Damage from OF adjustment, or wear & tear?

[Rebel]

Originally Posted by Bald Angus

Looks like the watchmaker used a chisel and hammer to gain access to the spring bar.

This.

[FL2024]

Rolex will resolve and repair at service.

[train-time]

Originally Posted by Mr. Superlative

Quick update: Dealer has not admitted liability, however, has offered to rectify damages via a polish. An agreement is made for the case to be replaced, should the repair not be to expected standards.

Watch this space (no pun intended).

Hopefully the polish works. In the case of the TRF member with the RG YM it didn't. The inside edges of the lugs meet the top of the lugs with crisp 90 degree sharp edges and the polish rounded them off and they did not match the sharp inside edges of the other lugs. They ended up having to replace the case!

[FL2024]

Originally Posted by train-time

Hopefully the polish works. In the case of the TRF member with the RG YM it didn't. The inside edges of the lugs meet the top of the lugs with crisp 90 degree sharp edges and the polish rounded them off and they did not match the sharp inside edges of the other lugs. They ended up having to replace the case!

I think a competent polisher/watchmaker could blend those blemishes on the top edge of the lug without without rounding them. The RG YM must have been done by non-professional polisher. As for the chunk missing where the pointy area of the lug was, that could be laser welded. I cannot imagine this being a case replacement scenario, especially with laser welding.

[train-time]

Originally Posted by FL2024

I think a competent polisher/watchmaker could blend those blemishes on the top edge of the lug without without rounding them. The RG YM must have been done by non-professional polisher. As for the chunk missing where the pointy area of the lug was, that could be laser welded. I cannot imagine this being a case replacement scenario, especially with laser welding.

The member's RG YM was brand new and he took it to a RSC for the OF strap change. As I recall, it was the Dallas RSC. I don't recall if laser welding was part of the attempted repair as it was Everose Gold, but in the end he got a new case.

Hopefully this one will be an easier fix!

[FL2024]

Originally Posted by train-time

The member's RG YM was brand new and he took it to a RSC for the OF strap change. As I recall, it was the Dallas RSC. I don't recall if laser welding was part of the attempted repair as it was Everose Gold, but in the end he got a new case.

Hopefully this one will be an easier fix!

Hope so too. This kind of stuff is the worst.

[Mr. Superlative]

Update: The watch has been polished by the AD. Although it's not 100%, I don't think it could get much closer to factory original condition.

Overall, I'm pleased with the end result, notwithstanding the simple fact that all of this hassle was avoidable in the first place, but at least I'm now back to enjoying the watch.

Lesson Learned: If you are ever in the midst of an adjustment of an Oysterflex strap, be very aware of the high potential for lug damage.

[gamingdoctor]

Glad you're happy with the polish!

Not an excuse for your AD, but white gold will damage more easily - especially when fred flintstone tools are used.

[Mr. Superlative]

Originally Posted by gamingdoctor

Glad you're happy with the polish!

Not an excuse for your AD, but white gold will damage more easily - especially when fred flintstone tools are used.

Fred Flintstone indeed!
Thank you.

[KatGirl]

Glad you got it sorted!

Kat


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Boopie]

I’m glad it was resolved to your satisfaction! Thanks for the update. Enjoy the fantastic watch!

[train-time]

Glad to hear that they repaired it to your satisfaction. A perfect outcome!

[MRBolton]

Did they polish it, or was it laser welded?

[Harry-57]

Good result. Well done.

[Brian Page]

Looks good.

[Mr. Superlative]

Originally Posted by MRBolton

Did they polish it, or was it laser welded?

Polish.

[Mr. Superlative]

Thank you all. This forum and community has, once again, proven very valuable. Much appreciated.

[daysky1]

Originally Posted by Mr. Superlative

I'd like to solicit opinions from those who own watches with an OF strap on whether or not these minor blemishes could be the potential result of "watch maker negligence" during strap change, or are simply "wear & tear".

For context, I've not had the watch (Ref: 126519) all that long. When purchased, the strap was adjusted a couple of times to get it right. I didn't notice anything at the time, but upon closer inspection, have seen some marks today.

My dealer promptly offered to take a closer look, and has asked me to bring it in at my convenience. Tbh, I could not have asked for better service, they've been superb.

My intent is to simply eliminate if these marks could potentially be the result of the watch maker when carrying out the strap adjustments, OR caused by my own actions. If the latter, I do find it a bit odd as to how this may have occurred, as the location is not exposed. Should the offer be made of a polish, I'm likely to politely decline.

FWIW - I'm not overtly precious about these things. The marks are so minuscule, no one else would ever seem them. Hence the image quality!

I don't "baby" my watches, I do wear them as intended and whilst I'm not intentionally negligent or prone to mindless bashing, I do tend to go about my normal PC-worker-bee day, without over thinking about the wrist timepiece.

Being White Gold, I appreciate its also more sensitive precious metal, compared with Stainless Steel, too.

What do you think, normal wear, or something I should be concerned about with the watchmaker?

I'm almost positive that's not from normal wear and tear. It does appear as if it's a spring bar damaging well it was being put in the hole. Does the hole for the spring bar lineup with the damage if so that's the most obvious reason for that kind of wear.

[daysky1]

Originally Posted by 928ktgold

There is no serial number under the straps. It’s at the bottom of the rehaut. No need to remove the straps at all. Ouch these pics are painful. I have a 2023 116519 and know how awesome but fairly delicate they are. I had my local RSC in Beverly Hills only change my strap. I wouldn’t even let the AD do it despite offering a free OF strap exchange. I paid the $400 or so to buy and new strap from the RSC so they could do it with the utmost care.

Edit oh I see you’re not the OP

I’m wearing my OF today. I see what they’re did they pryed the OF band from the top to access the spring bar from underneath with a second tool. What an idiot and a brute.

Rolex really should add notches to the underside of the OF bands to make it easier to remove and avoid these problems.

Now I see after reading this I completely understand and fully agree with what this person has said

[Lininq]

Looks like tool marks to me but since you've indicated that the marks are minor and you're not particularly bothered by them, it may not be a significant issue to worry about.

[Jake Sully]

A rose gold Yachtmaster is in my near future. Thanks for your thread so now I know what to look for since I always go Grey. Glad yours looks good at this point.

[Mr. Superlative]

Originally Posted by Jake Sully

A rose gold Yachtmaster is in my near future. Thanks for your thread so now I know what to look for since I always go Grey. Glad yours looks good at this point.

NP at all. Hope it helps you and all other future OF owners.

[brandrea]

Glad it’s been resolved to your satisfaction

[Seo]

Originally Posted by Mr. Superlative

Thank you all for the feedback.

As predicted, the dealer hasn’t openly admitted any fault. They claim the surfaces damaged would not get marked from the strap adjustment. I beg to differ, and countered there is no way I could have caused that damage from my own doing.

For now, I've left my watch with them as they offered to "further examine" the damage to suggest potential solutions - maybe polishing or even a case replacement (potential subject to cost).

Has anyone been in a similar situation, on their own OysterFlex watch? (SkyDweller, Yachtmaster, or Daytona?)

My cousin had his YM40 damaged from a strap change, 3 times in fact, twice by the boutique and once by RSC. It seems that OF is very hard to do perfectly.

Fortunately the damaged occurred during the hype period and he got rid of it without loss of money.

All they did is offered to polish. It’s pretty bad.