Do fancy watches really need all this servicing?

In My Humble Opinion
1

By “fancy watches” I don’t mean, like, watches with Grand Complications and that sort of thing. I mean run of the mill rich people watches like my dad’s Rolex that he left me to keep for my son.

(And yes, I realize that actual rich people do not wear Rolexes, they wear at minimum, I dunno, Patek Phillippes or something. My dad grew up incredibly poor and his whole life he wanted a Rolex, he used to drag us to pawn shops to look at Rolexes when I was a kid, and finally after he retired he bought one on a trip to Switzerland. I think it’s the most ridiculous thing in the world, but it was really important to him.)

So he slavishly followed the suggested service schedule. I’m not sure when he last had it done but I’m sure I could call the jewelry store and ask. I decided to have the links taken out so I can wear it, to remember him (and they very happily did not charge me “just make sure you keep bringing it to us!”) I feel really silly walking around with this giant gold brick on my arm, especially since he was a great big hoss of a guy and I am a bird-boned lady, but it’s nice to feel close to him in this one small way. (Also I have GOT to look at the manual because it is definitely not Friday the 9th.) Anyway. Does it really need all this folderol? Will it damage the watch if I don’t keep up with its appointments?

Also, is there anything else I’m supposed to be doing to it to make sure it’s in good shape when my son grows up? Does it need, I dunno, cleanings or anything? Chakra adjustments? Animal sacrifices? I’m not sure I’ve ever had a watch that cost more than $200 before, so it makes me a little nervous (“what if I get mugged?!” “wait, I have never been mugged and I’m not sure I’ve ever even known anybody who got mugged, why would I suddenly get mugged?”) and it was really important to my dad that the watch go to his grandson, so I don’t want to screw it up. I also don’t want to waste my time and money on something it doesn’t need, though.

2

If you’re talking about an old-fashioned windup timepiece with a mainspring and 21 jewel movement and the whole package, it will need the occasional cleaning and inspection/replacement of parts that wear out. IIRC, it was usually about once a year.

That’s if you continue to wear it, of course. If you want to put it in a drawer for 10 years until your son is ready for it, then you can just have it done then.

3

Well, I do want to wear it. It’s, let’s see, it’s an Oyster Perpetual Day-Date. (God, I can hear my dad trying to say “oyster”. It is not a word that comes easily to the South Georgia accent.) It’s gold, it winds up but if you wear it it stays wound through one of those self-winding things. Obviously got day and date. I assume it’s all mechanical, since it winds.

4

What you have is commonly referred to as an automatic watch, i.e. they are self winding, through the movement of your arm as you walk about. If you take it off and leave it more than a day or two, without winding it, then it will completely wind down and stop, which is okay, you’ll just have to reset it before you wear it again and wind it back up or start wearing it again. They do make auto-winders that you can put your automatic watch on, to keep it wound and running.

I have several automatics, and you probably should take it in to be professionally opened and have the movements cleaned and inspected about every 8 years or so. I wouldn’t expect that you are wearing the watch in harsh environments, which may necessitate you to shorten that interval.

5

Also any time you spend riding in the car will not wind the watch. My self-winding Seiko used to run down on the trip from Elko to Boise.

6

Must … resist … stupid … jokes.

Anyway, now that that has passed.

Any mechanical watch needs occasional cleaning, etc. to remain useful. Not just expensive ones. The price for service is a bit higher for expensive ones, but it is surprisingly high for lesser models.

Which creates a problem for more modest models you want to keep functional. The service may be more than the watch is worth. And cheapo semi-service is not really a good idea.

7

Word. I have my dad’s self-winding Seiko which was only a moderate quality watch when he bought it in the early 80’s. It needs cleaned and lubed, but that will cost more than the piece is worth. I’ve given some consideration to opening it and hosing it out with lighter fluid. It could hardly make things worse.

8

“Need” means different things to different people, but if the watch has sentimental value to you and you want to keep it as a keepsake for your son who can then pass it on to his son, I would strongly recommend keeping up with a maintenance schedule.

I’m assuming Rolex has the same “overhaul” schedule worldwide, (that’s what Rolex calls “maintenance”), but in Japan, they recommend it every 3-4 years, (although I overhaul mine every five years because I’m a rebel:p) And just to caution you, it’s not inexpensive. It depends on the model, but my Daytona that was overhauled just last November cost 50,000 yen, which would be over US$500. For that price they completely disassemble your watch and check each individual piece for wear and tear. If they find a part that needs replacing, that will cost extra. Then they clean out old oil, re-lubricate, polish and then, of course, reassemble your watch. If you think of it as $100 a year to maintain a keepsake, it’s not that bad. If you forgo regular overhauls and take it only when you think there’s a problem, by then it’s too late and will be much more expensive. Preventative care is much healthier and more cost efficient, just as it is for cars or our bodies.

If saving money is more important, you could take it to an unauthorized dealer who would most likely overhaul the watch at a better price, but you would be risking damage and improper work. Rolex guarantees their work for one year after each overhaul.

9

Plenty of rich people wear Rolex watches. Although it can often be a rich man’s beater watch; it is a brand that has a long history and an incredible reputation in horological circles - so that is far from always being the case. In fact, when you get to the super high end in the watch world things get really ridiculous; for example, some of the higher end companies make extremely expensive chronometers available in a very limited supply - like maybe 50. You can’t just buy one of them no matter how much money you have, you have to fill out an application and also go for interview so the company can assess if you are worthy of spending a small fortune on one of their watches. Or so I’ve been told - I’ve never really shopped at that end of the market. Needless to say, probably an older money rich guy is going to wear a different Rolex model than someone else - but that’s a whole other conversation.

The real problem with Rolex, more specifically older Rolex watches, is that the company is trying to make it very difficult to find service centers and buy replacement parts:

Watchmakers in Europe say that Rolex is preparing to put on the market one million watches per annum. That represents a jump of almost 30%. To sell this many, the company is aiming, not so much at taking market share from other luxury watch brands, but rather at existing Rolex owners. Across the world, watchmakers and jewellers, who have held licences to repair and service Rolexes for many years, report that their contracts are being terminated, and they are being cut off from the supply of certified Rolex spare parts and components on which the quality of the watch and its guarantee depend.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/privatizing-rolex--the-fake-tells-a-truer-tale-2011-3#ixzz3ZzLYrps6

10

Daaamn, Saturn Dreams, I was expecting this to be, like, a hundred dollar venture tops. Here’s hoping everything is just more expensive in Japan.

Well, I hate to tell Rolex this, but this is the last Rolex they have sold this family until and unless my son decides to break from his parents and actually make some money in his lifetime. So I do hope our regular jeweler isn’t affected by that!

11

I gave my Rolex (gift from rich aunt when I was 16) to my brother, rather than keep shelling out $300 every five years to get it serviced. That was about ten years ago. I’m sure the price is now over $500. Note the $300 was just the labor. Any parts were extra, and expensive. The last two services I did (c 1998 and 2003) were around $400. The watch is over 30 years old. I haven’t worn a watch in over ten years, my brother wears it daily.

It cost my aunt the equivalent of USD 3,000 originally. A ridiculous amount of money in those days in Pakistan (early 1980s). Supposedly appraised for $7500 recently. For insurance purposes. I’m sure selling something like this, it would be difficult to realize that amount.

12

I’ve got a Rolex, Date Just, Stainless and Gold Oyster. Bought it in Munich in the 80’s when you could get 4 DM’s for a dollar. Wear it almost never. Twice a year. I cleaned it myself a few times with some jewelry cleaner my wife had. It just cleaned the sweat off the bracelet and shined it up.

I’ve never had it serviced. Why?

Yes, it’s self winding. If you’re sitting around a long time just shake your hand back and forth a few time and you’re good to go.

I had it “scheduled” with our homeowner’s insurance. That is, it was extra to insure it based on the value. I quit that years ago and now just hide it somewhere.

13

I’ve never had my Rolex overhauled outside of Japan so I can’t say what Rolex USA would charge, but TheMightyAtlas’ experience seems to line up with the current prices in Japan. However, I’m fairly confident in saying there is no way you would be able to get a Rolex overhauled at a reputable place for $100. Just changing the battery in a cheap TAG costs $100. Plus, your watch is an automatic and they’re more complex = more expensive to service. On the bright side, you may be in possession of a collectible depending on the exact model and year of manufacture, which would make the watch more valuable and give you more incentive to overhaul it. You should have Rolex look into it.

Whatever you do, and whether it works or not, it’s nice to have a memento of your father and being able to pass that on to your son.

14

I think my 1979 non-date Submariner cost $500 for servicing. They cleaned/lubed/replaced-as-needed the internal stuff (e.g., the stem that was worn), replaced the dial (which no longer glowed much), and replaced the hands. They might have replaced the bezel. I know they did on the GMT Master II. That latter one was also serviced, but I don’t recall how much it cost. It was at least $500, and may have been closer to $800. Oh, in addition to the cleaning and replacement of worn parts, they also check the timekeeping for an extended period. Rolex service isn’t like giving it to your local jeweller for a couple of days. It takes time.

Do they need to be serviced regularly? Rolex recommends every five years. I think the GMT II was a case of ‘Let’s do what’s recommended’, but the Sub needed work. The watches were serviced about eight years ago. They won’t go in again until they need to. I mean, they’re going to do all of the work anyway. May as well use them up! :stuck_out_tongue:

15

And that reputation is “It’s not a bad watch, but you can get a much better automatic for much less. You’re mostly paying for name recognition.”

16

It depends on what you mean by ‘better’. I don’t know if a Tag or a Breitling has a more robust, more accurate, more something movement than Rolex. From what little I know, different brands often use the same movement. If you mean aesthetically better, that, of course, is a matter of taste. I wear Rolex because they’re stodgy and un-hip. (OK, and James Bond.) When I was younger, I really wanted a Breitling Chronomat. I was a pilot, and it’s a pilot’s watch. It was also half the price of a Rolex. But by the time I could afford a nice watch, I felt the Breitling was too flashy.

My idea of a Rolex is that it’s a middle-class watch. Maybe more on the upper-end of the curve. The Date-just, especially in gold, did at one time convey ‘success’, but the kind I wear are ‘working watches’. Stainless steel and intended to be ‘used’. (I remember seeing a Sub that looked like it had been through the wars. That was a watch that was used as intended!) But I think that the ‘elegant watch that can be worn to work’ is a thing of decades past. Still good watches, and still (for the stainless steel ‘working watches’ I wear) practical. But a Seiko is cheaper, more accurate, and some models strongly resemble a Rolex Submariner. (I wear a 1974 Seiko Bell-Matic, which has some resemblance to the Rolex Air King – their cheapest watch AFAIK. It’s not waterproof. I could dive with my 1986 Seiko Sports 100 though.)

17

It’s worth pointing out that Rolex is one of the rare Swiss manufacturers that doesn’t source its movement from an outside supplier. For example, virtually every major Swiss manufacturer other than Rolex, Patek Philippe and Omega uses the same movement for automatic chronograph models (and Omega’s is based around it.)

I have a Bucherer chronograph based around a Valjoux movement and I’ve never bothered to have it serviced. I sent it to the lone authorized service facility in the US last year to have the crystal and one of the subdial hands replaced after I dropped it five stories onto a tile floor (amazingly, the watch was still working fine other than the missing hand.) Other than that, it’s been keeping accurate time with no maintenance at all since 1994 or so.

18

I disagree with that to a large extent. Enthusiasts who I have encountered place Rolex among the best in terms of absolute quality and craftsmanship. Price inflation does exist due to branding to a certain degree, I agree with that.

However, that does not negate the fact that the quality and design features are second to none in the eyes of many in various watch enthusiast circles as well as people in the industry itself.

May I ask if there is any cite you have from a reliable source that would say such a thing about the brand as a whole?

19

I say don’t bother getting it serviced until it stops keeping time.

I have had my Omegas and Rolex serviced, and it is always at least $500.
Besides the steep price, the other bit they don’t tell you is that you won’t see your beloved timepiece for four months or more. Watches with complications, such as chronographs, cost more (my Omegas both have stopwatches).

Rolex, as others have said, are the real deal: they might be seen as a bit too common for true watch snobs, but the quality is there in spades.
As an example of the quality, I have worn my SS Submariner for a decade, while doing pretty much everything I shouldn’t be doing while wearing a nice watch (e.g. yard work, replacing toilets, moving, and so on), and it just doesn’t look much different from when I first got it. The SS is a high quality alloy, and the sapphire crystal is virtually scratch proof. I had it serviced once, and it came back even more perfect than it went.

Here’s the problem: no matter what is going on inside your watch, they will completely disassemble it, replace worn parts, and put it together, with 38 different lubricants and so on. This costs $$$. Even if you send it in for service a week later, they will do the full thing all over again.

I learned this once when a pusher came loose from my Omega Speedmaster Pro about two weeks after it was fully serviced. I took it to the jeweler, who insisted that it was like driving a new car off the lot, nothing was guaranteed after I took it home–but how could a pusher just unscrew itself two weeks after servicing? They sent it back to Omega, on the house (thankfully), and four months later I got it back, fully serviced for a second unnecessary time. All I wanted was a new pusher, with perhaps some watchmaker’s version of Locktite holding it on.

Anyway, would you rather pay $500 every 3-5 years on schedule or just pay $700 in 11 years when it stops working and they say they need to replace a few extra parts? I opt for the latter.

ETA: My Apple Watch arrived today, so I am wearing it instead of a fine Swiss watch. It pains me to do so, but my gadget geek side is in conflict with my watch geek side. I think it will soon be limited to a workout watch, as I originally intended–it really is a great device for runners.

20

Dad somehow managed to scratch the crystal, but he was always good at beating the shit out of things he wore; he’d come home from work when I was a kid and start building something in the yard without taking his suit off. Drove my mom bonkers. Which is weird because in other ways he always took care of things - his tools are actually all in the tool chest instead of everywhere like mine, his pocket knives were always sharp, etc.

He took a ridiculous amount of pleasure in this watch. He’d call you over to look at the second hand. “You see that?! You know how you know that’s a real Rolex?!” “I know, Dad. It sweeps.” “It sweeps!” He’d sit there watching it sweep. Sniff.