What parts do Rolex hold?

[dieselpower]

Looking at Ubi's amazing latest V72 Daytona build got me wondering. He sources the best parts and gets hold of some stuff that us mere mortals can only dream of and I have no doubt it is years of involvement in watches and the contacts made therein that sometimes bring their rewards ie rare parts. So, here is a kind of open question:

Which valued parts do you know, or guess, that Rolex keep in 'stock'. For example, can one (with the right contacts) get hold of a gen vintage Daytona dial or bezel from Rolex? - I mean they must have some sort of stock of old stuff. Are they even prepared to sell these bits to the right watchmaker? If not why not? Whats the good of keeping things in a drawer?

All opinions/facts gratefully received.

[JohnCocktosten]

All of the vintage parts they strip off of pieces during the service, end up somewhere. My guess is on the vintage market for an insane premium.

[Justasgood]

Rolex provides Service replacement Luminous dials on an Exchange only basis. Ubi's Vintage Big Red Daytona dial is a service dial. Case parts are exchange only as well. Pushers, bezels, case backs and such.

How Ubi gets his stuff, well then, he is Ubi....'nuff Said.

[freddy333]

To the best of my knowledge, there has never been either an official pronouncement from Rolex or evidence from a knowledgeable/reliable source that they purposely stockpile vintage parts. That said, for years I have heard that, like most companies that cater to the upper classes (who expect special treatment), they do provide NOS parts for a small number of special clients whose watches are in-house for service. These are likely parts stocked & installed only within the confines of Rolex SA (Geneva) & only with the consent (& at the direction) of the company's principals.

[panerai153]

That has come up time and again over on the genuine Rolex forums. one has to ask why one particular person can have a 40 year old watch serviced and the next guy comes along with one that is very similar in age and condition and they tell him ,"Sorry, we don't service those older Rolex watches" As Freddy says, it's probably not what you know, but who you know that gets you in the door.

I do know from experience, having had several Rolex watches serviced by RSC Dallas, you never get your old parts back.Some of the parts that were replaced were in pretty crummy shape, but I've had hands, a dial and several bezel inserts replaced as well as a crystal exchange every time. The crystals were throw away, but they took off parts that to me were perfectly usable and in reasonably good condition. I will say in comparison, we are buying parts like bezel inserts and crowns that are in worse condition than ones that were changed on my watches at service. Of course that reflects the fact that most of us can't get new service dials,hands, inserts, etc., as there isn't any source for them. It would be wonderful if we could walk into an AD or a RSC and buy a new insert, a set of hands, bracelet endlinks, etc., but it ain't going to happen! And the guys who have over the years cultivated some fairly reliable sources for parts aren't going to take a chance on getting cut off, by telling everyone where they can get a brand new 1680 service dial. and I don't blame them a bit.

[freddy333]

When I started collecting (mid-1980s), you could walk into an AD & buy Rolex parts over-the-counter. No trade-ins required. I even used to order parts from Geneva & pick them up a month or so later from the AD. Then, about 10 years later, Rolex clamped down on the practice. I believe this is limited to the US as many ADs in the UK still sell parts (though, they do require that you trade-in the old part to receive the new 1).

[Dizzy]

(though, they do require that you trade-in of the old part to receive the new 1).

So they take your old and faded Submariner inserts with tritium pearls that are worth $750 on ebay... then YOU pay THEM a couple hundred bucks, and in return you get a nice new insert worth $150 on ebay/

Same thing for those faded old red Sub inserts and those ugly Comex dials, and those old 1959 "big logo" oyster bracelets that are so popular right now... Rolex hords these parts on purpose to keep the cool "New old stock" stuff as rare as possible. That way they can get away with slowly leaking out 9315 NOS bracelets and 6163 dials so the dealers can sell them for MORE than a new oyster bracelet or a new dial. If you needed a new dial for your old daytona, it would cost you $2000+ for NOS. If you needed a new dial for your new daytona, it would be less than half of that. I would bet there is a small section hidden in the back of the HUGE Rolex factory where they crank out "New old stock" dials and bracelets and leak them out to the dealers.

"Excuse me Mr. Rolex Boss man, I just found a box of 10 big-logo oyster bracelets, 10 comex 5514 dials, 10 Military 5517 dials, three 3CROC daytona dials, two 3CRCO daytona dials and 50 Brevet 8mm crowns in the back storage room of the store. They must have been put there 50 years ago and forgotten about".

Yeah right.

Reliable sources at Rolex have stated, that Rolex headquarters has enough 1570 cal Rolex movement parts stocked, they will be able to reliably service such movements for the next 30 years if they wanted to. Think about that. Thats a LOT of parts piled up somewhere just for that single movement alone. I bet the same thing goes for the other parts too. I think there will always be 'just the right amount' of NOS floating around to keep the old stuff at the same value or higher as the new stuff.

[highoeyazmuhudee]

So they take your old and faded Submariner inserts with tritium pearls that are worth $750 on ebay... then YOU pay THEM a couple hundred bucks, and in return you get a nice new insert worth $150 on ebay/

yeah that never made sense to me either, but after all this is ROLEX, our way -highway, then youre SOL, fascist.

[automatico]

I believe if the demand for vintage Big R parts stays high that replica parts will sooner or later reach the same level of quality as genuine...at a fraction of the price of course. One exception being tritium on vintage dials.

These parts will also wind up on eBay, TZ, VRF etc presented as genuine and priced accordingly as some do already, they only require the 'appropriate prose' (aka lies) to make the 'discovery' seem plausible.

As time goes by, the fine line between genuine parts and high grade replica parts will fade to zero. For proof of this advance, look at the changes in quality in the past 5 years.

After all...genuine R 'service' dials, hands, bezels etc are 'replicas' too and I would not doubt the Big R has some of their stuff made in China/Taiwan/Vietnam etc.

Something else...the average vintagerolexfreak would 'lick 13 for a dozen' if they could get Yuki etc quality dial refinishing on their genuine dial plate. They just can not get by the notion that the singer/beyeler signed dial blank is not genuine.

High quality replica replacement parts is a 'management decision' not an accident. If a vendor asks for absolute accuracy and quality, they can get it fron China/Taiwan/Vn as well as switzerland.

Put me down for a 12 pack of 9315 bracelets for about $85 a whack.

!! Check eBay item 270649676389

Then check where it came from.

[ubiquitous]

For me, the most intriguing facet to the parts business are the guys that buy watches solely to break down into parts. Kind of like parting out a car. In certain cases, you can get more for parts content than the entire watch.

As for taking your vintage watch in for service; I would probably advise switching out the valuable parts you want to keep with beaten up, tatty, worn, repainted/redialed parts prior to sending anything in. That way, the RSC will switch those items out for fresh new service parts Simply switch your original parts back in when the watch is returned and now you've got service parts spares.

[freddy333]

!! Check eBay item 270649676389

Then check where it came from.

Exactly. Same with the sudden onslaught of the (once rare as hen's teeth) 'big stamp' bracelets, most of which have been sourcing factories far east of Switzerland.

For me, the most intriguing facet to the parts business are the guys that buy watches solely to break down into parts. Kind of like parting out a car. In certain cases, you can get more for parts content than the entire watch.

This is a definite issue for me, but I am of 2-minds on the subject. While I have certainly benefited greatly from this activity (my white '42, Bond Sub & DRSD come immediately to mind), I also consider it morally wrong to part-out increasingly rare watches or cars for a quick buck. Especially, when it is done on a systematic basis by some sellers.

[ubiquitous]

I agree, but for some folks, it's a business and not a hobby. I wish it wasn't a practice that people engaged in, but it is a reality. At least some of these guys partaking in this activity are doing so only with non-correct pieces that are picked up on the cheap at shows; the ones that wouldn't fetch top dollar because they're just not stellar examples as-is (though for parts, the content is valuable). I don't think any of the really prime pieces are being taken off the table at least.

Still... It's ugly.