Rolex movement,

[Timelord]

I was informed that a lot of generic parts are now being made to accomodate for the lack of spares no longer supplied by Rolex themselves. I even heard that you can now get any generic parts for most older movements ranging from the ebauche to gears etc. On Friday, I met up with an old collector who showed me a Rolex movement made completely from gereric parts of which most of the parts are now made in China, being different from the legitimate generic parts offered by material supply houses. He showed me two movements and asked me to pick which was generic. I have seen so many in my life time and I could not tell them apart. He then pointed out the one which was generic and I could have fainted with shock. This makes me wonder, if this is happening, how does one go about telling the quality of what you get when buying genuine second hand or vintage and how does one go about distinguishing the inferior materials used? I am shocked

[coolfire]

Would it possible for you to get & post some pix of both movts your old collector friend showed you, dude?

That would certainly help lots...

[Indyclmbr]

That would be very interesting indeed. You raise a good question about quality of second-hand watches. I'm curious about the ethical implications that creates. Our reps wouldn't pass as genuine under moderate scrutiny even though some (not many I hope) have tried. Does that make our reps any less loathesome in the gen world than say a frankenwatch with genuine generic parts that could pass as the real deal? Or once a genuine always a genuine, regardless of where the aftermarket parts come from, including the movement?

Climb on.

[Timelord]

Would it possible for you to get & post some pix of both movts your old collector friend showed you, dude?

That would certainly help lots...

The old collector came down for the weekend's general fair from interstate. I only see him at these events. I first met him in Hong Kong in 2000 and is an old school watchmaker. He would make obselete parts for timers and hard to get chronographs, but also has connections all over Asia. It caught me by surprise as I least expected with what I saw. I like many others am just as desparate to know what is going on, which is why I posted, in case anyone else has had a similar experience. It has really killed my buzz in collecting any old watches and not just old Rolex. This is a direct result of lack of spares supplied by the company which has led to open up these counterfeit alleys

[alligoat]

It seems inevitable to me that "generic rolex" movements will eventually appear, if they aren't already here. Take a movement like the 1575 date movement made from the early 60's (maybe 1959) til the 80's. This movement was put in millions of watches and now it's becoming harder to find parts since, I'm not sure, but I've heard that Rolex isn't making them anymore. RSC's won't even work on alot of the older watches, so you have no choice but to go to generic parts if you want to keep your watch running. If the parts are made in China, it will help keep the cost down, but everyone knows if you go build a car from parts from the parts store, it'll cost you $50,000, but you can buy one for $20,000 off the lot at the dealership. The same would be true for a watch movement. By the time you buy all of the parts, it ain't gonna be cheap. But if the parts come from China or Asia, it might be cheaper than buying a used Rolex watch movement. Ultimately, it will be the same old story- a rep is a rep and any trained watchmaker will be able to tell that a generic movement is just that- generic. The level of quality won't be equal to that of an original genuine movement.

[KenMc]

At first I thought this would be a typical newbie post, naturally I am somewhat pleasantly surprized !!!

Excellent example of how Rolex has screwed themselves - yet again!

I cite this example: Mercedes makes parts for it's cars going back...well almost to the beginning from what I read. It may not be an issue to most of their customers, but it gives them the option to pass on the car to their kids or restore it later if that's in the cards. It tells me that Mercedes cares about what they made, not just what they sell today.

When you realize how many Rolex are stored in vaults, protected from everyday events in the notion that someday it'll be worth something even more... or the example of how they promote themselves as being the icon of sports watches, classic designs that slowly evolve...then they go and cease making parts ??? what does this do to the future value of the brand? It tells me Rolex is a sales & marketing company not really concerned about horology or it's own history.

The aftermarket & replica makers will triumph at Rolex' expense. Can you imagine GAF trying to sue some aftermarket parts maker who serves the public with a product that even Rolex has decided to abandon?

" why yes, your Honor, we ask that Mr. Rolex Owner buy a new watch instead of purchasing these dirty replacement parts for his old watch"

" but it was a gift from me mum upon my graduation from med school, I was only trying to get it to run, is that such a crime?"

you can guess how this would play out!