'Official' anouncement...

[automatico]

From TZ:

"After Jan. 1 in the US you will no longer be able to hold a Rolex parts account without owning a Roxer 125 and without a CW 21 certificate."

T or F?

Roxer 125 = pressure tester that will test down to 125 atmos and sells for around $6k. I do not know what is involved in a 'certified watchmaker 21' cert but by the time you get one you will probably have lost a couple year's wages.

http://www.jewelerssupplies.com/product6621.html

I would like to put a new gold relax el prezidente in a Roxer and crank it up to the max. I bet it would flatten out like a snail on a hot sidewalk after a few cranks.

Imho, the intended result of this is to force almost all relax watch service to one of 3 or 4 'official' relax service centers in the USA. Their minimum charge is now $550 for any repair and all repair jobs now require a 'full overhaul'...even crystal or crown replacement. The only exceptions are watches under warranty and this is so they will not have to waste their time and $$ working on a watch that has been recently serviced (warranty is 2 years).

Wasting your time and $$ is Priceless.

Relax owner..."Pardon me kind sir but my relax 6694 needs a new crown and case tube."

Relax repair..."Official relax policy COMMANDS! you to get a 'complete overhaul' at $550 plus parts for a grand total of only $891US...plus tax of course."

Relax owner..."It runs fine and I only paid $700 for it."

Relax repair...GET OUTTA HERE BOY! YOU'RE WASTING MY TIME."

"Next!"

Imho...this is basically a 'use tax' on rolex owners who are dim enough to fall for it.

In relax USA's favor, the average relax groupie is a pretty tough bird as the recent 10%+/- retail price increase just makes them think their watches are worth more. They also go along that it is fair practice to raise retail prices on old stock in a retailer's showcase to the current price...some of it probably old enough to be in a store through two price increases.

Their motto should be "I am proud to serve The Master."

Btw...I read that the latest models have jumbled serial numbers with letters and numbers combined so relax junkies can not tell when the watch was made...so old stock can not be detected.

Official relax AD..."Tell me boy, just how old is that relax sub-mareener you want to trade in?"

Relax boy..."As far as I know it's only a year old, I bought it brand new right here last October."

Relax AD walks away and makes a phone call.

Relax AD..."Boy, your watch is eight, I SAY EIGHT! years old! It's only worth about $2200 on trade."

Relax boy..."Bbbbut I paid $7200 for it a year ago kind sir...plus tax of course."

Relax AD..."GET OUTTA HERE BOY!"

"Next!"

[mbjoer]

LOL LOL LOL

China .... here I come!!!

[TeeJay]

Love the watches, but as a company, Rolex really are scum

[Nanuq]

No kidding. Now what do I do? One of mine needs testing to 141 atmospheres.

I guess there's no more wearing it in the shower!

[alligoat]

So as they drive away customers and disallow parts accounts, the end result will be a flourishing aftermarket parts business.

And China's just the country to take on this challenge since they could give a rat's a** about copyright laws in the first place.

Of course, I don't own a Rolex that's less than 27 years old so I've never supported an AD or RSC. Wonder what this will do to guys like Bob Ridley, but he'll probably just buy the 125 atm tester and go on. He's good no doubt, but he's also proud of his work.

[freddy333]

The Rolex certification is extremely difficult, even for journeyman watchmakers, many of whom are not likely to make the grade. And I suspect that Alligoat's right about China being more than happy to step in to fill the void.

[TeeJay]

The Rolex certification is extremely difficult, even for journeyman watchmakers, many of whom are not likely to make the grade. And I suspect that Alligoat's right about China being more than happy to step in to fill the void.

I think you're both quite right there, and this might indeed be the begining of what was discussed a while back, as to how limited parts supply could likely result in many 100% shop-purchased watches winding up being reduced to franken-status simply because they require a replacement part which is no longer available...

[jmb]

At the same time there was a blurb on the news yesterday about watch companies trying to figure out how to attract more customers since watch ownership (especially among the younger set) is down considerably. Some companies deserve to go [censored]-up!

[Dizzy]

No kidding. Now what do I do? One of mine needs testing to 141 atmospheres.

I guess there's no more wearing it in the shower!

You can send that old clunker DRSD to me if you want. I have an OLD Rolex pressure tester from the 70's that does 75ATM... i think thats about 2500 feet?

20ATM was 660 feet and 30ATM was 1000ft if memory serves me correct. it looks something like this. I got it from an old Rolex AD. I think mine has the guage on the lower part and the top is domed instead of flat like this one. Its in storage right now.

[offshore]

I have heard the Rx are also micro dotting all spares, so they can trace them back to the point of distribution and fitting.

Sounds like an extraordinary step to take to be able to track parts, but then again we are talking about "them"!

So if an AD or repair center let a part out, and it was subsequently fitted by another repair house,Rx could "lean" on the original parts distributor.

I guess thats sure to get the attention of the parts distributors.

Then again, Rx could just tell them they are doing it!

O/S

[highoeyazmuhudee]

time to hoard parts

[btocamelo]

Time to take the DIY watchrepair courses and do this stuff myself...

[Dizzy]

I guess if they can laser engrave serial numbers on diamonds, then they can engrave MICRO numbers on watch parts. It seems like rolex is doing everything they can to stop the flow of parts out of their factories. They are just forcing companies to make aftermarket parts. Why doesnt Rolex start producing vintage replacement parts at realistic prices? They could refuse serviceing of vintage watches as they mostly do now, but still supply collectors with parts they need, and thus keeping people away from aftermarket/replica suppliers. I would just be more $$$ in the Rolex bank account. Let the AD's sell vintage replacement parts over the counter!

dizz

[panerai153]

I guess if they can laser engrave serial numbers on diamonds, then they can engrave MICRO numbers on watch parts. It seems like rolex is doing everything they can to stop the flow of parts out of their factories. They are just forcing companies to make aftermarket parts. Why doesnt Rolex start producing vintage replacement parts at realistic prices? They could refuse serviceing of vintage watches as they mostly do now, but still supply collectors with parts they need, and thus keeping people away from aftermarket/replica suppliers. I would just be more $$$ in the Rolex bank account. Let the AD's sell vintage replacement parts over the counter!

dizz

Diz,

that would be like legalizing Marijuana. If they sold genuine vintage parts over the counter, what would all those Rolex technicians, who have been hoarding vintage parts they took off watches in for repairs, do with their parts? Half the stuff on Ebay would disappear!!

[Dizzy]

lol yes it would be

I think used parts might come down in price if this happened... Then you wouldnt have to look on ebay for parts either.. you could just call up your local AD and order up a new 7206 Rivet bracelet and end links or a 1665 service dial and hands... that wouldnt be too bad either.

[Nanuq]

You can send that old clunker DRSD to me if you want. I have an OLD Rolex pressure tester from the 70's that does 75ATM... i think thats about 2500 feet?

20ATM was 660 feet and 30ATM was 1000ft if memory serves me correct.

Right you are! Thanks for the correction. 60ATM is 2000 feet.

[Dizzy]

Right you are! Thanks for the correction. 60ATM is 2000 feet.

Im sure we could weld up a vaccume chamber from steel plate and make a 141 ATM pressure testing tank. Might physically change the shape of your watch though.... lol

Be sure to have an extra cacseback and crystal ready to install afterwards haha

dizz

[Nanuq]

Wouldn't that be cool?!

The DRSD has actually been to rated depth for weeks on end in chambers. Its previous owner told me some pretty amazing stories of weeks spent outgassing and seeing crystals blow off cases. Wish I'd been there to see that!

[southcoast68]

Im sure we could weld up a vaccume chamber from steel plate and make a 141 ATM pressure testing tank. Might physically change the shape of your watch though.... lol

Be sure to have an extra cacseback and crystal ready to install afterwards haha

dizz

Wouldn't that be cool?!

The DRSD has actually been to rated depth for weeks on end in chambers. Its previous owner told me some pretty amazing stories of weeks spent outgassing and seeing crystals blow off cases. Wish I'd been there to see that!

You guys are starting to sound like the crew from Mythbusters. Always searching for the cool explosion.

Be careful out there...

[Nanuq]

In related news, I built a pressure vessel last night to test my new Snowflake, pumped that sucker up to 110psi, and dunked 'er in water. Released the pressure, and DRAT! Two small bubbles from the ring/crystal interface and a small stream from the crown. New crown gaskets are ordered, and testing shall continue.

Southcoast68, if an explosion can't be conjured up, there's all kinds of other ways to have fun with your watch.

[automatico]

"In related news, I built a pressure vessel last night to test my new Snowflake, pumped that sucker up to 110psi, and dunked 'er in water. Released the pressure, and DRAT! Two small bubbles from the ring/crystal interface and a small stream from the crown. New crown gaskets are ordered, and testing shall continue."

When using genuine and oem spec aft/mkt case tubes on replica submariners...the leak is sometimes between the case tube and case unless the case has been machined to accept the oem plastic gasket between the case tube and case.

This is a hard leak to stop at higher pressure without the case being machined to accept the gasket.

Sometimes you can get by with coating the case tube threads with a non hardening gasket sealer such as ThreeBond 1104 etc.

[highoeyazmuhudee]

In related news, I built a pressure vessel last night to test my new Snowflake, pumped that sucker up to 110psi, and dunked 'er in water. Released the pressure, and DRAT! Two small bubbles from the ring/crystal interface and a small stream from the crown. New crown gaskets are ordered, and testing shall continue.

Southcoast68, if an explosion can't be conjured up, there's all kinds of other ways to have fun with your watch.

was this a gen or built off an MBK case?

[Jkay]

In related news, I built a pressure vessel last night to test my new Snowflake, pumped that sucker up to 110psi, and dunked 'er in water. Released the pressure, and DRAT! Two small bubbles from the ring/crystal interface and a small stream from the crown. New crown gaskets are ordered, and testing shall continue.

Remember that small bubble streams are to be expected from nooks in the watch, even for watches which pass the test. It's simply trapped air in the crevices expanding. You are looking for a nasty torrent of bubbles.

At the 8ATM you were testing, the air trapped in the watch will expand to 8 times it's size as you release the pressure.

[offshore]

@Nanug,

Don't forget also when testing, that you need to pump the pressure, and leave the watch stand for up to 2 minutes in the compressed air, before "dunking".

This is to give any leaks into the watch time for the air to get IN!

Its also why, when you release the pressure (VERY slowly), sometimes a crystal will blow completely out, especially if its a rep with those dinky plastic retaining rings

And if this method was followed with some of these old higher pressure testers we see here, I wouldn't be surprised if even gen crystals with adequate seals didn't blow out....the whole design is to keep water out, not to hold air in!

I'll bet those big capacity testers were never designed to test with movements inside, or we would have seen a lot of very wet movements!

Offshore

[Nanuq]

was this a gen or built off an MBK case?

Not a gen, as far as I can tell (me and my posse) it's a Vietnam case. Extremely close to gen.

O/S, the crown screws down nicely and I can feel the outer tube gasket compressing but I don't feel the big squeeze when the crown gasket gets compressed. So my next move is to change that o-ring and see if it does the trick. You're exactly right, it's important to release the pressure slooooooowly. This build has God's Own Retaining Ring holding the bezel and crystal on, and it's tight as heck. So I dumped the 100psi in a big rush and no explosion. Which would have actually been kind of cool.

Jkay, I've done the "soak it in blazing hot water" trick twice to try and coax bubbles out. I didn't see any leaks but afterward when shoveling snow I saw a small amount of fog in the middle of the crystal. That makes me think it had a micro-weep somewhere. Since then I've had it open to dry completely out and no more fog. The crown bubbles were a minor trickle, not a torrent. Hmmmmmmmm. I think I'll run the test again!