Opinions on Rolex Watches

[WFMartin]

Years ago, I received from the lithographic company for which I worked for 20 years, a Rolex wristwatch. I believe that it is some version of an "Oyster". I wore it with pride for several years (not very many, actually), until it began to not tell the correct time, As I recall, it runs "slow". It is a "self-wnder".

So, needing a watch that actually displayed the correct time, I bought a Timex, for probably no more than $80 or $100, at the most. This Timex has lasted me years, and years, and has displayed the correct time throughout its term on my wrist.

One day I took the retired Rolex to a jeweler, and asked what he could do to cause it to tell the correct time, once more. I also mentioned to him that I was aware that a Rolex wristwatch should only be serviced by an authorized Rolex dealer. My jeweler considered that claim to be nonsense, and claimed that the tools required to service Rolex watches are literally owned by most jewelers, and that the Rolex Company had no particular "hold" on the servicing of their watches. In short, any competent jeweler, or watch repair company could service a Rolex watch. I don't know whether that claim is true, or not, actually.

So, I then asked what he'd charge me to make my useless Rolex display the correct time, once more, and his estimate was something a little over $700 ! As my jaw dropped, I said, " WHAT?.......Seven Hundred Bucks ? ! ? ! Do you know how many Timex, or Seiko watches I could purchase for $700, each of which would likely function correctly (tell the time of day) for years, and years? Basically, I told him, "No way!" I could purchase a lifetime of Timex, or Seiko watches that would pay for such a "service price"!

My question to you all is have any of you had similar experiences with Rolex watches, and if so, how did you deal with the problem(s)?

My Rolex is probably valued at a sizable amount, but .......what good is a stupid, piece of crap watch that doesn't tell the correct time of day?? Seems to me another Timex watch would be well worth the investment, at whatever the inflated price of it may be, today, rather than have someone poke around my Rolex , trying to make it tell the correct time, to the tune of $700 or $800 !

Opinions, please?...........

 

[Artyczar]

It's a Rolex Oyster. Have it appraised before you get too angry.

 

[brianvds]

Not being a bazillionaire, I have no experience with Rolex watches. But they're a favorite here of corrupt politicians, and the more expensive, the better of course. Considering that said politicians are never on time for meetings, either the watches aren't much good, or they are not worn primarily as timepieces.

 

[Enyaw]

What do you want. Show or go? If you want to play with a rich man’s toys you have to be ready to pay rich man’s prices. Only you can answer thar question.

 

[Bartc]

I never owned nor tried to afford a Rolex. Ferrari, villa in Monte Carlo? Nope. (My father's ancient Timex lasted like yours, BTW.)

But I do own a lovely Rado watch that not only is good to look at and generally tough, but is special to me as it was a 50th birthday present from my wife and kids, who knew I would not buy something like that for myself. So I do truly appreciate and like this watch.

Having said that, it requires a specialist to change the battery every couple of years because of its unique waterproof sealing mechanism AND about every 6-8 years it seems to require an "overhaul". The former costs me about $70, the latter about $350-400!
I've bitten the bullet on this one because I do love the watch, wear it daily, and trying unauthorized repairs only resulted in bigger repair bills.

Here's the insult to injury. At the jeweler's shop where they ferry my watch to the Rado repair people I asked what the watch was worth to them. They told me maybe $5-600. I asked how much to replace it with a new one and the ticket would be $3,500+. When I asked why such a disparity and why it was worth not much more than the servicing cost they just shrugged their shoulders. But they're more than willing to insure it for $3,000 while it's being serviced. Go figure.

Decades ago I got wise to the jewelry trade. If you buy something from them they will do two things: first they openly advertise "guaranteed to appraise for twice the price"; second if you try to sell it back to them in a month you will get maybe 20-30% of what you paid for it from the same jeweler! So how they value these things seems to me to be just a hair short of an open fraud.

My vote is with Ayin and Wayne. If you want to keep it and have it keep time, then pay the piper. If not, then as Ayin hints, see what you can get for it on the market. Otherwise, wear it only for show and keep time on your cell phone.

 

[snoball]

Pre-owned Oyster. Or.

 

[Artyczar]

Yup. Sno has the correct value of these things.

 

[Joy]

Interesting tidbit about the Timex watch. Jerry and I use Timex Ironman watches exclusively. (The lap feature when running or walking stairs is helpful.) When I reset the time twice yearly for Daylight Saving Time, they are accurate to a second or two. Sometimes they are not even off a second. A few decades back, Timex would send out free postage paid boxes for trade ins and battery changes. When the battery died after many years, I would just pop it in a box, get the watch back with a new battery and a bill for about $10. If it required repair they would call and give the option of getting the same or similar model that was refurbished for about $20. We did this for years until they stopped, and take them to a local jeweler for a new battery for about $6. If that isn't the problem, we buy a new one for $35-$45. I still have one from the nineties that I used daily for decades, and is a "vintage" item on eBay.

Best of luck selling your Rolex, if you chose to do so. It looks as if it is worth quite a bit. It reminds me of the Kirby vacuums are are very costly. Someone who does vacuum repairs told us that the owners spend a lot to get them fixed (frequently), as they spent so much for them initially. Sound like an example of the "sunk cost theory" to me.

 

[Bartc]

Interesting tidbit about the Timex watch. Jerry and I use Timex Ironman watches exclusively. (The lap feature when running or walking stairs is helpful.) When I reset the time twice yearly for Daylight Saving Time, they are accurate to a second or two. Sometimes they are not even off a second. A few decades back, Timex would send out free postage paid boxes for trade ins and battery changes. When the battery died after many years, I would just pop it in a box, get the watch back with a new battery and a bill for about $10. If it required repair they would call and give the option of getting the same or similar model that was refurbished for about $20. We did this for years until they stopped, and take them to a local jeweler for a new battery for about $6. If that isn't the problem, we buy a new one for $35-$45. I still have one from the nineties that I used daily for decades, and is a "vintage" item on eBay.

Best of luck selling your Rolex, if you chose to do so. It looks as if it is worth quite a bit. It reminds me of the Kirby vacuums are are very costly. Someone who does vacuum repairs told us that the owners spend a lot to get them fixed (frequently), as they spent so much for them initially. Sound like an example of the "sunk cost theory" to me.

Actually, I'm no vacuum expert, but I have come across Kirbys for some time. One of my friends uses their motors exclusively in his down garment factory! They are legendary for their quality and durability over time, just like the Timex watches. I doubt you'd get a Kirby enthusiast to trade for a Dyson....

 

[Bongo]

Prices for Rolex Oyster (and all their models) vary widely. Is it the one with the x , or the y, made in what year with the pq or w, the gold dial or the white dial or, blah blah blah, do you have box and papers, etc. If you don't need the cash I would wait, right now prices are down. --- The problem isn't the battery, it's an automatic, doesn't have a battery.

 

[Artyczar]

Actually, I'm no vacuum expert, but I have come across Kirbys for some time. One of my friends uses their motors exclusively in his down garment factory! They are legendary for their quality and durability over time, just like the Timex watches. I doubt you'd get a Kirby enthusiast to trade for a Dyson....

A Dyson is a lot less heavy than a Kirby, that's for sure.

 

[Bartc]

Never mind the Dyson or the Rolex. The question is how to significantly lower the weight of my plein air pastel setup without paying the cost of his Rolex!

I can pull off a super minimal palette with every other medium that permits effective mixing, but not with pastels. It's like carrying bricks that have been cut into smaller sticks. And I'm getting sticker shock looking at tripods for a solution, since even minimal weight reduction seems to cost in the Rolex repair range.

I'll take the donation of that used Rolex, if no one else has asked first. Probably buy out the art store and have a good holiday dinner at a fancy restaurant to boot....

OK, no more wise ass comments from me today.

 

[WFMartin]

Well, I'm surely not a Rolex enthusiast, and wouldn't have owned this one, had it not been presented to me as a gift for loyal service at the company for which I was employed. It's a "rich man's 'toy'" alright, and that is evident in in the cost just to clean it. I won't be doing that, and will simply keep the watch and pass it along to one of my sons upon my demise. My present Timex is failing in a few areas, primarily in the little button that sets the date, and time; it is becoming "sticky", or "sluggish". However, It still displays super accurate time, so I'll keep that little battery watch until it's time to purchase another one.

I have worn a wristwatch since I was probably 11 or 12 years old. My entire life is based upon "being at places" at the correct time, such as going to work, doctor appointments, family gatherings, art club meetings, etc., etc. I consult my watch probably 100 times each day, with about 5 of those being while I'm driving in my car to get someplace. and I could never in my life be without a wristwatch. However, its only value to me is if it displays the correct time, of course.

 

[Bartc]

Well, I'm surely not a Rolex enthusiast, and wouldn't have owned this one, had it not been presented to me as a gift for loyal service at the company for which I was employed. It's a "rich man's 'toy'" alright, and that is evident in in the cost just to clean it. I won't be doing that, and will simply keep the watch and pass it along to one of my sons upon my demise. My present Timex is failing in a few areas, primarily in the little button that sets the date, and time; it is becoming "sticky", or "sluggish". However, It still displays super accurate time, so I'll keep that little battery watch until it's time to purchase another one.

I have worn a wristwatch since I was probably 11 or 12 years old. My entire life is based upon "being at places" at the correct time, such as going to work, doctor appointments, family gatherings, art club meetings, etc., etc. I consult my watch probably 100 times each day, with about 5 of those being while I'm driving in my car to get someplace. and I could never in my life be without a wristwatch. However, its only value to me is if it displays the correct time, of course.

Roger that!
BTW, current generations don't use watches (unless for style); they use their cell phones, since their noses are glued to them. Seriously!

 

[Bongo]

I have a Seiko SKX007 Dive Watch that runs for about 2 hours then stops, also a SteelDive, Citizen and Vorstok Dive Watches with missing watch bands, three Bulova Accutrons from the seventies that use batteries they don't make anymore (although I understand there is a work around) a Timex with a broken watch band, two casinos with with dead batteries.

The clock on the stove and the one on the coffee maker are an hour ahead because I didn't set them for daily savings time, two large digital display clocks in my office - one is two hours ahead because I set it the wrong way for daily savings time, the other is two hours,11 minutes and 37 days behind cause it's on shelf I'm too lazy to reach, the $17 digital on my wrist is also an hour ahead. So when I want to know what time it is I just do the math depending on which one I'm looking at.

 

[WFMartin]

Wow. I've got indoor/outdoor thermometers in three rooms of my house, each of which also tell time, a stove clock, a microwave clock, a car clock, a kitchen wall clock, a battery wall clock in my art room, my computer, as well as a grandfather clock in my living room. Of course, my cellphone also has the time, but my wristwatch follows me much more closely than my cell phone. I could do without all my other clocks, as long as I have an accurate wrist watch. We don't have daylight saving time here in Arizona, so I don't need to keep track of re-setting my clocks for such nonsense. If we DID have dayllight saving time here, people with jobs would need to go to bed in the heat of the day during the summer.

I never could understand the concept of daylight saving time, anyway. In the summer, when days are naturally longer, hotter, lighter, for more hours anyway, it always seemed counter-productive to pretend to increase the daylight hours during that time of the year. Why not incorporate daylight saving time during the winter, to accommodate for the naturally short days that are inherent during winter?
Oh well. One reason I love Arizona is that I don't have to put up with daylight saving time.

 

[ZenDruid]

I have a sun dial on the picnic table. For daylight savings, I just turn it about 10 degrees.

 

[Bongo]

Wow. I've got indoor/outdoor thermometers in three rooms of my house, each of which also tell time, a stove clock, a microwave clock, a car clock, a kitchen wall clock, a battery wall clock in my art room, my computer, as well as a grandfather clock in my living room. Of course, my cellphone also has the time, but my wristwatch follows me much more closely than my cell phone. I could do without all my other clocks, as long as I have an accurate wrist watch. We don't have daylight saving time here in Arizona, so I don't need to keep track of re-setting my clocks for such nonsense. If we DID have dayllight saving time here, people with jobs would need to go to bed in the heat of the day during the summer.

I never could understand the concept of daylight saving time, anyway. In the summer, when days are naturally longer, hotter, lighter, for more hours anyway, it always seemed counter-productive to pretend to increase the daylight hours during that time of the year. Why not incorporate daylight saving time during the winter, to accommodate for the naturally short days that are inherent during winter?
Oh well. One reason I love Arizona is that I don't have to put up with daylight saving time.

I have a sun dial on the picnic table. For daylight savings, I just turn it about 10 degrees.

They sell a flashlight so you can read them at night

 

[Artyczar]

I wear a Fitbit for the time, my daily steps, and for my heart. It used to be for my steps only, but now my cardiologist wants me to keep track of my tachycardia issues. And the time couldn't be more accurate. Can a sundial do all that?

 

[ZenDruid]

Can a sundial do all that?

The sundial is always accurate, if I can figure out how to read it. I once cooked a hotdog next to it in a homemade solar oven. Took all afternoon.