Lovely video of Rolex Submariner renovation
Discussion
I posted the video on another thread but I thought I'd put it in its own thread as it may have wider appeal - if you're in to watches or if you like a bit of very clever engineering. The QR below links to the video, here's the back story:
I bought my Submariner (14060) in December 1996 for £1650. I'd always wanted one since watching Live and Let Die as a kid and I wore it all day every day until 2021. I dug the garden in it, painted, decorated, worked on my cars and bikes, wore it for sport, sailing etc. Only ever took it off to go to bed. Over time I scratched the Crystal once, but only very faintly. The little pearl type thing in the bezel cracked and of course the case and bracelet got pretty scratched. One annoying scratch through one of the numbers in the bezel. Over time of course the decline is gradual and you don't really notice. I never had it serviced in that 25 year period!!! By 2021 it was losing about 3mins every two weeks or so and the bracelet was very stretched and loose. Then, the pin holding the bracelet and clasp together broke and it dropped off my wrist (at home). Even replacing the pin, it wasn't really safe to wear out any longer.
I had the watch serviced by Rolex and had the bezel, glass and crown replaced by them. But, Rolex won't service or repair a bracelet they'll only take yours in part exchange for a new one (for a short £1000!!), which I didn't want as I wanted to retain my original watch. So I kept my floppy bracelet and took it to a genius artisan called the Watch Polisher in West Dulwich who literally renovated every tiny micro-millimeter of it. He used a tiny welder to build up all the worn away steel where the pins had rubbed the bracelet sections over the years. He told me he used over 700 individual welds. Then with new pins and a polish it looked like new and he gave me a video of the work being done. Beautiful.
The watch now looks like it did in 1996 and in total the renovation cost me c£600 for the Rolex service and £800 for the bracelet. So the watch has cost me £3000 in total over 27 years (including purchase) - less than half a pence per day. Thing is though, it looks so lovely now that I rarely wear it, which is a shame on the one hand but every time I do wear it I enjoy every bit as much as I did 27 years ago. To be fair, I still loved it when it looked battered. Lovely thing and I will never part with it willingly!
I bought my Submariner (14060) in December 1996 for £1650. I'd always wanted one since watching Live and Let Die as a kid and I wore it all day every day until 2021. I dug the garden in it, painted, decorated, worked on my cars and bikes, wore it for sport, sailing etc. Only ever took it off to go to bed. Over time I scratched the Crystal once, but only very faintly. The little pearl type thing in the bezel cracked and of course the case and bracelet got pretty scratched. One annoying scratch through one of the numbers in the bezel. Over time of course the decline is gradual and you don't really notice. I never had it serviced in that 25 year period!!! By 2021 it was losing about 3mins every two weeks or so and the bracelet was very stretched and loose. Then, the pin holding the bracelet and clasp together broke and it dropped off my wrist (at home). Even replacing the pin, it wasn't really safe to wear out any longer.
I had the watch serviced by Rolex and had the bezel, glass and crown replaced by them. But, Rolex won't service or repair a bracelet they'll only take yours in part exchange for a new one (for a short £1000!!), which I didn't want as I wanted to retain my original watch. So I kept my floppy bracelet and took it to a genius artisan called the Watch Polisher in West Dulwich who literally renovated every tiny micro-millimeter of it. He used a tiny welder to build up all the worn away steel where the pins had rubbed the bracelet sections over the years. He told me he used over 700 individual welds. Then with new pins and a polish it looked like new and he gave me a video of the work being done. Beautiful.
The watch now looks like it did in 1996 and in total the renovation cost me c£600 for the Rolex service and £800 for the bracelet. So the watch has cost me £3000 in total over 27 years (including purchase) - less than half a pence per day. Thing is though, it looks so lovely now that I rarely wear it, which is a shame on the one hand but every time I do wear it I enjoy every bit as much as I did 27 years ago. To be fair, I still loved it when it looked battered. Lovely thing and I will never part with it willingly!
Gixer968CS said:
The watch now looks like it did in 1996 and in total the renovation cost me c£600 for the Rolex service and £800 for the bracelet. So the watch has cost me £3000 in total over 27 years (including purchase) - less than half a pence per day.
Watch is lovely but I think your maths needs some work. Half a pence per day for 27 years would only get you £49. Edited by sandman77 on Friday 24th March 18:40
sandman77 said:
Gixer968CS said:
The watch now looks like it did in 1996 and in total the renovation cost me c£600 for the Rolex service and £800 for the bracelet. So the watch has cost me £3000 in total over 27 years (including purchase) - less than half a pence per day.
Watch is lovely but I think your maths needs some work. Half a pence per day for 27 years would only get you £49. Edited by sandman77 on Friday 24th March 18:40
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