Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Carlton
Done what for 40 years? I'm sure there's plenty of guys that can mess up a Rolex, but I suspect there are some with a good reputation that can be vetted online at a watch forum. Just throwing it out there. It sounds like taking an old Porsche to a dealer vs a reputable indy. I don't know, I'm more in the camp of waiting until there's a problem before servicing it. I've only had nice watches since 2011, but my first one was a quartz 300M. Retail price $2,250 and discounted price $1,575 through an AD. Works perfectly, no muss no fuss. Has the right time on it except a dead battery or a clock change. Nowadays I can't find a single Omega I like that's quartz anymore.
https://www.omegawatches.com/en-us/watch-omega-seamaster-diver-300m-quartz-36-25-mm-21230366101001 |
Had Rolexes serviced for 40 years... a bunch of them... as well as other watches. Maybe 3 dozen in total.
Used the local "factory trained" guru until I learned a little bit about the world and got wiser. Tried the largest independent service outfit in the US once, on the first service for a ladies 18kt President that I'd bought new for my wife. It quit running after a year.
I bought a new Submariner around 2000 and wore it for a few years until a guy that I worked with convinced me to sell it to him. He ran his Harley into a rocky, roadside ditch at around 70mph, hit a road sign pole with his wrist (the one he wore the on) and it spit him off. Ugly, compound fracture of the wrist. I went back to find the watch in the ditch a few hours after he got to the hospital. The band had separated from the case and was in three pieces, scattered over several yards distance. I took it to Rolex in Dallas, they made it look and run like new again.
I tended to service a watch every 5 years. You can go longer than that but I chose not to. If you wait till you have running problems, you're unnecessarily wearing things inside the watch.