Talk with my frustrated local AD watchmaker

[TheVTCGuy]

My AD has a Rolex watchmaker in store (I guess they all would? ). I have known him for over ten years; good guy and talented artisan. I stopped by today and we had a brief conversation in which he complained of the latest fad causing Rolex owners to bring in their watch for “service” Get this:

He said because every Rolex advertisement shows a picture with the crown up (towards the dial) perfectly, someone put out the word that this is the correct alignment, and if your watch is not lined up it needs service... ... ...

He blamed Rolex for advertising it that way, but I found it difficult to comprehend a true WIS would ever believe something like that. I understand it is a nice feature of your watch to display, mine is pretty close, but really, would someone believe that their Rolex is “broken” if it’s not properly lined up? I guess maybe they think it has to be for water-proofing? Anyway, he said this is a very recent occurrence but someone put out on Youtube that it needs a service, he has had to explain “a couple dozen times” over the past few days to customers that have brought in their Rolex for repair, crown not lining up.

It’s a new one on me, I found it kind of funny, felt sorry for the watchmaker, but wonder if Rolex shouldn’t be advertising that? What next? Someone will bring in their watch for service if it doesn’t show ten minutes after ten o'clock on the 28th all the time?

[Harry-57]

Once a month for twice that day, all my Rolex watches work as advertised. I don't wear them the rest of the time.

Rolls Royce wheel badges and PM Sky Dweller crowns seem immune to the alignment defect. There must be something in it.

[Rashid.bk]

A side effect of social media. I don't care how it lines up, I do care whether that bad boy is not at +-2 spd.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

My AD has a Rolex watchmaker in store (I guess they all would? ). I have known him for over ten years; good guy and talented artisan. I stopped by today and we had a brief conversation in which he complained of the latest fad causing Rolex owners to bring in their watch for “service” Get this:

He said because every Rolex advertisement shows a picture with the crown up (towards the dial) perfectly, someone put out the word that this is the correct alignment, and if your watch is not lined up it needs service... ... ...

He blamed Rolex for advertising it that way, but I found it difficult to comprehend a true WIS would ever believe something like that. I understand it is a nice feature of your watch to display, mine is pretty close, but really, would someone believe that their Rolex is “broken” if it’s not properly lined up? I guess maybe they think it has to be for water-proofing? Anyway, he said this is a very recent occurrence but someone put out on Youtube that it needs a service, he has had to explain “a couple dozen times” over the past few days to customers that have brought in their Rolex for repair, crown not lining up.

It’s a new one on me, I found it kind of funny, felt sorry for the watchmaker, but wonder if Rolex shouldn’t be advertising that? What next? Someone will bring in their watch for service if it doesn’t show ten minutes after ten o'clock on the 28th all the time?

Well most of this stuff has happened over the past 5 years or so, with alignment points, fretting worrying over perhaps just a few seconds out of 86400 in day. Stickyback plastic, hangtags,etc the list is now becoming endless. I sometimes wonder why some buy Rolex watches that causes these so called heartache worries perhaps just to wear the brand name. I blame the likes of so called social media as today many have lost there own brain power to think for themselves and rely on the likes of say Youtube to make there mind up for them. And today with apps for this and that I sometimes wonder how some remember they got to breath without the help of apps or so called social media which should be called in many ways un-social media.

[Andad]

Yes there are some who get would up over little things.

[Devildog]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

My AD has a Rolex watchmaker in store (I guess they all would? ). I have known him for over ten years; good guy and talented artisan. I stopped by today and we had a brief conversation in which he complained of the latest fad causing Rolex owners to bring in their watch for “service” Get this:

He said because every Rolex advertisement shows a picture with the crown up (towards the dial) perfectly, someone put out the word that this is the correct alignment, and if your watch is not lined up it needs service... ... ...

He blamed Rolex for advertising it that way, but I found it difficult to comprehend a true WIS would ever believe something like that. I understand it is a nice feature of your watch to display, mine is pretty close, but really, would someone believe that their Rolex is “broken” if it’s not properly lined up? I guess maybe they think it has to be for water-proofing? Anyway, he said this is a very recent occurrence but someone put out on Youtube that it needs a service, he has had to explain “a couple dozen times” over the past few days to customers that have brought in their Rolex for repair, crown not lining up.

It’s a new one on me, I found it kind of funny, felt sorry for the watchmaker, but wonder if Rolex shouldn’t be advertising that? What next? Someone will bring in their watch for service if it doesn’t show ten minutes after ten o'clock on the 28th all the time?

I think we often forget that 99% of Rolex owners are not WIS. Its getting worse with the social media generations, where likes on Instagram are more important than the actual substance of the item.

This does not surprise me at all Paul. Just a sad reflection of the times we live in

[fskywalker]

Originally Posted by Devildog

I think we often forget that 99% of Rolex owners are not WIS. Its getting worse with the social media generations, where likes on Instagram are more important than the actual substance of the item.

This does not surprise me at all Paul. Just a sad reflection of the times we live in

This !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Brew]

Crown alignment has been discussed here repeatedly. It was only a matter of time for the "issue" to become part of the Rolex "pop-culture."

[mountainjogger]

I feel his pain, Paul.

But this may just be the flip side of the instant WIS phenomenon. My view. . .

On the positive side, demand is up. This is good for manufacturers of new product, sellers of new, preowned, and vintage. And of course, more business for watchmakers.

This is a vast improvement for the industry. As a reminder for those who forget, see this 2009 article

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/27/f...sultPosition=6

On the downside, many people now consider themselves WIS after watching a few YouTube videos, and their knowledge base is limited. But, they are driving sales and the need for watchmaking services.

Yes, it may be a pain for AD's to not be able to meet demand and for watchmakers to answer stupid questions, but 30% discounts, stagnant inventory, and low traffic at the watchmaker desk is a far worse problem.

[Oystersteel92]

Deep inside Peter Singer and Emerson Brooking's new book, LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media, is a great quote attributed to Colonel Robert Bateman: “Once, every village had an idiot. It took the internet to bring them all together.”

Reading LikeWar will help you to avoid being part of this Internet of Idiots (IoI). As much as nobody wants to admit that they get sucked in by confirmation bias, we all fall prey to it. The constant barrage of messages we get through FaceBook, Twitter, our favorite sub reddits, YouTube, and Instagram, subtly impact our world view. Only constant questioning and filtering will protect us from being part of the problem.

Like any viral infection, information offensives work by targeting the most vulnerable members of a population—in this case, the least informed.

One of my favorite quotes about a side effect of connecting everyone via the internet. I first got online in 1994, and at that time it seemed like most of the connections were enthusiasts of different things seeking other enthusiasts, much like TRF. Then, the internet reached critical mass as the bar of usage fell down to nothing.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Devildog

I think we often forget that 99% of Rolex owners are not WIS. Its getting worse with the social media generations, where likes on Instagram are more important than the actual substance of the item.

This does not surprise me at all Paul. Just a sad reflection of the times we live in

Sad but true.

[GB-man]

The funny thing is Rolex has the tech to make them all line up but chooses to not deploy it across the board

I would venture further and say most dealers aren’t WIS either. Small group of people who just love horology.

[Driver8]

Originally Posted by Devildog

I think we often forget that 99% of Rolex owners are not WIS. Its getting worse with the social media generations, where likes on Instagram are more important than the actual substance of the item.

This does not surprise me at all Paul. Just a sad reflection of the times we live in

This ^. You just have to spend 5 mins on any of the Rolex FB groups to realise that most of today's Rolex "enthusiasts" (and I use the term very loosely indeed) don't know anything about watches, other than the name on the dial (which HAS to be Rolex) and what they believe it makes them look like to others. When you get individuals who openly admit to wearing watches without even setting the time, you know you're million miles away from being in the company of true WIS.

[1William]

Such is the current trend. It would be interesting to see if the watchmakers and AD's could part some wisdom to these individuals. But it is tough if no one is listening.

[dannyp]

Originally Posted by Andad

Yes there are some who get would up over little things.

I really, really hope that a typo caused a misspelling of "wound" instead of you accidentally typing the wrong version of "wood" here.