overall.
Padi has posted a pic or two on the forum of one of his very well used dive watches and RSC has done a great job of making it look great without losing much of its original form
That's the main consideration for those that prioritize maintaining the broader aspects of the originality of the watch.

[iTreelex]

The topic is very divided. What GMT model? The 6 digits have a good amount of material to them. RSC does a great job polishing imo. The bad experiences you read on the forums are but a minority. You have to consider that Rolex themselves polish watches that go through standard servicing. This means that they can take a polishing. It's been demonized on these forums.

One polish will not hurt and you won't have to for another decade.

[Juan Luis]

A good professional light polish is not noticeable. One can polish a watch a few times through the years with no noticeable degradation and could be sold and graded by a future dealer as in "excellent condition". In my opinion of course with what I have witnessed.

[dricig]

Originally Posted by Juan Luis

A good professional light polish is not noticeable. One can polish a watch a few times through the years with no noticeable degradation and could be sold and graded by a future dealer as in "excellent condition". In my opinion of course with what I have witnessed.

The amount of polish needed depends on if there are light signs of use or heavy with dings.
The latter requires a heavier hand on the polish wheel.
Most dealers use "excellent" as a condition of a for sale watch.
They will say "honest wear" if it is heavily used. They will never say it's Overpolished!

"Unpolished" just means that it hasn't been polished,
Since the last time it was polished!

[Andad]

Welcome to the Forum.

The last service I had done at the RSC in Melbourne was my Submariner 14060.

Manual winding was beginning to feel very rough and a service was due.

The case and bracelet had the usual scuffs and there were a few small dents on the side is of the lugs.

They did leave one small dent alone probably because it would have required too much metal to be removed but they did discuss this with me

I was very happy with the final polish.

All edges were crisp and it was running at +0.5 sec/day which was easily corrected overnight to zero.

Without knowing the condition of your GMT I can’t say how it will turn out but IMO it is in safe hands at the Melbourne RSC.

E.

[chicknbake]

Originally Posted by dcash0615

I wouldn’t have RSC polish my watches. This is based on a few bad experiences I have had with RSC. Just my opinion.

Any recommendations for non-RSC polishing?

[Atone]

i would not do it. i don't care at all about a polish. but to each his own

[zen123]

Would RSC just polish the bracelet and not the case if it I requested it?

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[EagleArmsHBAR]

Rolex slimmed down the lugs way too much on a polish they did on the 168000 my dad gave me several years ago. The lugs are really thin now.

[Moondoggy]

RSC in Melbourne I have had a few dealings with them and they know what they are doing

[garyk]

Originally Posted by tudk

I am new to the forum.
I recently sent my nine year old gmt into Rolex via an AD for service.
I wear this watch everyday as I believe a watch should be worn not
hidden away .It is scratched as you would expect with everyday use.
I would be satisfied with just a mechanical service however they offer
a polish with the service.
Yesterday we are at an AD in Melbourne Australia and the salesperson
advised that polishing if done by Rolex would not harm the watch.
I read on this forum that polishing can round the edges on the lugs
and distort the shape of the crown.
Would appreciate people’s thoughts on polishing done by Rolex.

Welcome to the forum and don’t worry, your watch is in good hands and you’ll be happy when it returns. I had a motorcycle accident in 1984. My bike was almost totaled, I was in the hospital and my Rolex YG President was hideous and ruined. Had the bike repaired and sold it, I left the hospital and required surgery a year later to partially fix my back, the Rolex came back from RSC and was like brand new again. This made me the happiest!!

[Likestheshiny]

Competent polishing will take off negligible material. You could do that at every service and the watch would still look great when you're about to die and you want to pass it on to your kid.

However, incompetent polishing can ruin a watch, turning it from crisp and shiny to kind of smeared and buttery. I would personally get polishing done only at the RSC or from a short list of very reputable independent servicers. Never let the guy at the store in the mall convince you that their guy will polish it perfectly -- maybe he will, but maybe he won't.

(Obviously, don't polish a valuable and rare collectible -- those need to stay as close to original as possible to retain their value. If your watch was one of those, you'd know.)

[Tools]

Originally Posted by tudk

. . .
Yesterday we are at an AD in Melbourne Australia and the salesperson
advised that polishing if done by Rolex would not harm the watch.
I read on this forum that polishing can round the edges on the lugs
and distort the shape of the crown.
Would appreciate people’s thoughts on polishing done by Rolex.

Most folks don't know what they are talking about and are only mimicking what they have heard. I would also say that an AD salesperson is not one of the more knowledgeable places to learn about Rolex and it's nuances.

However, even if polishing did round the edges slightly, it would still look batter than a trashed case and bracelet.

[TswaneNguni]

In my whole collection the only one that had a RSC rebrush and polish was my 116660.
4 years ago.
It came back looking like new .Perfect.
Johannesburg RSC.

[MacanS]

Laser welding helps a ton these days

[TswaneNguni]

Its not done by hand ,btw,done by a machine.
Clamp for every model that fits perfectly ,certain amount of movements ,should be like the factory finish.

[Dirt]

Originally Posted by MacanS

Laser welding helps a ton these days

Agreed.
But I'm not certain that Melbourne does it

[ToyotaMoe]

Do you have any pics of the watch?
You have a lot of passionate people with years of knowledge in this forum. They will give you their honest opinion. But it all starts with some pics. Get the taptalk app. Easiest way to post pics on here.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by dricig

If I let anyone polish my watch it will be RSC.
It will come back to you like new.
I don't understand the whole "unpolished" thing.

Likewise in the real world Rolex watches are designed to be polished, and with today's mainly pampered watches, as long as its done a normal routine service 5-10 years by RSC no problem.

[joli160]

I like my watches looking good and would always opt for the polish at an RSC.
The watchmakers are trained by Rolex and have all the equipment.
If done correctly very hard if not impossible to tell if a watch has been polished or not.

There are some independents who can do perhaps an even better job, LAWW or Rolliworks comes to mind.
Most cannot and definitely refrain using your pop mom jeweler for your watches.

[thesharkfactor]

Not for me, there’s a chance they will ruin it for me with rounded edges, I’d be very upset, the watch would be finished.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by ToyotaMoe

Do you have any pics of the watch?
You have a lot of passionate people with years of knowledge in this forum. They will give you their honest opinion. But it all starts with some pics. Get the taptalk app. Easiest way to post pics on here.

Today there is more internet generated hype and boswellocks about polishing than the actual watches mostly anti polish brigade god knows why.Normally these guys troll the net looking for bad polish jobs, then proclaim all polish is bad, most have no polish experience just what they have heard or seen on net or social media. Below a picture of my own personal working tool watch SD,it was used and many times abused for many years underwater as a real working tool with well over 600 hours underwater..And has been serviced and polished by 3 different RSC world wide,picture taken in Singapore after last service.This working tool has seen more use and abuse that today's mainly pampered watches will see in ten-twenty lifetimes.

[Henrimontgomery]

I don’t see the point of polishing your watch.

It’s gonna get scratched again, and to me, trying to have a perfectly pristine watch is Sisyphean at best. Unless it’s a dress watch such as a Journe, I wouldn’t do it.