Rolex smashed glass
Discussion
My wife dropped her Datejust last night (mans size) and the glass smashed. I have been googling and the replacement costs vary wildly between around £150 and a mandatory full service. I intend taking it to an AD unless anyone has any recommendations. Any ideas of cost? Can an AD replace it on site? I live in Epsom, Surrey. Thanks
As said above, full service recommended due to possible contamination of the movement. The impact from a drop can also cause other mechanical issues. Sometimes the dial can go off centre depending on angle of impact and if the dial feet bend.
Feel free to PM me about the work if you wish.
Feel free to PM me about the work if you wish.
Full official service will get your watch back like new and under new 2 year warranty. Replacement glass might be on top of service cost. Worth checking as one of mine a few years ago had a chip in the glass and they put a new one on at service that I recall didn’t get added to the service cost.
sooty61 said:
Thanks for the replies. I took it in today and they will contact me with a quote in 2 weeks but said there is a mandatory service required due to potential contamination and with the new glass it will be a minimum of £650...
Try Darius at the Clock Gallery on Ealing. He has a rolex specialist working there. Potential contamination is just a way of making you part with £650 because they know they can get away with it - it's utter tosh as 10 minutes with a jewellers loop will spot any fragments in the movement. If Rolex designed their watches properly a drop like that wouldn't break the glass. So far not a single one of my watches has come back with a broken glass.Just because you paid over the odds for it in the first place doesn't necessarily mean you're willing to keep being fleeced.
Edited by Lorne on Saturday 7th April 22:28
sorry about the attitude, but it really winds me up how much companies charge for a service and how they like to add it on as a non-optional extra. A complete service on a movement, including a full strip down, ultrasonic cleaning, relubrication, reassembly and testing takes half a day. To charge £650 for this you either have to assume the chap (or lady) doing the service is making a thousand a day, or more likely the person doing the work is making £400 a day and there's a 100+% profit margin going on. On this basis, I wouldn't say a 'shi'/y' attitude, more like a realistic appreciation of when someone is getting fleeced and then pointing it to to them.
This desire to keep making large profits from customers is one of the reasons I stopped buying top end mechanical watches and instead decided to make my own. I wanted a new OEM strap for a speedmaster one time and was quoted £350 for it. Nothing special, just leather. Counter that with the new fully bespoke strap option on my watches (will be on the web site in due course), an example of which is the hand made, black teju lizard with blue napper leather liner, profiled and thickened lug, curved end one currently being made for a customer at Euro 300.
Very true that shards of sapphire can make their way under the dial, and indeed this is the first place to look as although the majority of shards will be on top of the dial, one or two might have dropped down a hand hole, but taking a dial off isn't a full service.
Also relevant that Rolex appear quite prone to broken sapphire crystals.
This desire to keep making large profits from customers is one of the reasons I stopped buying top end mechanical watches and instead decided to make my own. I wanted a new OEM strap for a speedmaster one time and was quoted £350 for it. Nothing special, just leather. Counter that with the new fully bespoke strap option on my watches (will be on the web site in due course), an example of which is the hand made, black teju lizard with blue napper leather liner, profiled and thickened lug, curved end one currently being made for a customer at Euro 300.
Very true that shards of sapphire can make their way under the dial, and indeed this is the first place to look as although the majority of shards will be on top of the dial, one or two might have dropped down a hand hole, but taking a dial off isn't a full service.
Also relevant that Rolex appear quite prone to broken sapphire crystals.
Pupp said:
Lorne said:
(ish).new straps...
UK made standard fit once we get it just right and have tried some accelerated wear. Moving from leather to an 'exotic' skin for the outer layer to improve longevity. It's going to bump the price of the Field Engineer a bit, but I think it'll be worth it. Current leather finish appears to give about 3 to 4 year life with daily use and the final 'failure' is it starting to look tatty rather than tearing at the buckle. I'm trying to double the life so it coincides with a 5 to 8 year re-lubrication interval on the movement.
No more commenting on other brands pricing, service costs or engineering from me as a very valid comment from one pistonheader above made me realise I might be inadvertently pi@@ing off the owners of them. Being tactful and diplomatic never was one of my best attributes and 30 years in the oil & energy industry certainly hasn't helped!
Lorne said:
No more commenting on other brands pricing, service costs or engineering from me as a very valid comment from one pistonheader above made me realise I might be inadvertently pi@@ing off the owners of them. Being tactful and diplomatic never was one of my best attributes and 30 years in the oil & energy industry certainly hasn't helped!
Personally I think your comment was valid and reflects my own views. lostkiwi said:
Lorne said:
No more commenting on other brands pricing, service costs or engineering from me as a very valid comment from one pistonheader above made me realise I might be inadvertently pi@@ing off the owners of them. Being tactful and diplomatic never was one of my best attributes and 30 years in the oil & energy industry certainly hasn't helped!
Personally I think your comment was valid and reflects my own views. 
On that note, any specialists that can service Omega watches and replace with genuine parts that might be cheaper than Omega SA?
Ikemi said:
On that note, any specialists that can service Omega watches and replace with genuine parts that might be cheaper than Omega SA?
Jo at Anglesey watch & clock gets some damned good reviews on pistonheads:https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=17...
Darius at the Clock Gallery in Ealing is excellent and has a similar 'charge what it costs' attitude
https://marinechronometer.co.uk/index.php/developm...
Omega is Swatch group, so parts should be standard ETA, with a wide supply base.
Lorne said:
Jo at Anglesey watch & clock gets some damned good reviews on pistonheads:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=17...
Darius at the Clock Gallery in Ealing is excellent and has a similar 'charge what it costs' attitude
https://marinechronometer.co.uk/index.php/developm...
Omega is Swatch group, so parts should be standard ETA, with a wide supply base.
Thanks for the contacts! I'll drop Darius a message soon - I'm not far from Ealing, so can drop/collect the watch personally ... https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=17...
Darius at the Clock Gallery in Ealing is excellent and has a similar 'charge what it costs' attitude
https://marinechronometer.co.uk/index.php/developm...
Omega is Swatch group, so parts should be standard ETA, with a wide supply base.
[quote=Lorne]
Jo at Anglesey watch & clock gets some damned good reviews on pistonheads:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=17...
Darius at the Clock Gallery in Ealing is excellent and has a similar 'charge what it costs' attitude
https://marinechronometer.co.uk/index.php/developm...
Omega is Swatch group, so parts should be standard ETA, with a wide supply base.[/quote
Both of these guys have done watches for me in the past, I would recommend either..
Jo at Anglesey watch & clock gets some damned good reviews on pistonheads:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=17...
Darius at the Clock Gallery in Ealing is excellent and has a similar 'charge what it costs' attitude
https://marinechronometer.co.uk/index.php/developm...
Omega is Swatch group, so parts should be standard ETA, with a wide supply base.[/quote
Both of these guys have done watches for me in the past, I would recommend either..
Ikemi said:
Lorne said:
Thanks for the contacts! I'll drop Darius a message soon - I'm not far from Ealing, so can drop/collect the watch personally ...
The Clock Gallery, 147 Pitshanger Lane, Ealing, West London. W5 1RH. Really nice old fashioned high street near the North Circular with a butchers, bakers, fishmongers, independent coffee shop cafe and best of all, The Clock Gallery and 30 minutes free parking.
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