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Happy watching !Can our watches get a conditioning like that !


dr_rolex

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Always was a fan of scrutinizing and maintaining service intervals methodically. Since adopting the "if it ain´t broke don´t fix it approach" things work better.  

Perfectly working pieces once opened did never perform the same or broke with some problem shortly afterwards, normally within 2 months after the service warranty expired - never again, let it brake, than fix it. Can´t believe what they are doing in the video costs less than $3.000. 

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Always was a fan of scrutinizing and maintaining service intervals methodically. Since adopting the "if it ain´t broke don´t fix it approach" things work better.

Perfectly working pieces once opened did never perform the same or broke with some problem shortly afterwards, normally within 2 months after the service warranty expired - never again, let it brake, than fix it. Can´t believe what they are doing in the video costs less than $3.000.

Right

Absolutely leave well enough alone !!!

I was just happy to see someone working that hard to service the watch .

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Are you asking if replica watches can be serviced? Yes, once every 3 to 5 years .. the oil evaporates.

No I meant like can our watches be serviced this meticulously .I know it would be pricey but it would be all worth it .

Dont you feel like that or I am the odd one out

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If it ain't broke...

Imho it can go both ways depending on the way the watch is treated and how much it has been worn. I have worked on quite a few rolex 1520/30/60/70 over the years and I have seen them from shot to like new in watches made within a few years of each other. Usually the case will tell the story of how well a watch has been cared for but not always.

 

A couple examples...

I am working on an old 1560 and it looks to have been apart quite a few times because the screw heads show some damage and you can see where the sweep second wheel has been pulled off a few times by the marks on the plate under the spokes etc but it is still in very good condition overall with no problems. I would say this is an average 1560 that has been serviced a few times, four or five times maybe. I know it had at least one new balance staff because I did it (staff was broken). It has been apart a few times but is still good for many years to come, maybe because of the service done to it over the years, maybe not...who knows?

 

Have a 1520 hack from probably the mid 1970s to early 1980s and it appears to never have been apart, runs fine, and looks like brand new. Maybe it was in a drawer most of the time but it has not been worked on as far as I can tell. It would need c/o before wearing it but basically it is like new and since I do not have the case it came in there is no telling what kind of life it lived.

Believe me, I put quite a bit of stock in the "If it ain't broke..." philosophy too but this movement definitely needs c/o even if it runs like a top.

 

Why?

Because it is dry with no oil at all showing on most parts.

What will happen is:

1...the rotor axle will wear and start wobbling and the rotor will start to skip across the plate under it

1...the reversers will gum up and stop working as they should 

3...balance wheel motion will get lazy because of dry pallet stones/escape wheel and balance jewels causing timekeeping to become erratic and maybe wear the balance staff pivots out 

4...the main plate where the mainspring arbor runs will wear out of round from being dry (no bushing or jewel)

5...the mainspring barrel wall will get dry and the bridle (slip clutch) on the ms will not slip inside the barrel when fully wound causing autowind problems

Etc, etc.

 

Because of the potential ailments above, it needs service even if it leaves a few marks.

The fast beat models (3000/3035/3130/3135) have their ailments too but mostly from no service causing autowind assembly problems and timekeeping problems from dry escapements.

 

Otoh...I worked on a rolex 3035 a while back that was made in the 1980s and had never been cleaned. It looked dry but was Ok with no wear and the case (OPD 15010) showed a rough life.

Also c/o a 1953 (L3) 14k Bulova with a 10CSC automatic movement last week that has been in my 'fix it' box since December 1996 and the case still looks like new but the movement appeared to have been worked on quite a few times. Someone really took care of this watch. The dial was faded and peeling so I had the dial refinished and now it looks like new again...at 61 years old.

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If it ain't broke...

Imho it can go both ways depending on the way the watch is treated and how much it has been worn. I have worked on quite a few rolex 1520/30/60/70 over the years and I have seen them from shot to like new in watches made within a few years of each other. Usually the case will tell the story of how well a watch has been cared for but not always.

A couple examples...

I am working on an old 1560 and it looks to have been apart quite a few times because the screw heads show some damage and you can see where the sweep second wheel has been pulled off a few times by the marks on the plate under the spokes etc but it is still in very good condition overall with no problems. I would say this is an average 1560 that has been serviced a few times, four or five times maybe. I know it had at least one new balance staff because I did it (staff was broken). It has been apart a few times but is still good for many years to come, maybe because of the service done to it over the years, maybe not...who knows?

Have a 1520 hack from probably the mid 1970s to early 1980s and it appears to never have been apart, runs fine, and looks like brand new. Maybe it was in a drawer most of the time but it has not been worked on as far as I can tell. It would need c/o before wearing it but basically it is like new and since I do not have the case it came in there is no telling what kind of life it lived.

Believe me, I put quite a bit of stock in the "If it ain't broke..." philosophy too but this movement definitely needs c/o even if it runs like a top.

Why?

Because it is dry with no oil at all showing on most parts.

What will happen is:

1...the rotor axle will wear and start wobbling and the rotor will start to skip across the plate under it

1...the reversers will gum up and stop working as they should

3...balance wheel motion will get lazy because of dry pallet stones/escape wheel and balance jewels causing timekeeping to become erratic and maybe wear the balance staff pivots out

4...the main plate where the mainspring arbor runs will wear out of round from being dry (no bushing or jewel)

5...the mainspring barrel wall will get dry and the bridle (slip clutch) on the ms will not slip inside the barrel when fully wound causing autowind problems

Etc, etc.

Because of the potential ailments above, it needs service even if it leaves a few marks.

The fast beat models (3000/3035/3130/3135) have their ailments too but mostly from no service causing autowind assembly problems and timekeeping problems from dry escapements.

Otoh...I worked on a rolex 3035 a while back that was made in the 1980s and had never been cleaned. It looked dry but was Ok with no wear and the case (OPD 15010) showed a rough life.

Also c/o a 1953 (L3) 14k Bulova with a 10CSC automatic movement last week that has been in my 'fix it' box since December 1996 and the case still looks like new but the movement appeared to have been worked on quite a few times. Someone really took care of this watch. The dial was faded and peeling so I had the dial refinished and now it looks like new again...at 61 years old.

I do get your point .

Sir

:)

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Yes. Our watches are taken apart and each piece is inspected then cleaned or replaced. Then it's meticulously oiled and reassembled. That's what a service is.

Haha, if any rep watchsmith was as dedicated as that and had a shop like that they'd need to charge $3k a service to survive.

 

As great as our watchsmiths are, they cannot hope to approach that kind of level when charging $100 a service (unless they're working someplace like that in the day time and have a set of keys to the factory and go back at weekends / nights to work on reps)

 

Saying that, the improvement they make to any untouched rep movement is huge, just the beginning and ending points are in rather different ballparks!

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Haha, if any rep watchsmith was as dedicated as that and had a shop like that they'd need to charge $3k a service to survive.

As great as our watchsmiths are, they cannot hope to approach that kind of level when charging $100 a service (unless they're working someplace like that in the day time and have a set of keys to the factory and go back at weekends / nights to work on reps)

Saying that, the improvement they make to any untouched rep movement is huge, just the beginning and ending points are in rather different ballparks!

We need to find the guy with keys !!!

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