I recently cracked the crystal on my explorer. I had to get it a service. What are your thoughts on servicing and refinishing watches? Instagram: / wrist_swap
Nothing wrong with having a light refinishing. It's your watch so you can do what you like. I have owned a Rolex Sub Date 16610 since 2002 and its been serviced and refinished twice by Rolex in that time and it still looks spectacular and runs av +/- 1 sec per day. I don't sell any of my watches and it's not quite vintage yet so I prefer it looking as good as it can be.
Makes me laugh how stuffy people get with polishing. It’s your watch, do you! If you’re only ever thinking about resale value I don’t think you can truly enjoy your watch. Great content as always Harrison.
Especially when people treat every watch likes it’s a Paul Newman Daytona or pre moon speedy. Most watches are not historically significant wonders, they’re just steel watches that get scratched and look better when given a clean and light Polish. A 2001 datejust or 90s Seiko isn’t going to suddenly become garbage because it had a light polish. Nobody cares 😂
I just had my Explorer Mk2 serviced with all the bells and whistles made me fall in love with my watch again. it feels brand new as far as resale goes give me a recently served polished watch over unpolished unkept watch anyday unless you are going super vintage
Appreciate you sharing your experience. The Explorer is my only Rolex and most expensive watch I've always wandered about the cost of service and what's included. Thanks mate.
I like the look of a new watch. Good to hear a different point of view on the matter. I’ll definitely be getting mine refinished when it gets serviced.
Great video as always! But for the refinishing, it’s not necessarily about value retention, it’s also about the experiences with a watch that you want to keep (in my case at least)
It's nice to se an actual rational watch collector who wants his watch to look it's very best...and it obviously does again. I think maybe they have raised service prices lately. My best friend had his Milgauss done by RSC in Dallas in 2021 and it cost about $750 ish? Also with crystal replaced.
Nice balanced vid.. After how many light repolishes will the raised crown be flush with the bracelet...i suppose you could just replace with bracelet...i mean if you have no issie polishing the watch you wont have an issue replacing the bracelet
Interest to know if they replaced it with an AR crystal. I left my 114270 in to get serviced and requested one and they said they do that anyway now. I was surprised that they didn’t use a crystal in keeping with the original spec.
Same price here in Switzerland at Rolex/Bucherer for service, polishing and new crystal because the Explorer of my dad was pretty banged up. It looked great again as yours and he was happy for my present.
Great honest video. I also would use Rolex to replace the crystal and furthermore do service and polishing. The only caveat is requesting that the Rolex name or emblem would not be polished.
One thing that encouraged me to buy my first luxury watch was that I can bring it back to pretty much brand new when I wanted to. Since then that watch has had one service with refinish from omega in 10 years.
I agree with 100% with regard to polishing, the only watches you do not polish are the ones that are really rare that command a high market price or if it belongs to a loved one and you want to keep it for sentimental value. On another point, it seems that the new crysatal has an AR coating from the inside, which is a nice upgrade
I love my beat up scratched up pieces but yours came back looking great! I think that watch media, a lot of which is funded by the buying and selling of watches, skews people's perception of what is acceptable for normal people to do with their own property.
An older Enicar watch I aquired after my grandfather died had a LOT of scuffs, and even a welding mark on it. I decided to completely refinish it except for the caseback to give it a new life. The whole service and finish cost the same as the value of the piece, but it didn't really matter because it made me really want to wear and appreciate what was otherwise not likely to be worn.
Totally agree. I felt exactly the same when I had my GMT1 serviced. I loved how it looked when it came back. It's a family heirloom so resale value is a non issue. Also, I think people get too wrapped up in watch "value". These are not investments.
Honestly, that’s a good price. Servicing and refinishing a watch takes an expert a lot of time, and Rolex don’t exactly give away crystals. You have a very sensible approach to refinishing - people are insane about touching up mass-produced jewellery. How long exactly do they expect to live?
My Mom has a datejust I got for her brand new, it’s pretty beat up after 6 years of daily wear, with the polished center links and the fluted bezel. I think when it’s time to have her watch serviced I may talk her into having it polished. However I’m a mechanic and I daily wear a submariner I bought brand new, it’s pretty beat up but with minimal polished surfaces and a ceramic bezel, I don’t really notice the scratches. I’ve had it for about 6 years and recently I broke the pip on the bezel off of it. I sent it in and had the movement serviced and the pip replaced and I opted for no polishing. There was a bunch of factors there. My Mom being in her 60’s, how many polishing is she going to have done on her watch, me, being in my 30’s how many services is my watch going to have? How quickly will our watches get beat up again etc. so my opinion on a polish is do what you want BUT think carefully about it before you do it. Will you be happy with your decision?
It's curious that a luxury watch fell from a very low height and got a weird damage from a much less expensive one... as for "value", people stretch that too much as if being a tradesman has anything to do with the actual enjoyment of having a watch.
I agree you should decide if you like the scratches polished out or not. I choose not too. I’ve daily worn my 16570 for 12 years and it shows it. When my kids inherit my watches one day they won’t wonder if I wore them. They will know I wore the living hell out of them. I like to service the movement when it’s +10/-10s a day or the amplitude falls dramatically. Otherwise just keep wearing it.
Thanks for sharing ! I'm wondering...do you know if it was re-lumed as well ? The index look "more filled" if that makes sense. Maybe it's just the camera/light work.
I recently read somewhere (can't remember where) that Rolex state that their watches are good for 3 re-finishes over their lifetime. I'm sure the watched can handle more than that but this is what Rolex state to ensure their high standards are maintained. Something to consider before you decide on refinishing. If you're servicing your watch regularly, I wouldn't get it refinished at every service
I wanted to fix a broken screw on the clasp on the super jubilee of a Datejust I had. They have to service the watch, polish it and then fix the screw. The watch must leave the AD in perfect condition or the watchmaker doesn't work on it at all
As long as the refinishing is done to a high standard, I have no issue with re-finishing. I do have an issue with replacement dial and hands without the authorization of the owner.
Not bad.I just had my Omega Aqua Terra Quartz serviced at their New Jersey center. $750…for a quartz! It did need a new crown and new threads though. Reality hits hard when it comes time to service. This is not a cheap or rational hobby by any stretch.
Polish is from far the worst you can do to a watch, refinishing and recutting/machining/lapping a case after laser welding will make it look new but the process is labor intensive versus polishing which removes metal and everything becomes rounded off. When you see about 5k watches a year, polished watches look like an eye sore. Tell yourself that a scuff will remove a tiny bit of metal at one place, polishing removes and digs into the metal down to that scuff's bottom. I have had a Rolex GMT 1675 that had been polished at Rolex 12 times and the case was DESTROYED. I was barely capable of selling it in parts. Sadly very few people know what a proper case recut can do and can easily save you from damaging a case for ever.
Interesting. I just had an OP Date 15200 serviced (no crystal replacement) for $600. Hard to believe the crystal replacement would run $350. Is that the line item?
Ahhh you did a light polish! You ruined it!! Might as well Just throw it out (in my thrash can😏) I scratched my Omega Seamaster 300 Coaxial 41mm in the polish bezel, it’s bothering me, I want to service it and I think I will make that move, I’m still unsure.
Agreed. Too much b.s. is spouted about the horrors of refinishing. As you note, these rants generally come from folks who look at watches as investments rather than as handsome pieces of jewelry.
I don’t get the scratches being part of its journey, I own a Vintage Explorer and I was happy when I bought it as it had a full service and a light refinish and it looked like new and I’m happy with that , I treat my watches like my vintage 911 I want it to look mint condition
Looks NEW!!!! Yeah I understand the no polish thing but I’m not going to be pretentious about it. I see nothing wrong with a polish that’s done correctly. Thankfully there are methods in watchmaking that can laser weld steel to over polished watches. It’s a little pricey but well worth it. Just find reputable service shops and expect to wait a few months. Then again I don’t see any charm in beat to sh*t watches. These things are expensive so wear the watch, sure, but wear it with respect. In a watches lifetime it takes 3-5 really bad polish jobs to make a horrible difference and make the watch look disproportioned. Usually steel sport vintage Rolex pre-ceramics are victims of bad polishing. Thankfully Supercase Rolex can take more polish jobs in a lifetime.
The only thing I'd be afraid of is if the watchmaker does a bad job with the polishing. I've read many stories of the actual Rolex Service Center overpolishing watches :( Else I'd do the same as I buy watches for myself to wear and not for someone else to buy it later and I prefer the clean look of a (as) new condition watch.
This is the beautiful thing about luxury watches: you can always get it serviced, and it will outlast you. The same can't be said with a lot of cheap and mid-tier watches, for you will be unable to get parts (bezels, inserts, OEM crowns, etc).
Unrealistic. Plenty of "cheap" parts can be found for low prices for "cheap" movements, specially japanese ones. The number of people inclined to service expensive watches is much more restricted.
RSC obviously did a good job polishing. I had an 20 year old Seiko serviced and refinished at Seiko Service Center in Mahawah NJ. They did an awful job refinishing, very heavy handed and sloppy. Softened the edges, stamped Seiko shaved down. Stay away from Seiko Service.
If only they gave you the option to get an acrylic crystal?! My everyday do anything 1016 gets a visit from polywatch every few months :) i keep on nato or leather most of the time and so is super comfortable and unnoticeable. Polish, don't polish its your watch to enjoy your way. great video!
You subconsciously "dropped" your Rolex in hopes a broken crystal would result, in order to provide you with the exact excuse you needed to go ahead and opt for the total refinishing come repair time. Psychohorology 101
In truth a lot of expensive watches are owned by the financially stretched middle class who really are poor people with access to credit hence why they can never enjoy their watches. Resale value is a big deal.
You can should send your watches directly to Rolex for servicing. You cannot - and should not - trust your authorized dealer for any such work. Resizing the bracelet? Sure. Opening the case back? Absolutely not.
![ARGENTINA vs. BOLIVIA [6-0] | RESUMEN | ELIMINATORIAS SUDAMERICANAS | FECHA 10](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/C3wPtKNbAOA/mqdefault.jpg)
Nothing wrong with having a light refinishing. It's your watch so you can do what you like. I have owned a Rolex Sub Date 16610 since 2002 and its been serviced and refinished twice by Rolex in that time and it still looks spectacular and runs av +/- 1 sec per day. I don't sell any of my watches and it's not quite vintage yet so I prefer it looking as good as it can be.
Makes me laugh how stuffy people get with polishing. It’s your watch, do you! If you’re only ever thinking about resale value I don’t think you can truly enjoy your watch. Great content as always Harrison.
Especially when people treat every watch likes it’s a Paul Newman Daytona or pre moon speedy. Most watches are not historically significant wonders, they’re just steel watches that get scratched and look better when given a clean and light Polish. A 2001 datejust or 90s Seiko isn’t going to suddenly become garbage because it had a light polish. Nobody cares 😂
Amen to that. People talk about "value" as if everyone has to be a merchantman.
I just had my Explorer Mk2 serviced with all the bells and whistles made me fall in love with my watch again. it feels brand new as far as resale goes give me a recently served polished watch over unpolished unkept watch anyday unless you are going super vintage
Appreciate you sharing your experience. The Explorer is my only Rolex and most expensive watch I've always wandered about the cost of service and what's included. Thanks mate.
I like the look of a new watch. Good to hear a different point of view on the matter. I’ll definitely be getting mine refinished when it gets serviced.
Great video as always! But for the refinishing, it’s not necessarily about value retention, it’s also about the experiences with a watch that you want to keep (in my case at least)
Fair point! I can see that angle!
Exactly. The scratches tell the story and show the usage.
Nice! It's a great feeling seeing your watch come back from service looking all proper! No issues with refinish, had my sub done a few times...
It's nice to se an actual rational watch collector who wants his watch to look it's very best...and it obviously does again. I think maybe they have raised service prices lately. My best friend had his Milgauss done by RSC in Dallas in 2021 and it cost about $750 ish? Also with crystal replaced.
Nice balanced vid..
After how many light repolishes will the raised crown be flush with the bracelet...i suppose you could just replace with bracelet...i mean if you have no issie polishing the watch you wont have an issue replacing the bracelet
Interest to know if they replaced it with an AR crystal. I left my 114270 in to get serviced and requested one and they said they do that anyway now. I was surprised that they didn’t use a crystal in keeping with the original spec.
Same price here in Switzerland at Rolex/Bucherer for service, polishing and new crystal because the Explorer of my dad was pretty banged up. It looked great again as yours and he was happy for my present.
I would definitely refinish, it looked amazing! Only thing I wouldn't refinish is any gold or platinum watch
My Tudor BB58 925 broke and had to go back to the factory (I live in Europe) and it came back in one of those Rolex pouches too.
Great honest video. I also would use Rolex to replace the crystal and furthermore do service and polishing. The only caveat is requesting that the Rolex name or emblem would not be polished.
I wear king turtle all the time. The thing is a monster in the best way. Amazing piece!
One thing that encouraged me to buy my first luxury watch was that I can bring it back to pretty much brand new when I wanted to. Since then that watch has had one service with refinish from omega in 10 years.
I agree with 100% with regard to polishing, the only watches you do not polish are the ones that are really rare that command a high market price or if it belongs to a loved one and you want to keep it for sentimental value.
On another point, it seems that the new crysatal has an AR coating from the inside, which is a nice upgrade
Yeah I agree. I thought the crystal seemed a bit different, but the reflections looked similar. You're probably right!
I love my beat up scratched up pieces but yours came back looking great! I think that watch media, a lot of which is funded by the buying and selling of watches, skews people's perception of what is acceptable for normal people to do with their own property.
That was perfectly put. 100% agree.
An older Enicar watch I aquired after my grandfather died had a LOT of scuffs, and even a welding mark on it. I decided to completely refinish it except for the caseback to give it a new life. The whole service and finish cost the same as the value of the piece, but it didn't really matter because it made me really want to wear and appreciate what was otherwise not likely to be worn.
Totally agree. I felt exactly the same when I had my GMT1 serviced. I loved how it looked when it came back. It's a family heirloom so resale value is a non issue. Also, I think people get too wrapped up in watch "value". These are not investments.
Don’t agree with your perspective on refinishing but I loved hearing about it!
Honestly, that’s a good price. Servicing and refinishing a watch takes an expert a lot of time, and Rolex don’t exactly give away crystals. You have a very sensible approach to refinishing - people are insane about touching up mass-produced jewellery. How long exactly do they expect to live?
Forever. Don't you?
My Mom has a datejust I got for her brand new, it’s pretty beat up after 6 years of daily wear, with the polished center links and the fluted bezel. I think when it’s time to have her watch serviced I may talk her into having it polished. However I’m a mechanic and I daily wear a submariner I bought brand new, it’s pretty beat up but with minimal polished surfaces and a ceramic bezel, I don’t really notice the scratches. I’ve had it for about 6 years and recently I broke the pip on the bezel off of it. I sent it in and had the movement serviced and the pip replaced and I opted for no polishing. There was a bunch of factors there. My Mom being in her 60’s, how many polishing is she going to have done on her watch, me, being in my 30’s how many services is my watch going to have? How quickly will our watches get beat up again etc. so my opinion on a polish is do what you want BUT think carefully about it before you do it. Will you be happy with your decision?
I'm thrilled with my decision, but I agree all of these factors are important to consider!
It's curious that a luxury watch fell from a very low height and got a weird damage from a much less expensive one... as for "value", people stretch that too much as if being a tradesman has anything to do with the actual enjoyment of having a watch.
I agree you should decide if you like the scratches polished out or not. I choose not too. I’ve daily worn my 16570 for 12 years and it shows it. When my kids inherit my watches one day they won’t wonder if I wore them. They will know I wore the living hell out of them. I like to service the movement when it’s +10/-10s a day or the amplitude falls dramatically. Otherwise just keep wearing it.
I have had great experiences with Reis-Nichols at the Greenwood location. Gillian is the best!!! Really looking forward to more purchases there.
I have a Tudor 36mm Submariner ,its 25 years old. when I need to have it serviced,I will have it polished.
Thanks for sharing ! I'm wondering...do you know if it was re-lumed as well ? The index look "more filled" if that makes sense. Maybe it's just the camera/light work.
I recently read somewhere (can't remember where) that Rolex state that their watches are good for 3 re-finishes over their lifetime. I'm sure the watched can handle more than that but this is what Rolex state to ensure their high standards are maintained. Something to consider before you decide on refinishing. If you're servicing your watch regularly, I wouldn't get it refinished at every service
Rolex did an excellent job refinishing your watch - it looks brand new! I am not a fan of scratched up watches.
I wanted to fix a broken screw on the clasp on the super jubilee of a Datejust I had. They have to service the watch, polish it and then fix the screw. The watch must leave the AD in perfect condition or the watchmaker doesn't work on it at all
As long as the refinishing is done to a high standard, I have no issue with re-finishing. I do have an issue with replacement dial and hands without the authorization of the owner.
Not bad.I just had my Omega Aqua Terra Quartz serviced at their New Jersey center. $750…for a quartz! It did need a new crown and new threads though. Reality hits hard when it comes time to service. This is not a cheap or rational hobby by any stretch.
Haha no it's a very very expensive hobby!
Polish is from far the worst you can do to a watch, refinishing and recutting/machining/lapping a case after laser welding will make it look new but the process is labor intensive versus polishing which removes metal and everything becomes rounded off. When you see about 5k watches a year, polished watches look like an eye sore. Tell yourself that a scuff will remove a tiny bit of metal at one place, polishing removes and digs into the metal down to that scuff's bottom. I have had a Rolex GMT 1675 that had been polished at Rolex 12 times and the case was DESTROYED. I was barely capable of selling it in parts. Sadly very few people know what a proper case recut can do and can easily save you from damaging a case for ever.
Interesting. I just had an OP Date 15200 serviced (no crystal replacement) for $600. Hard to believe the crystal replacement would run $350. Is that the line item?
Ahhh you did a light polish! You ruined it!! Might as well Just throw it out (in my thrash can😏) I scratched my Omega Seamaster 300 Coaxial 41mm in the polish bezel, it’s bothering me, I want to service it and I think I will make that move, I’m still unsure.
Oh no! You're right. I'll throw it away. Up to you. I'm happy i did.
Holy moly. $950 is a bunch of money. Also, I am very much PRO refinishing.
Yeah ain’t cheap!
One question I have is did you go from leather strap to the metal band? I didn't know they can replace the band and for how much?
Agreed. Too much b.s. is spouted about the horrors of refinishing. As you note, these rants generally come from folks who look at watches as investments rather than as handsome pieces of jewelry.
Are we sending the watch to the Rolex service centre or AD ?
I don’t get the scratches being part of its journey, I own a Vintage Explorer and I was happy when I bought it as it had a full service and a light refinish and it looked like new and I’m happy with that , I treat my watches like my vintage 911 I want it to look mint condition
I agree. Certainly more shiny that way!
Looks NEW!!!! Yeah I understand the no polish thing but I’m not going to be pretentious about it. I see nothing wrong with a polish that’s done correctly. Thankfully there are methods in watchmaking that can laser weld steel to over polished watches. It’s a little pricey but well worth it. Just find reputable service shops and expect to wait a few months. Then again I don’t see any charm in beat to sh*t watches. These things are expensive so wear the watch, sure, but wear it with respect. In a watches lifetime it takes 3-5 really bad polish jobs to make a horrible difference and make the watch look disproportioned. Usually steel sport vintage Rolex pre-ceramics are victims of bad polishing. Thankfully Supercase Rolex can take more polish jobs in a lifetime.
You should only wear during dressy times out. It won't get messed up so much.😄
The only thing I'd be afraid of is if the watchmaker does a bad job with the polishing. I've read many stories of the actual Rolex Service Center overpolishing watches :(
Else I'd do the same as I buy watches for myself to wear and not for someone else to buy it later and I prefer the clean look of a (as) new condition watch.
I’ve heard the stories too, but I think Rolex has taken polishing more seriously. I haven’t heard of a bad polish in a very long time now.
Does the service crystal have AR coating?
For me when it comes to polishing, I'll prob always re-finish mine, now if I was handed a watch that was a family member's then I would not refinish
Refinishing on a precious metal case is a far different proposition to stainless steel getting polished and losing a bit of metal.
This is the beautiful thing about luxury watches: you can always get it serviced, and it will outlast you. The same can't be said with a lot of cheap and mid-tier watches, for you will be unable to get parts (bezels, inserts, OEM crowns, etc).
Unrealistic. Plenty of "cheap" parts can be found for low prices for "cheap" movements, specially japanese ones. The number of people inclined to service expensive watches is much more restricted.
@@TheGrenadier97 improve reading comprehension. I didn’t mention anything about movements, noob.
RSC obviously did a good job polishing. I had an 20 year old Seiko serviced and refinished at Seiko Service Center in Mahawah NJ. They did an awful job refinishing, very heavy handed and sloppy. Softened the edges, stamped Seiko shaved down. Stay away from Seiko Service.
Sorry to hear that! Will do! Some centers can be rough!
If only they gave you the option to get an acrylic crystal?! My everyday do anything 1016 gets a visit from polywatch every few months :) i keep on nato or leather most of the time and so is super comfortable and unnoticeable. Polish, don't polish its your watch to enjoy your way. great video!
Couldn’t agree more.
1& half months!!! For a damned crystal!!!?😮
Why is it so small
He said doodoo! 😂
$850 for service and polish, replacement crystal $150- total $950
1000usd or so is crazy for a service.Rolex laughing all the way to the bank
I think it doesn’t matter and it looks new again.
….
It’s not like it’s worth $1,000,000
You subconsciously "dropped" your Rolex in hopes a broken crystal would result, in order to provide you with the exact excuse you needed to go ahead and opt for the total refinishing come repair time.
Psychohorology 101
In truth a lot of expensive watches are owned by the financially stretched middle class who really are poor people with access to credit hence why they can never enjoy their watches. Resale value is a big deal.
You can should send your watches directly to Rolex for servicing. You cannot - and should not - trust your authorized dealer for any such work. Resizing the bracelet? Sure. Opening the case back? Absolutely not.
Why?