Rolex service review

Discussion of Rolex Watches.
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deepcdvr
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Rolex service review

Post by deepcdvr » Wed Jun 14, 2017 5:29 am

Aloha folks

Just a quick heads up for those of you looking to get your better watches serviced.

I needed to have my GMT2C serviced pretty badly as the crown was not winding well, the auto wind was starting to lock up (best way I can describe it) and the reserve was only about 12 hours until dead when off my wrist.

I did not want to send it to an RSC as I didn't want to be without the watch for 2 months and with a baseline cost of 600 bucks + fixing whatever else was wrong with it, I thought I'd go another route. Glad I did.

Terry offered to help out, but I have a friend in PA that swears by Mark Sirianni (watchdoctorpa) who has a little shop in Kane, PA. His website www.watchdoctor.biz, boasts that they do about 475 Rolex overhauls a year and for $200 they will fully clean, inspect, oil your watch, replace all the softgoods (orings, etc) and fix any minor issues. They will also lightly polish the exterior of the watch and make it look "new again"...

Anyway, I decided to take a chance on the guy and was blown away by the service, attention to detail and results.

He was in contact with me every step of the way through email, letting me know when he received the watch, was commencing work, what he found during his inspection, when he was complete, etc...

It took exactly 5 days in his shop (I'm excluding shipping time).

The watch got back Monday and it rocks. The winding mechanism is tight and smooth, the timekeeping is at +3 (was +10 before shipping) and he did an amazing job on the exterior - very, very light polishing of the shiny pieces and a thorough cleaning. Really looks fantastic. I haven't checked on the reserve yet, but I'm certain it will be close to factory.

:cheers:
VR/
Paul

SI VI PACEM, PARA BELLUM

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jtbenson
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Re: Rolex service review

Post by jtbenson » Wed Jun 14, 2017 5:33 am

nice of you to share paul, options rock!
i think gmt ii (or deepsea) is my next target
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Re: Rolex service review

Post by hidden by leaves » Wed Jun 14, 2017 5:38 am

Good stuff! Paul can I ask what the problem and fix was? Curious as I have that same GMT, which (knock on wood) is running fine so far.
Send lawyers, guns and money...

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pbj204
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Re: Rolex service review

Post by pbj204 » Wed Jun 14, 2017 5:49 am

Wow, that's a great price for a full service, especially with good results.

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deepcdvr
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Re: Rolex service review

Post by deepcdvr » Wed Jun 14, 2017 7:07 am

hidden by leaves wrote:
Wed Jun 14, 2017 5:38 am
Good stuff! Paul can I ask what the problem and fix was? Curious as I have that same GMT, which (knock on wood) is running fine so far.
I suspected a broken mainspring or problem with the crown stem or tube, but Mark said that when he opened up the watch and inspected everything, it all looked in order so he thoroughly cleaned the movement, "tightened the winding mechanism" (I don't know what that means), lubricated it and it is now tight, quiet and smooth. A huge difference.

:cheers:
VR/
Paul

SI VI PACEM, PARA BELLUM

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Re: Rolex service review

Post by hidden by leaves » Wed Jun 14, 2017 7:21 am

deepcdvr wrote:
Wed Jun 14, 2017 7:07 am
hidden by leaves wrote:
Wed Jun 14, 2017 5:38 am
Good stuff! Paul can I ask what the problem and fix was? Curious as I have that same GMT, which (knock on wood) is running fine so far.
I suspected a broken mainspring or problem with the crown stem or tube, but Mark said that when he opened up the watch and inspected everything, it all looked in order so he thoroughly cleaned the movement, "tightened the winding mechanism" (I don't know what that means), lubricated it and it is now tight, quiet and smooth. A huge difference.

:cheers:
Thanks Paul. Glad you got it sorted, I imagine it to be quite a relief! :thumbsup:
Send lawyers, guns and money...

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toxicavenger
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Re: Rolex service review

Post by toxicavenger » Wed Jun 14, 2017 7:44 am

Good deal Paul! Congrats on getting it going again. Sounds like he is a good watchmaker, that isn't too common it seems.

He has been around for a while. I think someone else here uses him also with great results.

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rockmastermike
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Re: Rolex service review

Post by rockmastermike » Wed Jun 14, 2017 7:48 am

Thanks for the heads up. Hopefully won't need it but good have in the back pocket

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JP Chestnut
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Re: Rolex service review

Post by JP Chestnut » Wed Jun 14, 2017 7:49 am

toxicavenger wrote:
Wed Jun 14, 2017 7:44 am
Good deal Paul! Congrats on getting it going again. Sounds like he is a good watchmaker, that isn't too common it seems.
It's surprising how rare stuff like this is becoming. Things that my Dad, and especially Grand Dad, depended on are so hard to find. A decent tailor? Maybe 2 in my state that I would let touch something of mine. A decent cobbler? Ha. Watch repair? Definitely not in my town.

70 years ago you could go to the tailor on the corner and commission a bespoke suit in just about any major city. Now unless you want to drop $5,000, live in NYC, and are willing to wait a year for delivery it's not happening.

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Zidane
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Re: Rolex service review

Post by Zidane » Wed Jun 14, 2017 8:35 am

Good to know!

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toxicavenger
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Re: Rolex service review

Post by toxicavenger » Wed Jun 14, 2017 8:41 am

JP Chestnut wrote:
Wed Jun 14, 2017 7:49 am
toxicavenger wrote:
Wed Jun 14, 2017 7:44 am
Good deal Paul! Congrats on getting it going again. Sounds like he is a good watchmaker, that isn't too common it seems.
It's surprising how rare stuff like this is becoming. Things that my Dad, and especially Grand Dad, depended on are so hard to find. A decent tailor? Maybe 2 in my state that I would let touch something of mine. A decent cobbler? Ha. Watch repair? Definitely not in my town.

70 years ago you could go to the tailor on the corner and commission a bespoke suit in just about any major city. Now unless you want to drop $5,000, live in NYC, and are willing to wait a year for delivery it's not happening.
Mike Rowe talks about this lot. It is happening everywhere unfortunately. :banghead:

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Re: Rolex service review

Post by Ryeguy » Wed Jun 14, 2017 9:42 am

I'm not certain this is the case with Paul's watch, but I know Rolex does not use ball bearings to mount their autowinding rotors. They use a sleeve type bearing instead. As the lubricant on the sleeve bearing wears out, it can cause wear between the metal axle and jewel. It would make sense to me that this could reduce the rotor's ability to spin freely and therefore reduce the winding efficiency.

I've never understood why Rolex has not switched to mounting the rotor using ball bearings. I would think ball bearings would increase reliability and extend service life.

As an aside, the in-house Tudor movements use ball bearings to mount the rotor.

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r.palace
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Re: Rolex service review

Post by r.palace » Wed Jun 14, 2017 9:51 am

Great to have options. Glad it worked out for you, Paul :cheers:
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JP Chestnut
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Re: Rolex service review

Post by JP Chestnut » Wed Jun 14, 2017 9:51 am

Ryeguy wrote:
Wed Jun 14, 2017 9:42 am
I've never understood why Rolex has not switched to mounting the rotor using ball bearings. I would think ball bearings would increase reliability and extend service life.
The standard reason given is that ball bearings are louder. The 4130 movment in the modern Daytona uses ball bearings. I think the YM2 movement does as well. I wouldn't be surprised if the AC movement in the sky dweller does as well.

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streetracer101
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Re: Rolex service review

Post by streetracer101 » Wed Jun 14, 2017 10:02 am

Great price. If you'd sent it to Jack or RGM it probably wouldn't cost twice as much as come back with other issues.

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Henryj
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Re: Rolex service review

Post by Henryj » Wed Jun 14, 2017 6:22 pm

JP Chestnut wrote:
Wed Jun 14, 2017 9:51 am
Ryeguy wrote:
Wed Jun 14, 2017 9:42 am
I've never understood why Rolex has not switched to mounting the rotor using ball bearings. I would think ball bearings would increase reliability and extend service life.
The standard reason given is that ball bearings are louder. The 4130 movment in the modern Daytona uses ball bearings. I think the YM2 movement does as well. I wouldn't be surprised if the AC movement in the sky dweller does as well.
I always figured it was because they didn't invent it.
“Punishable by fine” = Legal for a price.”

cdnwatchguy
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Re: Rolex service review

Post by cdnwatchguy » Wed Jun 14, 2017 7:11 pm

Good to hear. Always good to support independents.
cheers,

Keith

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dnslater
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Re: Rolex service review

Post by dnslater » Thu Jun 15, 2017 4:00 am

I always thought independent guys had to follow Rolex's price schedule if they wanted a Rolex parts account. This is true with Omega. Not Rolex?

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Ryeguy
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Re: Rolex service review

Post by Ryeguy » Thu Jun 15, 2017 7:30 am

Henryj wrote:
Wed Jun 14, 2017 6:22 pm
JP Chestnut wrote:
Wed Jun 14, 2017 9:51 am
Ryeguy wrote:
Wed Jun 14, 2017 9:42 am
I've never understood why Rolex has not switched to mounting the rotor using ball bearings. I would think ball bearings would increase reliability and extend service life.
The standard reason given is that ball bearings are louder. The 4130 movment in the modern Daytona uses ball bearings. I think the YM2 movement does as well. I wouldn't be surprised if the AC movement in the sky dweller does as well.
I always figured it was because they didn't invent it.
I figured it was due to the cost of making the change combined with the current customer willingness to accept the current level of performance.

I don't think it is an engineering department decision due to Rolex using teflon coated auto winding gears (those red gears) to reduce wear and extend service life on this one aspect of their movement, yet still relying on less-robust sleeve bearings on this other aspect of the same system. If the rotor isn't able to spin freely due to sleeve bearing lubrication wear, it doesn't really matter if the winding gears are teflon coated.

Maybe red gears are eye-catching in the sales brochure but ceramic rotor bearings are not. Rolex should develop some red ceramic ball bearings. They would likely be much more marketing friendly.

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toxicavenger
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Re: Rolex service review

Post by toxicavenger » Thu Jun 15, 2017 1:19 pm

dnslater wrote:
Thu Jun 15, 2017 4:00 am
I always thought independent guys had to follow Rolex's price schedule if they wanted a Rolex parts account. This is true with Omega. Not Rolex?
Nope, it is a gray area. There are ways around it.

Martycus
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Re: Rolex service review

Post by Martycus » Wed Jul 26, 2017 12:53 pm

Good to know, thank you. My wife's DJ is in need of a new repair shop and this sounds like a good place to consider.

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