2016 Rolex Explorer II Rough Winding Issue

[scarabei]

So I didn't wear my Rolex Explorer II for a couple weeks. This morning I decided to break it out again. When attempting to wind the watch, I noticed that the winding feeling was different than before. It felt NOT uniform, there was some sort of catching going on and it just felt OFF from the norm.

Even when fully wound, there is still some weird clinks and catches as I try to wind it. Anyone else have similar issues? Is it time to take in for work under warranty?

Funny enough, this is my second Rolex in 1 year's time with mechanical issues. The first one was my ex girlfriend's datejust that wouldn't properly wind and would lose a ton of time. It was brand new too! Rolex fixed it, but still... so much for the famed Rolex QA.




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[Pharaoh_83]

when you did wind it, did it run? silly question but was it ever dropped? if you shake it on your wrist, do you head the rotor spinning?

[scarabei]

Never dropped. The watch is running fine and keeping great time so far. Rotor spinning and doing so quietly. The only issue is this catching feeling out of nowhere. Now that the spring has been wound up fully, the catching effect is diminished, but it's still there. It's not that normal grindy feeling. Something is not right.

[904VT]

My 2016 116520 did the same, but only when new. Once it was wound and broken in a bit it was as silky smooth as my 3135 powered watches and has been ever since. Does it feel the same when you screw in and screw out again each time? The other slipping may just have been because the movement was fully wound. Perhaps let it power down again and then give it another try winding to see if it feels the same.

[scarabei]

I have a science project going. Letting the watch wind down and seeing if I can reproduce tomorrow morning.

The one curious thing I noticed is that when the watch was brand new, sometimes you could feel like the gears not fully engaging when pulling out the crown and trying to set time.

I am still curious about Rolex's QA. I don't think I am a statistical anomaly in having two new Rolex watches with movement issues in 1 year's time.

[904VT]

Originally Posted by scarabei

I have a science project going. Letting the watch wind down and seeing if I can reproduce tomorrow morning.

The one curious thing I noticed is that when the watch was brand new, sometimes you could feel like the gears not fully engaging when pulling out the crown and trying to set time.

I am still curious about Rolex's QA. I don't think I am a statistical anomaly in having two new Rolex watches with movement issues in 1 year's time.

Initially, I think it may be more to do with the tight tolerances taking time to "break in" than QA issues. Those being a good thing like new bracelet squeak etc.

I'd be curious your situation though, since it seems like you may have moved past that stage, depending on how much wrist time it gets though.

[scarabei]

Originally Posted by 904VT

Initially, I think it may be more to do with the tight tolerances taking time to "break in" than QA issues. Those being a good thing like new bracelet squeak etc.



I'd be curious your situation though, since it seems like you may have moved past that stage, depending on how much wrist time it gets though.

The gear failing to catch thing disappeared. No more bracelet squeak. No issues with winding until the watch took a 2 week break from the wrist. I'll keep the thread abreast of my findings :-)


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[The Libertine]

What you describe is similar in nature to what happened to my 14060M. Winding became rough, and occasionally I even experienced the "catching" you mention. It just did not seem normal to me. Was still under 2-year RSC service warranty, so it is currently being repaired by them.

[xac]

Originally Posted by The Libertine

What you describe is similar in nature to what happened to my 14060M. Winding became rough, and occasionally I even experienced the "catching" you mention. It just did not seem normal to me. Was still under 2-year RSC service warranty, so it is currently being repaired by them.

I am experiencing this now with my 2017. Had it checked at RSC. It went smooth for a week then it came back. Nothing else wrong with it just this. Funny thing is when it was new up to about a month ago it never did this.