previously polished..does the back count?

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previously polished..does the back count?

Post by wrist enthusiast » Wed Aug 13, 2014 7:30 am

I just have a question,

I totally get why polishing the case of a vintage Rolex diminishes the value in some eyes. My question is, does cleaning up the backside of the watch after you remove the case back? In the attached photo, I see the crude around the edge of the case and the engineer in me screams " clean that up".

Just trying to learn,

Roger
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JP Chestnut
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Re: previously polished..does the back count?

Post by JP Chestnut » Wed Aug 13, 2014 7:32 am

Cleaning nasty crap off your watch isn't the same as polishing it.

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Re: previously polished..does the back count?

Post by JBZ » Wed Aug 13, 2014 7:34 am

That's more likely pitting and corrosion. I could be wrong, but I think it would be pretty difficult to polish out and, since you won't see it once the caseback is in place, there's no reason to (unless it's so bad that the integrity of the seal would be compromised).
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Re: previously polished..does the back count?

Post by JP Chestnut » Wed Aug 13, 2014 7:35 am

JBZ wrote:That's more likely pitting and corrosion. I could be wrong, but I think it would be pretty difficult to polish out and, since you won't see it once the caseback is in place, there's no reason to (unless it's so bad that the integrity of the seal would be compromised).
It looks more like disintegrated gasket to me.

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Re: previously polished..does the back count?

Post by JBZ » Wed Aug 13, 2014 7:38 am

JP Chestnut wrote:
JBZ wrote:That's more likely pitting and corrosion. I could be wrong, but I think it would be pretty difficult to polish out and, since you won't see it once the caseback is in place, there's no reason to (unless it's so bad that the integrity of the seal would be compromised).
It looks more like disintegrated gasket to me.
Could be, in which case it should be pretty easy to clean I would imagine. Seems like a lot of the pitting I've seen appears black, but I'm just spitballing at this point.
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Re: previously polished..does the back count?

Post by wrist enthusiast » Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:31 pm

Yeah, I could not tell if it was gasket or corrosion. I work with pretty good machinists so I think if I had that under a microscope I could find a way to clean it up. So I guess a watch re-seller would ignore it unless they thought it would affect the seal integrity?
Roger
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Re: previously polished..does the back count?

Post by JBZ » Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:34 pm

wrist enthusiast wrote:Yeah, I could not tell if it was gasket or corrosion. I work with pretty good machinists so I think if I had that under a microscope I could find a way to clean it up. So I guess a watch re-seller would ignore it unless they thought it would affect the seal integrity?
As long as the seller disclosed it, I would think they're under no obligation to do anything about it. For what it's worth, I've seen crud way worse than this on Rolex/Tudors being sold. I'd be surprised if what's there would affect the seal on this watch, but the best thing to do is get is serviced/pressure tested if you have any doubts.
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Re: previously polished..does the back count?

Post by JP Chestnut » Wed Aug 13, 2014 2:14 pm

wrist enthusiast wrote:Yeah, I could not tell if it was gasket or corrosion. I work with pretty good machinists so I think if I had that under a microscope I could find a way to clean it up. So I guess a watch re-seller would ignore it unless they thought it would affect the seal integrity?
The standard technique is laser wielding and then machining flat. I suspect doing so would decrease the value of an ultra rare vintage, and do little to the value of a wearer quality 5513 type watch.

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