RSC polished watch against instruction

[DavidUK]

Why should the OP sell and lose money when he expressly instructed his AD/RSC not to polish it and they did?

IF, as has been spotted by some here, there is metal missing AND the AD admits to not following his instructions then it is the AD/RSC who should be losing out here not their valued customer.

I'm guessing the OP will go and visit his AD and have a calm sit down talk with the owner.
As long as tempers don't flare this might just resolve the issue. As I said earlier I'm firmly in the camp of "keep it original" and may well have reacted the same way. The OP makes it clear he's in this camp too by having the thought process to warn his AD not to polish. They have, and if it bothers the OP (as it should do, hence the warning) then he's not going to be happy is he? You may have been. You may accept polished lugs and clasp. But this isn't about you and your preferences, it's about the OP's and he made it clear from the start he didn't want these to be the end result.

Why should he lose out when he's not at fault?

[Toivonen]

This unpolished thing drives me nuts, at least when i see some SUPERB works like this.
I can understand the 'i told no, they've done yes' thing, but your watch is like new, and i mean the quality of the whole work, not the removing of the scratches

[padi56]

Originally Posted by DavidUK

Why should the OP sell and lose money when he expressly instructed his AD/RSC not to polish it and they did?

IF, as has been spotted by some here, there is metal missing AND the AD admits to not following his instructions then it is the AD/RSC who should be losing out here not their valued customer.

I'm guessing the OP will go and visit his AD and have a calm sit down talk with the owner.
As long as tempers don't flare this might just resolve the issue. As I said earlier I'm firmly in the camp of "keep it original" and may well have reacted the same way. The OP makes it clear he's in this camp too by having the thought process to warn his AD not to polish. They have, and if it bothers the OP (as it should do, hence the warning) then he's not going to be happy is he? You may have been. You may accept polished lugs and clasp. But this isn't about you and your preferences, it's about the OP's and he made it clear from the start he didn't want these to be the end result.

Why should he lose out when he's not at fault?

Anyone would think they removed half the case instead of perhaps a micron or so in normal routine polish.Below is a picture of my 1999 SD which I have two, now this watch has seen more use and abuse than most of today's Rolex owners will see in 10 life times.This was my working tool watch for many years as a dive guide and instructor PADI and BSAC with well over 600 hours under water.This watch has been serviced 3 times by the RSC mainly because it was a working tool watch.Yet if you put a new SD from the same timeframe you would have to look very very hard to notice any difference.As long as any Polish is left to routine service time there is no problem with RSC polish.


Picture after last service

[gregmoeck]

It's gonna bug you forever, I would personally rather trade it to David and get another watch, take the loss and get something non polished

[rushca01]

Originally Posted by padi56

Anyone would think they removed half the case instead of perhaps a micron or so in normal routine polish.Below is a picture of my 1999 SD which I have two, now this watch has seen more use and abuse than most of today's Rolex owners will see in 10 life times.This was my working tool watch for many years as a dive guide and instructor PADI and BSAC with well over 600 hours under water.This watch has been serviced 3 times by the RSC mainly because it was a working tool watch.Yet if you put a new SD from the same timeframe you would have to look very very hard to notice any difference.As long as any Polish is left to routine service time there is no problem with RSC polish.


Picture after last service

Gorgeous watch my friend and I love that you used it as intended! The 16600 is one of my faves!

[JohnnyNoDate]

Polishes (watches) & detailing (cars) are often forced to mask unintentional and often unavoidable signs of service like scratches and dust.

It's easy to address beforehand if you make it very clear that you do not care about any lingering signs of service done to your watch (or car), i.e.: scratched lugs from a bad spring bar pull.

"Damage" happens at RSC, and they just want to protect themselves from liability, and more simply, return a watch that meets their standards.

[strafer_kid]

Originally Posted by Dennisoul

The watch isn't worth any less, it's like a brand new watch and it's cost you nothing....just wear it...I'm sure you'll manage to gain some more scratches as time goes on....or you could sell it....personally I'd just wear it knowing it's not due for a service for an extra 2 years

Yes...just enjoy the watch!

[Pavlos]

Originally Posted by padi56

anyone would think they removed half the case instead of perhaps a micron or so in normal routine polish.below is a picture of my 1999 sd which i have two, now this watch has seen more use and abuse than most of today's rolex owners will see in 10 life times.this was my working tool watch for many years as a dive guide and instructor padi and bsac with well over 600 hours under water.this watch has been serviced 3 times by the rsc mainly because it was a working tool watch.yet if you put a new sd from the same timeframe you would have to look very very hard to notice any difference.as long as any polish is left to routine service time there is no problem with rsc polish.


Picture after last service

x1

[Arclight]

It looks to me like they did a beautiful job. Remember, all Rolexes are polished before they leave the factory. You'll get a new scratches soon enough.

[LuminousMaximus]

I would like to point out that they:

1. Did not loose your watch in the mail.

2. Did not severely gouge or add additional scratches

3. Did not mar or deface your watch in any way

4. Did not charge you for a service when they Did perform a Service.

5. Did not tell you your watch needed unnecessary parts to inflate repair price.

It could have been way worse...

It could have been way worse...

6. or, make you go to court to become whole...

[DavidUK]

Originally Posted by padi56

...you would have to look very very hard to notice any difference.As long as any Polish is left to routine service time there is no problem with RSC polish.

Picture after last service

An unfortunate side effect of visiting so many dealers recently is that many are anal about lug sharpness as a guide to over polishing. Look at the nearest lug in your photo.




The sharp lug edge has been dramatically ground down to remove gouges it once had and now has a large bevel creating three edges where there were two. When I took my DJ36 16233 into the Orlando Watch Co. the chap there marvelled at how crisp the lugs were after 23 years (never serviced).

So, with your photo it's very very easy to see the difference, and seeing over-polished lugs immediately suggests over-polishing elsewhere.


As new (example, not identical model)...

[Fleetlord]

Originally Posted by DavidUK

Why should the OP sell and lose money when he expressly instructed his AD/RSC not to polish it and they did?

IF, as has been spotted by some here, there is metal missing AND the AD admits to not following his instructions then it is the AD/RSC who should be losing out here not their valued customer.

I'm guessing the OP will go and visit his AD and have a calm sit down talk with the owner.
As long as tempers don't flare this might just resolve the issue. As I said earlier I'm firmly in the camp of "keep it original" and may well have reacted the same way. The OP makes it clear he's in this camp too by having the thought process to warn his AD not to polish. They have, and if it bothers the OP (as it should do, hence the warning) then he's not going to be happy is he? You may have been. You may accept polished lugs and clasp. But this isn't about you and your preferences, it's about the OP's and he made it clear from the start he didn't want these to be the end result.

Why should he lose out when he's not at fault?

What do you think the outcome of this sit down chat should be?

They cannot unpolish the watch.

The cost of service was already refunded.

What other option is there?

The only clear path to resolution that I can see is for the OP to quickly remove the forcibly polished / tainted watch from his possession via sale to another party and move on.

[Fleetlord]

Originally Posted by DavidUK

An unfortunate side effect of visiting so many dealers recently is that many are anal about lug sharpness as a guide to over polishing. Look at the nearest lug in your photo.

Attachment 887538


The sharp lug edge has been dramatically ground down to remove gouges it once had and now has a large bevel creating three edges where there were two. When I took my DJ36 16233 into the Orlando Watch Co. the chap there marvelled at how crisp the lugs were after 23 years (never serviced).

So, with your photo it's very very easy to see the difference, and seeing over-polished lugs immediately suggests over-polishing elsewhere.


As new (example, not identical model)...

Clearly there is nothing more important than an unpolished case!

A polished ROLEX is an absolute and total tragedy.

[Quicksilver]

Originally Posted by Fleetlord

Clearly there is nothing more important than an unpolished case!

A polished ROLEX is an absolute and total tragedy.

That's 99% of all Rolex's then.

[DavidUK]

Originally Posted by Fleetlord

Clearly there is nothing more important than an unpolished case!

A polished ROLEX is an absolute and total tragedy.

Hey, why the sarcasm?

If you'd read the whole thread you'd see my idea of the outcome would be for Rolex to replace the watch.

Many will like the free service and polished case outcome, and I respect their view. BUT... the OP didn't want or like the "over" polished watch that came back to him and that he hasn't been charged may not be sufficient recompense for a "ruined watch" in his mind.

Just because some might roll over when dealing with a revered company such as Rolex doesn't mean they are automatically right. The CUSTOMER is always right.

[3ther]

I'm still curious if he requested no polish/refinish from the get go and had it written on the service order, rather than reiterating it in passing AFTER the estimate was approved.

If the estimate was approved without a note of "customer not requesting a refinishing," there's no going back.

[BillA]

OP, why don't you weigh your problem this way:

Which problem would you want:

1. My watch had a full service, no charge, and was polished against my instructions.

or

2. I live in Houston, my home just got flooded out, the water was up to the roof, the house was knocked off the foundation and has to be demolished and I lost all my personal possessions which we had to leave behind.

So go ahead OP, and pick which problem you want. I think 100,000+ people in Houston would be happy to trade places with you.

Bottom line: You have nothing to complain about.......next.

[kauffee]

Originally Posted by DavidUK

An unfortunate side effect of visiting so many dealers recently is that many are anal about lug sharpness as a guide to over polishing. Look at the nearest lug in your photo.


The sharp lug edge has been dramatically ground down to remove gouges it once had and now has a large bevel creating three edges where there were two.

David, you're mistaken. padi's watch is a 5 digit model not a 6 digit. 5 digit models have chamfered edges on the case. His looks exactly as it should.

Also, great point by Arclight that all Rolexes are polished before they leave the factory. According to Hodinkee's article from the manufacturing facilities, this is done by hand (https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/inside-rolex):

"It is in this facility that I also saw something that I really never expected to see – a finishing department. Rolex does finish their watches, and expertly at that, just without the traditional aesthetic flourishes that we as consumers tend to look for when we are examining haute horlogerie, which of course, Rolex is not. Cases are held against a polish wheel by humans, just as they are at Jaeger-LeCoultre or Audemars Piguet. At any given time, there are between 50 and 60 people polishing the cases of Rolex watches."

[DavidUK]

Originally Posted by BillA

OP, why don't you weigh your problem this way:

Which problem would you want:

1. My watch had a full service, no charge, and was polished against my instructions.

or

2. I live in Houston, my home just got flooded out, the water was up to the roof, the house was knocked off the foundation and has to be demolished and I lost all my personal possessions which we had to leave behind.

So go ahead OP, and pick which problem you want. I think 100,000+ people in Houston would be happy to trade places with you.

Bottom line: You have nothing to complain about.......next.

Rather an unfair snipe? But...

2. I'm fully insured, new for old, and can go out and replace all my personal possessions, including my Rolex.

[Yurigs]

Not much of an input but the polish job looks great even though you requested to not have it done. I'm not sure what the next steps would be if you're totally unhappy

[DavidUK]

Originally Posted by kauffee

David, you're mistaken. padi's watch is a 5 digit model not a 6 digit. 5 digit models have chamfered edges on the case. His looks exactly as it should.

Not to that degree. It's easy to see how the lug has been polished unevenly.

Here's a new 5 digit...

https://www.chrono24.co.uk/rolex/sta...-id6453890.htm

[Fleetlord]

Originally Posted by DavidUK

Hey, why the sarcasm?

If you'd read the whole thread you'd see my idea of the outcome would be for Rolex to replace the watch.

Many will like the free service and polished case outcome, and I respect their view. BUT... the OP didn't want or like the "over" polished watch that came back to him and that he hasn't been charged may not be sufficient recompense for a "ruined watch" in his mind.

Just because some might roll over when dealing with a revered company such as Rolex doesn't mean they are automatically right. The CUSTOMER is always right.

Mainly because you don't know the difference in case finishing between a 5 digit SD (PADI) and a 6 digit (the photo used for comparison)...and you're using that to pontificate about the horrors of polishing...

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by DavidUK

Rather an unfair snipe? But...

2. I'm fully insured, new for old, and can go out and replace all my personal possessions, including my Rolex.

You obviously don't have a clue as to how homeowners insurance works in the US.

[Bigblu10]

Originally Posted by Lurizzle

OP here. Thank you to everyone who has responded so far. On the bright side, the underpowered mag lens has been corrected which I am happy about - what a difference! For the record the watch appears to be running about +0.25 now. (I will need more time to correctly calculate). I have a 2 yr warranty from Rolex and an additional 2 yr warranty from the AD on the work completed for a total of 4 yrs. Also a new warranty card and nice felt Rolex travel pouch with Rolex micro fiber included.

I especially appreciate everyone sharing their thoughts on the quality of the work done. In my eyes (or in my mind), the corners look just a little duller, even beveled. It just looks less over-engineered. Looks more like a Daytona to me (though not that small)Maybe its all in my head?....

Find an AD in your local area that has a new BLNR in stock. Wear yours there and ask them if you can compare yours to the new one in the case. Then, you will have your answer as to whether your watch has been buggered up or nicely re-finished. Maybe if they have a digital scale will weigh yours against the new one to give you some sort of peace of mind. If not, you can always sell it and move on to another brand new one.

[Dirt]

Originally Posted by kauffee

David, you're mistaken. padi's watch is a 5 digit model not a 6 digit. 5 digit models have chamfered edges on the case. His looks exactly as it should.

Also, great point by Arclight that all Rolexes are polished before they leave the factory. According to Hodinkee's article from the manufacturing facilities, this is done by hand (https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/inside-rolex):

"It is in this facility that I also saw something that I really never expected to see – a finishing department. Rolex does finish their watches, and expertly at that, just without the traditional aesthetic flourishes that we as consumers tend to look for when we are examining haute horlogerie, which of course, Rolex is not. Cases are held against a polish wheel by humans, just as they are at Jaeger-LeCoultre or Audemars Piguet. At any given time, there are between 50 and 60 people polishing the cases of Rolex watches."

Not quite correct.
Padi's watch would've had chamfers when new but they would not have been half as pronounced given it's vintage. Probably more like about a third of the current width.
The chamfers you refer to probably hark back to an era more than a couple of decades prior to Padi's watch.

Personally I prefer the wide chamfers of the earlier times as do other people who have in the past coveted them and celebrated when certain RSC's faithfully restored them to original appearance.

Regardless, the work appears to be as uniform as possible considering the damage and rather expertly done

[Dirt]

Originally Posted by Yurigs

Not much of an input but the polish job looks great even though you requested to not have it done. I'm not sure what the next steps would be if you're totally unhappy

Maybe take a class in Bridge Building?

[DavidUK]

Originally Posted by Fleetlord

Mainly because you don't know the difference in case finishing between a 5 digit SD (PADI) and a 6 digit (the photo used for comparison)...and you're using that to pontificate about the horrors of polishing...

Read Dirt's post #115 above and go pontificate some more yourself?

The lugs have been over-polished, it's so obvious without the need for any comparison.

[adg31]

Originally Posted by BillA

OP, why don't you weigh your problem this way:

Which problem would you want:

1. My watch had a full service, no charge, and was polished against my instructions.

or

2. I live in Houston, my home just got flooded out, the water was up to the roof, the house was knocked off the foundation and has to be demolished and I lost all my personal possessions which we had to leave behind.

So go ahead OP, and pick which problem you want. I think 100,000+ people in Houston would be happy to trade places with you.

Bottom line: You have nothing to complain about.......next.

Hi BillA, you are absolutely right on an absolute level the Texas flooding is a tragedy - as are those in India and Bangladesh and our hearts should go out to all of those affected.
However, even before this, please do not forget that millions of people are trapped in grinding poverty for their entire lives across the World.
Similarly millions more live with illness, disability and pain every day.
As such, all discussion about premium price watches are very much an issue that will likely interest less than 1% of the World population.
This said, if someone has specifically requested someone else not to do something does the fact that other people are worse off make their ignoring that request right?
In my view the answer has to be no.

Following on from the OP I understand from the UK RSC that they do not routinely check watches on arrival or before being despatched after regulation. Unfortunately my 116203 came back from regulation with a scratched case back - but no improvement to the timekeeping. Fortunately I had remembered to take photographs before the AD took it in so was able to prove that they had incurred the damage whilst the watch was in their possession.
Overall I really can't say that I'm impressed with the current Rolex service - which is a shame as I've still got an OP and 16610 which will need servicing.
However, I really wouldn't expect sympathy, or understanding, especially from anyone in a far worse physical position than me as above.
Just my £0.02...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[The Joker]

Originally Posted by DavidUK

At a complete tangent, I just spotted your member name here, and yesterday I spotted this...

https://www.chrono24.co.uk/rolex/sub...-id6085423.htm




You like?

Where do you get those wonderful toys?

[Dirt]

Originally Posted by DavidUK

Read Dirt's post #115 above and go pontificate some more yourself?

The lugs have been over-polished, it's so obvious without the need for any comparison.

They haven't actually been over polished from what I can see.
I would say the extent of the work was sympathetically done given it's usage and number of times it's been done.

I don't have any way of showing you pics of over polished lugs, but I can assure you they don't look as good as Padi's.
In comparison, over polished watch cases look like they've been butchered. It's also subjective.