Explorer 1 214270 39mm,Gritty manual wind?

[painexpert]

I just bought a brand new 39mm and have never experienced this with any previous Rolex.Everything works great and the time keeping is right on.However,when I manually wind the crown its very"gritty" and somewhat stiff.Is this a known issue with the watch?Thanks.

[kieselguhr]

Really hard to tell tactile sensation from reading descriptions. If it’s brand new, maybe it needs a “break in” period and eventually smoothens out after several winds. Other than that, the 3130-2 should be smooth not gritty. Maybe a slight sensation change of resistance as you reach full tensile strength of the mainspring at most.

If it persists or bothers you. May I suggest bringing it to your nearest Rolex certified watchmaker to evaluate.

[SparklesMcgraw]

Should be butter smooth. I’d have it checked out. Bought it brand new? If so should be covered under the 5yr warranty anyway

[Fred48]

Yes, mine has always wound very smoothly.

[Atone]

As mentioned, should be super smooth. Bring it in and get it looked at if it’s brand new.

[simon101]

Are you sure it’s not already fully wound? You would certainly feel resistance if it is.

[aussiejoe]

My 39 Explorer also winds buttery smooth, but my Submariner ( non date) has started feeling ‘gritty’. Gritty is the most accurate way to describe the feeling.
Take it in and get it looked (felt) at.

Good luck.

[painexpert]

I went to see a friend of mine who happens to be a Master Rolex Watchmaker who trained at Rolex years ago and he wound the watch manually while listening to it.He felt that there was nothing wrong with it and suggested that I just wear it.He stated that it was a new watch and the so called gritty feeling that I was experiencing was a function of a new,"tight"watch and that it should get better over a short time period.We will see and if any further interesting info on this situation develops I will share it on this forum.Thanks for your replies.

[LA_LEC]

Smooth as silk when I wind mine.

[Ketler]

Originally Posted by painexpert

I just bought a brand new 39mm and have never experienced this with any previous Rolex.Everything works great and the time keeping is right on.However,when I manually wind the crown its very"gritty" and somewhat stiff.Is this a known issue with the watch?Thanks.

I had the exact same issue with mine...It turned out that it needed a new Reversing Wheel...Problem solved...

[pikers]

My 3 week old 214270 is noticeably grittier than my 114060 which is two years older. It still keeps good time but it did make me a little concerned when I first got it. I'm not going to worry about it for now but if it gets worse over the next 5 years I'll send it in for service.

[liberalclown]

Mine was like that, I took it to RSC and they fixed the issue, they didn't tell me why it happened. It went to the back being gritty and came back buttery smooth, almost like my wife going into therapy.