Rolex charges over $500 to be serviced?!
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.It is true, Rolex charges USD 600-900 for a service, they recently indreased prices on service a LOT and they did it world wide.
The good news is that they do not require service as often as stated above. I own 6 Rolex watches and they are only serviced when it is needed (my Rolex AD looks at it from time to time to see if it is needed) and it is only about every 7th years, some have even been 10-15 years old before their first service. But if you very rough with it (i.e. wear it while mountain biking or the like) it will need service quicker. I do not baby my watches, I wear them everyday and for most things. But I am careful.
With regards to polish them, I was shocked to see sunshine do it every 6-7 months. That is very very bad. You remove a little bit of the watch each time you polish it and after 10-12 times you will see it very clearly. You will simply take many many years away from the lifetime of your watch, so I can only recommend getting it polished in connection with you service, i.e. every 7-10th year.
As for using a reputable watch repair shop to do your service, I can only recommend to be careful. I have personally done it once, and almost got my Daytona destroyed. It ended up costing me almost USD 2.000 to have Rolex putting it back together, but it has worked perfectly ever since, on its 6th year now. However I do have friends who have done it and it has worked out perfectly for them. I think I will try it again with someone that I trust 100%, but you really need to do your due dilligence when servicing with anyone else but Rolex.
The good news is that they do not require service as often as stated above. I own 6 Rolex watches and they are only serviced when it is needed (my Rolex AD looks at it from time to time to see if it is needed) and it is only about every 7th years, some have even been 10-15 years old before their first service. But if you very rough with it (i.e. wear it while mountain biking or the like) it will need service quicker. I do not baby my watches, I wear them everyday and for most things. But I am careful.
With regards to polish them, I was shocked to see sunshine do it every 6-7 months. That is very very bad. You remove a little bit of the watch each time you polish it and after 10-12 times you will see it very clearly. You will simply take many many years away from the lifetime of your watch, so I can only recommend getting it polished in connection with you service, i.e. every 7-10th year.
As for using a reputable watch repair shop to do your service, I can only recommend to be careful. I have personally done it once, and almost got my Daytona destroyed. It ended up costing me almost USD 2.000 to have Rolex putting it back together, but it has worked perfectly ever since, on its 6th year now. However I do have friends who have done it and it has worked out perfectly for them. I think I will try it again with someone that I trust 100%, but you really need to do your due dilligence when servicing with anyone else but Rolex.
As with all high end watches, it's never recommended to bring them to service centers, other than their own brand. Even Tourneau has screwed up watches and several brands have stated they cannot service their watches and to return them to the company. You are taking a big chance on bringing it elsewhere than Rolex. A Rolex should be serviced by Rolex or you can ruin your watch. If it's a gold watch, you can get professional polish, such as red rouge for Yellow Gold and ggeet a jeweler's polish cloth. Just polish it yourself gently and that will remove tarnish and make it sparkle. No watch should be professionally polished every 6 months. Gold is removed each time and the watch can be ruined after several years. Rolex should tell you that.
I have an Omega and have been told that it does indeed cost a lot for servicing, although I haven't needed one yet. I think the high cost is fairly standard for high-end automatic watches, since there's so much precision required.
I saw this really interesting write-up by a watchmaker, which shows some of the wear seen in watches over time: http://forums.watchuseek.com/f20/how-often-service-watch-watchmakers-view-789280.html
I look at watch servicing as similar to engine maintenance. They're both complex machines with a ton of parts, just on different size scales. You change the oil in your car and replace worn parts, so why would you let the lubrication points go dry or leave worn down parts in your watch? Especially since some Rolexes cost as much as a car.
I saw this really interesting write-up by a watchmaker, which shows some of the wear seen in watches over time: http://forums.watchuseek.com/f20/how-often-service-watch-watchmakers-view-789280.html
I look at watch servicing as similar to engine maintenance. They're both complex machines with a ton of parts, just on different size scales. You change the oil in your car and replace worn parts, so why would you let the lubrication points go dry or leave worn down parts in your watch? Especially since some Rolexes cost as much as a car.
All mechanical watches require some form of maintenance - usually this is a cleaning or overhaul every 5 years or so, which can cost between $300 - $400 to do. It is a machine like any other - overtime dust clogs the wheels and the oil within the mechanics dries up. If the watch is well taken care of, it will last forever.
I have a gold rolex that is close to 100 years old - still with the original movement.
I have a gold rolex that is close to 100 years old - still with the original movement.
i just went to rolex to service my 1996 daytona, the pricing is between $800 to $1200 if no parts needed plus i have to pay $50 each way for insurance....
I have an Omega and have been told that it does indeed cost a lot for servicing, although I haven't needed one yet. I think the high cost is fairly standard for high-end automatic watches, since there's so much precision required.
I saw this really interesting write-up by a watchmaker, which shows some of the wear seen in watches over time: http://forums.watchuseek.com/f20/how-often-service-watch-watchmakers-view-789280.html
I look at watch servicing as similar to engine maintenance. They're both complex machines with a ton of parts, just on different size scales. You change the oil in your car and replace worn parts, so why would you let the lubrication points go dry or leave worn down parts in your watch? Especially since some Rolexes cost as much as a car.
Very interesting read. Just out of curiosity, since i know next to nothing about watches....do quartz watches require servicing too? Or would a regular change of battery suffice? Do u wait for the battery to run out (and maybe risk a leakage) or should u replace the battery every 2 years or so even when it is still running well?
Most people seem to service their Rolex every 7 to 10 years. Do make sure to have it serviced by Rolex as they are the only ones to perfectly know these watches.
It's costly but worth it as it will increase your watch longevity. there is some kind of oil in the watch that will eventually dry if the watch is not regularly serviced and when that happens the repairs will cost so much more than a regular service...
Regular servicing will also make it easier to sell should you get bored with it!
It's costly but worth it as it will increase your watch longevity. there is some kind of oil in the watch that will eventually dry if the watch is not regularly serviced and when that happens the repairs will cost so much more than a regular service...
Regular servicing will also make it easier to sell should you get bored with it!
I've had my Rolex for 5 years now and I've never had it serviced. Works great. If it malfunctions I'll take it in. Until then, it's just not high on the priority list.
Just bought one ( will do reveal when back ) & was told by SA, the servicing cost $1000+ but she said to service the watch only if there is something wrong with it.
I have friends with Rolex & they hardly service their watches so to me, that's fine. Some of my friends own vintage Rolex-es as old as 20 to 30 years old. They said the watches will outlive us.
I have friends with Rolex & they hardly service their watches so to me, that's fine. Some of my friends own vintage Rolex-es as old as 20 to 30 years old. They said the watches will outlive us.
In my experience, quartz movements can sometimes require a cleaning just as a mechanical would and I would only do this if the watch has stopped working and a battery isn't the answer.
I would also recommend against keeping a watch with a dead battery for very long as you are running the risk of springing a battery leak - once it leaks the watch is more or less toast.
Most batteries will last about a year in a watch with a standard rate of drain - so that should be a good marker for keeping track of how well your watch is doing. When a watch starts to have problems, it will sometimes start to drain significantly faster and/or won't keep time properly. Also the hands can start to twitch, which is a built in sign the watch needs servicing.
My biggest advice for watches - keep it far far away from water. Water resistant is a farce - if you've ever looked inside a watch, you'll know that just means theres a thin rubber band between the casing and the back. Hardly enough to keep it safe from even a little rain. I'm super cautious around anything even approaching damp.
I would be very careful polishing it every 6-7 months! A watch should only be polished two to three times in a lifetime. Polishing will take away material from the watch and will alter the shape of the case. The watch will not only look different, but it will decrease in value a lot.
Most watch manufacturers say a watch should have service every 4-5 years (except for Omega, the new co-axial calibre has a service interval of 9-10 years!). Personally, I would only take a watch to service if it is running slow or over 10 seconds to fast every 24 hours. It is more likely the watch will not perform as good as before if you take it in when nothing was wrong.
Also, it is better to frequently wear your watches or at least have them running. Mechanical watches that don't run often are more likely to gain or lose time.