What does a service on a Rolex include?

[KJJ]

Thanks!

[NathanielA]

Vanessa, pardon me for the repetitious post... but what a wonderfully detailed, informative and helpful post. I don't think most people realized what a proper servicing of a Rolex entailed. I know I didn't. I'm very impressed and appreciative of your post.

Nathaniel

[bewithabob]

Vanessa thank you for sharing all of this incredible information (including the time that you allowed yourself time to have a cup of cofee in this process). I have long been impressed my the fine mechanical workings of my Rolex timepieces, and it astounds me to hear complaints about service requirements and costs when considering the technical precision, training, skills and talent required to bring these finely tuned instruments back to their original factory and COSC specifications and the benefits of we receive from highly trained experts like yourself who bring the case, bezel, hands, dial, crystal and bracelets back to their original sparkling new luster and beauty.

Oddly, the cosmetic impact of scratches on the case from the millions of human wrist movements receive fare more attention from the average person, which I am sure pales by comparison to the effects of the the 28,800 vph inside the case.

Think about the- 28,800 vph x 24 hours per day x 365 days per year x 5 years between services. Assuming the watch is use constantly, that translates to accurately measuring
1,264,440,000 beats -
157,680,000 seconds or
2,628,000 minutes or
43,800 hours or
1,825 days

In addition consider the number of times the crown and stem require unwinding for fine adjustment by the end user, and rewinding the parachrome spring. How many cycles can any human perform with such precision and accuracy?

[erolorhun]

Interesting and enlightening

[Vanessa CW21]

Originally Posted by MURRAY

If it sits in a safe deposit box or something and is rarely ever used...wouldn't servicing it every 10, or 20 years be satisfactory?

Honestly, in this case I recommend a service sooner!

Think about it: If you have a car sitting in a garage for two years, would you drive it cold turkey for who knows how many miles? Wouldn't you change the oil first and probably give it a fresh battery?

I'm not in favor of watchwinders, but I do recommend for a watch to be wound 40 times once a month to keep the oils evenly distributed. Hope this answers your question! (and I apologize for the late reply, I have been absent for a while)

[rollypolly]

wow, that is amazing... so the rule of thumb is every 5 years for service?

[cdelgado1982]

wow greattt info.. maybe u can help me with my watch,..

[Big Joe]

I appreciate what goes into a good service job. I have had a few watches worked on over the years and understand what is involved. I own a stringed instrument shop that does repairs, restorations, and custom builds. We run into the same issues that good watchmakers/ restorers do. Much of our work is redoing something a poor repair person did. It does make the job far more difficult, and often more expensive. I do one thing a bit different. I don't do estimates. When I see the instrument in hand I will go over it carefully and determine what must be done. I then give an exact price. After this many years in the business I better know what it will take for me to do the job. I feel if I am wrong I should be the one to lose, not my customer.

Restoring a stringed instrument can easily be as expensive as doing repair work on a good watch. Many of the instruments we work on are very expensive. It is not unusual for us to work on instruments worth far more than my Rolex.

All that being said, I recently had my Rolex serviced by Rolex in New York. It was returned within the time specified. It was a warranty repair but I received a call about ten days after the watch was sent by me AD and telling me the cost to repair the watch would be $585.00. I reminded them it was a warranty issue (the watch would not keep time...it is a GMT Master II 2 tone).

When I got the watch back it was absolutely filthy and was coated in some kind of compound that was very hard to remove. It also was not cleaned, the watch was not polished, and it had a few more scratches than it did when it was sent to them.

The watch has been back on my arm for 5 days and appears to be running correctly. That is the main issue I wanted addressed. However, when I called Rolex to ask about the condition it was returned they explained the work done inside the watch and was told they did not clean or polish it because it was "too new to polish or clean". I realize it was warranty work, but the watch has been on my arm for nearly two years and was in the store for a few years before that. I love the watch and also my Sub and my wife loves her date just.

It did not make me love my watches or make me want to wear my Rolex cap after being told my watch was "too new" to clean after they worked on it. I also told them it was not only dirty, but was scratched by them. The just ignored the comment and said it was "too new to polish or clean". That was repeated 4 times during the conversation.

I still love my Rolex's, and my GMT is still my favorite, but I cannot say Rolex is my favorite company. If I have to send my watch out again it will certainly NOT be to Rolex. I bought my Rolex's new and from an AD purposely to have the warranty and to know Rolex would take care of the watch for me at any time. I was not prepared for what experience I found with them. I had been contemplating another Rolex, but not anymore. There are plenty of other great companies that make some very interesting watches I could enjoy as much.

I should say I have my 2 Rolex's, my wife has one as well. In addition I have an Omega Seamaster, a Tag Huer Monaco, a Breitling Navitimer World, and a Breitling Chronomat. I recently sold an Omega Ocean Planet, a Tag Huer Aquaracer, and a Maurice LaCroix Moon Phase Chronograph. I also have a few other swiss auto's. I have had excellent service from the other companies and they seem to want to please the customer unlike Rolex.

[Rotorhead]

Thanks for sharing Vanessa, Great technical writeup on something I always wanted to know more about.

[pradeep]

Thanks Vanessa. Thats super info!

[Mikefxd]

This is good information for a new owner.

[kj19]

Vanessa, why are you not in favor of watch winders? Do you believe they do more harm than good?

[Nashville cat]

Wow....I knew it was involved --but you have a lot of patience..

[Rolex tom]

I've had mine serviced 40 plus times and maybe you should charge more as I've seen it rise from £20 to £300 it will rise again. Great post and thanks for the extra info

[Manx]

Very interesting Vanessa, thanks for sharing.

-M-

[DCgator]

Great, informative and well articulated information. Many thanks, Vanessa.

[rolex rob]

great info on a rolex service do you change seals on the winding crown as well' regards rob

[simon B]

Vanessa
I agree with the mainspring change, I too change during a service "now" Had a omega moonwatch #321 back after 11months and 2 weeks. the mainspring change on these requires the complete movement to be stripped so effectively a full service again. why take the risk of a return for the cost of the spring,rolex has a better policy than some others.
Simon B

[chstoft]

So I guess it is possible to use your watch too less?

[sond86]

Thx!

[marcosm]

Hi,
Thanks for the post and your info.
I'd like to ask you a question.
I have a 1997 Rolex Date with an Engine Turned Bezel and I would like to change it to a Domed Bezel. I called the Authorized Technical Assistance here in Brazil and the attendant told me that they can't change the bezel type not to loose the model originality. Is that correct? Isn't possible to change the bezel model on a Authorized Technical Assistance?
Thanks
Marcos

[marcosm]

soory, i had duplicated the post reply.
Thanks again Vanessa for the nice post

[katana]

Hello,I bought a Daydate commited so I take watch to the ROLEX service.With all gaskets,etc.I pay 5.700 SEK=800 USD.Asked when is the next time ?They said if approx 10.years.Now is this in SWEDEN.Have a question ?How upload I photo on the page ?Thanks from katana

[ingoodtime]

Originally Posted by Rolex tom

I've had mine serviced 40 plus times and maybe you should charge more as I've seen it rise from £20 to £300 it will rise again. Great post and thanks for the extra info

Tom...really???? 40 plus times? Let's see...once every 5 Years.....so at 20 years old, that's 4 times, so 40 years is 8 times, 60 years is 12 times, 80 years is 16 times....man, you have a really crappy watch!

[Ski Dweller]

I just serviced my Sea Dweller in Dallas. It wasn't cheap. The watch looks fantastic and purrs like a cat. Timekeeping seems better, and it should be. They now have a 2 year warranty on the service. Thus, if the piece is off more than it should be, I can send it back for readjustment free of (additional) charge.

[Big Joe]

I posted on April 27, 2010 about my experience with Rolex Service in New York. I am no happier with them for the issues I stated then. However, the main thing is that the watch does work perfectly since getting it back. My AD cleaned and buffed the exterior of the watch and did what they could to rectify the situation. They stood in place of Rolex and took excellent care of me. I purchased it from Jared's jewelry and have purchased a number of watches from them including the 3 Rolexes we have. I have been more than satisfied with Jared's, but no so much with Rolex itself.

The GMT Master II is still my favorite watch and probably always will, but Rolex as a company is still not in my favored category. Should I decide to obtain a new watch at some time in the future, it will not likely be a Rolex. At least not a new one. I have given them the last penny I wish for them to have. They need to clean up their act before I or others I can affect would give them another penny.

[CashGap]

Originally Posted by Big Joe

My AD cleaned and buffed the exterior of the watch and did what they could to rectify the situation. They stood in place of Rolex and took excellent care of me. I purchased it from Jared's jewelry and have purchased a number of watches from them including the 3 Rolexes we have. I have been more than satisfied with Jared's, but no so much with Rolex itself.

Good to hear about Jared's, they are on my list.

Hmm, Nashville, Master Luthier, worked with Charlie, eh? We've probably met, I was at the big G from April 1997 to April 2003. Now I'm in the copier business, and you might know my accounting controller, Chuck K.

Small world!

[giuliolib]

Dear Vanessa,
I have a problem with my ROLEX Sea-Dweller.
I have serviced it a month ago, before the service the Rolex going +15/18 sec. Every day. Now after the service going -18/24 sec every day.
Can you tell me a reasonable gap per day after a very good service.
Thank you very much to help me.
Best regards
Giulio
P.S. sorry for my poor english, I am an Italian.

[tulgsT]

Originally Posted by Big Joe

I posted on April 27, 2010 about my experience with Rolex Service in New York. I am no happier with them for the issues I stated then. However, the main thing is that the watch does work perfectly since getting it back. My AD cleaned and buffed the exterior of the watch and did what they could to rectify the situation. They stood in place of Rolex and took excellent care of me. I purchased it from Jared's jewelry and have purchased a number of watches from them including the 3 Rolexes we have. I have been more than satisfied with Jared's, but no so much with Rolex itself.

The GMT Master II is still my favorite watch and probably always will, but Rolex as a company is still not in my favored category. Should I decide to obtain a new watch at some time in the future, it will not likely be a Rolex. At least not a new one. I have given them the last penny I wish for them to have. They need to clean up their act before I or others I can affect would give them another penny.

Rolex NYC recently moved their service center facility out of the HQ in NYC due to financial reasons. I think it is now located in Long Island City. They were completely disorganized during the transition. Not an excuse, but it may explain the care they took. This has been the main reason why I have been holding off getting mine serviced in NYC.

[Big Joe]

Originally Posted by CashGap

Good to hear about Jared's, they are on my list.

Hmm, Nashville, Master Luthier, worked with Charlie, eh? We've probably met, I was at the big G from April 1997 to April 2003. Now I'm in the copier business, and you might know my accounting controller, Chuck K.

Small world!

Yep.... spent 15 years with Charlie at his shop and at Gibson. Our shop is in Madison and we build, repair, and restore instruments. Stop by some time and say hey. We probably do know each other, and I do know Chuck. Have a Great Day!
Joe