Discussion
So I had a Rolex and I traded it in for current (also mechanical) watch. Never had the Rolex serviced (in about 9 years of ownership). Current watch would be £450 for a service at makers (no-one seems to want to do it in-house) and it apparently needs a "regular" service.
I haven't availed myself of the service - doing this would add a huge amount to the running costs - what does anyone else do?
I haven't availed myself of the service - doing this would add a huge amount to the running costs - what does anyone else do?
Why not tell us what it is?
Rolex 'need' to be serviced every 4-5 years and that's £430 so doesn't seem too different.
Others disagree and make ridiculous comparisons with car servicing, but in my experience your watch 'tells' you when it needs servicing. If it starts to lose timekeeping (loss or gain) and it's off to the menders as far as I'm concerned. If it's keeping time (which is maintaining a precise 21600 or 28800vph day in, day out) then it doesn't need servicing. Anything worn or unlubricated won't allow that operation at that accuracy.
Rolex 'need' to be serviced every 4-5 years and that's £430 so doesn't seem too different.
Others disagree and make ridiculous comparisons with car servicing, but in my experience your watch 'tells' you when it needs servicing. If it starts to lose timekeeping (loss or gain) and it's off to the menders as far as I'm concerned. If it's keeping time (which is maintaining a precise 21600 or 28800vph day in, day out) then it doesn't need servicing. Anything worn or unlubricated won't allow that operation at that accuracy.
Yeti has a point to a certain extent but I've had vintage watches through that have kept excellent time in use (4 or 5 sec / day average from 40+ year old pieces), yet have had serious wear - especially to the balance pivots and end-stones - when stripped down. A regularly serviced watch will probably never show appreciable wear within your lifetime.
On the other hand, makers's recommended service intervals have been around the 3 - 4 year mark since the 1940s or so. Parts tolerances and lubrication have ce on a LONG way since then and both tend to increase the time that they'll run between services without causing problems. Modern synthetic watch oils at maybe £7000 per litre (and considerably more for some of the specialised ones) are a lot better at resisting wear and aging than simple mineral oils at perhaps £10 a litre!
Cynically, with £450 a time for servicing, it's really not in the manufacturers' interest to encourage the owner to take advantage of these improvements but you can safely double that 4 years in real terms.
The exception is water resistance. If you do decide to stretch services then you really should consider having resistance checked every 3 or 4 years because seals (especially crowns and pushers) can suffer in use. Any decent indie should be able to do that for you at a fraction of the maker's prices.
On the other hand, makers's recommended service intervals have been around the 3 - 4 year mark since the 1940s or so. Parts tolerances and lubrication have ce on a LONG way since then and both tend to increase the time that they'll run between services without causing problems. Modern synthetic watch oils at maybe £7000 per litre (and considerably more for some of the specialised ones) are a lot better at resisting wear and aging than simple mineral oils at perhaps £10 a litre!
Cynically, with £450 a time for servicing, it's really not in the manufacturers' interest to encourage the owner to take advantage of these improvements but you can safely double that 4 years in real terms.
The exception is water resistance. If you do decide to stretch services then you really should consider having resistance checked every 3 or 4 years because seals (especially crowns and pushers) can suffer in use. Any decent indie should be able to do that for you at a fraction of the maker's prices.
Variomatic said:
Yeti has a point to a certain extent but I've had vintage watches through that have kept excellent time in use (4 or 5 sec / day average from 40+ year old pieces), yet have had serious wear - especially to the balance pivots and end-stones - when stripped down. A regularly serviced watch will probably never show appreciable wear within your lifetime.
No argument at all there!! On vintage watches, the plan is certainly not the same as modern ones.yeti said:
Why not tell us what it is?
Sorry - not sure why I didn't mention it - I guess it's from a car thread where some geezer got ragged for talking about his SLS. It's a Chopard Mille Miglia .yeti said:
If it's keeping time (which is maintaining a precise 21600 or 28800vph day in, day out) then it doesn't need servicing. Anything worn or unlubricated won't allow that operation at that accuracy.
The Rolex kept rubbish time (compared with a cheap quartz watch) from day one, but it was an OK watch I guess.This one keeps much better time, always has, and still does.
alanm_3 said:
What make is it? How "regular" is regular (in their opinion)?
I can't find a recommendation anywhere from Chopard.V8forweekends said:
Sorry - not sure why I didn't mention it - I guess it's from a car thread where some geezer got ragged for talking about his SLS. It's a Chopard Mille Miglia .
You shouldn't get that kind of gyp here, Citizens mingle with Pateks without too much drama 
I have a Mille Miglia from about 2002, as yet unserviced. It's an ETA 2892 movement with a Depraz Dubois chrono module piggy-backed onto it. Some of the later ones used Valjoux 7750s (I think) but all are capable of being serviced by competent watchmakers (of which we have a several on here like ecain63 and Variomatic) and shouldn't need to go back to Geneva. Cost should be around the 200-300 mark (the guys can confirm
) and as vario says earlier, a modern watch can easily go 8-10 years if not worn daily.Beautiful watches with a rising brand awareness; Chopard and particularly the L.U.C. watches are becoming serious players rather than just jewellers fitting bought-in ebaches into cases.
V8forweekends said:
The Rolex kept rubbish time (compared with a cheap quartz watch) from day one, but it was an OK watch I guess.
The Rolex should keep time to within -4 to +6 seconds per day. A ten quid quartz will beat that of course, but a thousand quid Impreza turbo will also beat a Lambo Miura Thanks - is there an easy way to tell which movement I have?
I get it that the Rolex has other qualities, but mine was more like 10-20 seconds a day slow, right from day one. It was a present, and I'd never had a Rolex before so I just thought it must be normal.
ETA - I forgot to say - thank you for the info.
I get it that the Rolex has other qualities, but mine was more like 10-20 seconds a day slow, right from day one. It was a present, and I'd never had a Rolex before so I just thought it must be normal.
ETA - I forgot to say - thank you for the info.
V8forweekends said:
Thanks - is there an easy way to tell which movement I have?
I get it that the Rolex has other qualities, but mine was more like 10-20 seconds a day slow, right from day one. It was a present, and I'd never had a Rolex before so I just thought it must be normal.
ETA - I forgot to say - thank you for the info.
Are the dials at 3-6-9 (2892) or 12-9-6 (7750)! It's that easy although some companies do put in complicated gubbins to move their dials around!I get it that the Rolex has other qualities, but mine was more like 10-20 seconds a day slow, right from day one. It was a present, and I'd never had a Rolex before so I just thought it must be normal.
ETA - I forgot to say - thank you for the info.
The Rolex may just need regulating but it sounds like a service job
yeti said:
Are the dials at 3-6-9 (2892) or 12-9-6 (7750)! It's that easy although some companies do put in complicated gubbins to move their dials around!
The Rolex may just need regulating but it sounds like a service job
The Rolex may just need regulating but it sounds like a service job
Thanks - dials are 12-9-6 so it's a 7750. I amazed an American work colleague with the "extra" hour hand too.
Don't care about the Rolex now as I traded it in against the Chopard in 2009 (ish)
yeti said:
Or look at the watch side on; is the crown lower than the pushers? If so, it's a base movement with a chrono module added on top like the 2892. If on the same level, it's an integrated chrono like a 7750
Stop! You are blowing my mind. :-) I am going to be a super nerd in the pub tonight with these awesome facts.....Sorry to hijack the thread.
yeti said:
I collect chronographs and always have 
My flagship
If that's not a cheap Chinese copy I may have to crawl through my screen and relieve you of it! My flagship
eta: Yes, I know it's not so I'm off to buy a bigger laptop - can't seem to squeeze my middle-age spread through this 14 inch screen
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