Ideas for a revamp of my DJ2

[justdate]

I was fortunate enough to be gifted a DJ2 by my parents around 12 years ago. It came with the black stick dial and I wore it everywhere, beating up the bezel quite a bit!

The watch was serviced by Rolex and I requested the blue stick dial and a full polish around 9 years ago. To get the dings out of the bezel they polished it down a lot and it has pretty much lost all its shine and sharpness.

I don’t really use it anymore as I have grown a bit bored of the look, as it is a sentimental watch I’ll never sell I wanted to get some ideas for what to do with it now.

Right now I am thinking either:

1) Change out the bezel for a smooth bezel (think I’ll have to do this aftermarket)

2) Get Rolex to fit a new fluted bezel and maybe a new dial - azzurro perhaps?


Option 1 gives me a fresh watch without too much expense, but it won’t be that much different to what I’ve got. Option 2 will cost a lot, probably around £2500-£3000 I believe, but it will give me that beautiful white gold bezel and a new dial.

Option 3 would be to just stick it in a drawer and forget about it for another 5 years as I have been done for the past 7 years!

What do you think? Any better ideas?

[TunaTuna]

I don't think it is very considerate to modify a special gift like that from your parents. Just buy a sports watch and wear this one from time to time. Modding it won't make you like it more anyway

[justdate]

Originally Posted by TunaTuna

I don't think it is very considerate to modify a special gift like that from your parents. Just buy a sports watch and wear this one from time to time. Modding it won't make you like it more anyway

I did choose it with them at the store, so it isn’t a thing against their choice as I chose it myself. However, That’s one way to look at it, I could restore it to the black stick dial and put on a fresh bezel so it is exactly as the way I got it. That might be nice.

I do have other watches though and get my kicks by wearing (and buying/selling) those, I just always find it a shame to have this sat at the back of my safe but no interest in using it so wanted to think of a way to make more of it. A big issue is the worn out bezel for sure.

[KathleenL]

Originally Posted by TunaTuna

I don't think it is very considerate to modify a special gift like that from your parents. Just buy a sports watch and wear this one from time to time. Modding it won't make you like it more anyway

I absolutely, totally agree. A gift with sentimental value should not be modified. I think the most that you should do, if anything, would be to have Rolex put a new fluted bezel on the watch. That would give you the "shine and sharpness" that you liked about the original bezel before it was polished. But if you change the dial, change it back to a black stick dial like the watch had originally.

[Oryz]

I solidly disagree with the other posts. It’s your watch. Your parents would want you to enjoy it and use it, and wouldn’t want it to be an awkward burden for you to keep only out of sentimentality.

I say whatever returns it to the rotation is the right answer. I’d see if some experienced shops can do work on bringing the bezel back to spec, otherwise the modding seems like the best option. Even if it’s changed shape, it’s the same gift they gave to you and the love and sentiment remains.

[justdate]

Thanks very much for your thoughts, this idea makes total sense to me and I had never considered it before.

I am going to get it fully restored with a brand new bezel and return to the black dial all done by Rolex so it will be as close as possible to ‘as new’ as it was on the memorable day when I purchased it with my parents and was just starting out in life / career.

I think that’s a really nice idea and will make the watch more special to me also.




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[KathleenL]

Originally Posted by justdate

I am going to get it fully restored with a brand new bezel and return to the black dial all done by Rolex so it will be as close as possible to ‘as new’ as it was on the memorable day when I purchased it with my parents and was just starting out in life / career.

I think that’s a really nice idea and will make the watch more special to me also.




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That's wonderful!

Full disclosure -- when I was in high school, my father made a mirror for me -- a simple, rectangular mirror in a painted white frame. My father died less than a month after my 21st birthday. I still have that mirror, and many, many decades have gone by. Naturally, the frame around the mirror has become a bit worse for wear, but the mirror itself is still pristine. Unbeknownst to me, my husband decided that he was going to "restore" the frame. He started to remove the old paint. Several years have gone by, and he has never finished the restoration. And even if he ever does finish it, the mirror won't be the same to me. Frankly, it pisses me off that he even started the "restoration." If he had told me he was going to do it, even if he hadn't asked if it was ok to do it, if he had just mentioned that he was going to do it, I would have told him not to. So, when I said that you should just put a new fluted bezel on and change back to a black stick dial, it was from that frame of mind. Our parents will not be with us forever (my mother died less than two weeks before my 21st birthday, and my father three weeks after my 21st birthday), so they won't always be here to give us gifts. Cherish what you have.

[Oryz]

Sounds great, keep us posted! Also lol @ the terminal keyboard in the background.

[Hemdog]

Can’t you just get a new bezel for it?

[ronricks]

There are several places that now recut the fluted bezels. It’s much cheaper than buying a new one.