Rolex Watch Repair: How Often Should I Service My Rolex?
Buying a Rolex watch is often seen as a landmark moment in life. The Swiss-made timepieces are considered the ultimate combination of form and function, combining timeless looks with rugged durability that makes Rolex watches practical for use in the real world.
It is tempting to think of the purchase of your Rolex as the achievement of your aspiration, and that you won’t need to invest any more money into the watch. This is not correct, however.
You should think of your new timepiece in the same way as a high-performance sports car. It will perform its job flawlessly, but only for as long as it is properly maintained.
For this reason, its essential that you find a high-quality Rolex watch repair center. If you would like to learn more about why your watch will need servicing, and how much it will cost, please continue reading.
Why is Rolex Watch Repair Necessary?
The reason why luxury wristwatches like Rolex, Patek Philipe, and others must be sporadically checked and maintained by a watchmaker is because of the movements inside of them.
A watch’s movement can be thought of as being the beating heart of the timepiece. It powers the watch, causing it to keep time, either by ticking or in a sweeping motion. There are different types of watch movements, however, and some are more intricate than others.
Cheapers watches use a quartz movement. These use electronics to deliver a regular pulse to the watch, causing the seconds, minutes and hour markers to tick to the beat.
The more expensive movements that are featured in Rolex watches are known as automatic movements. Comprising of hundreds of microscopic components, a mechanical movement uses no electronics whatsoever, relying on the perpetual motion of the wearer’s wrist for its energy.
If even one of these tiny components is not operating properly, it can have a knock-on effect on the performance of the rest of the watch.
How Often Should I Have My Watch Serviced?
This is why Rolex suggests that you have your timepiece serviced at regular intervals.
The good news is Rolex watches are famous for being robust. This means you won’t have to expect a trip to the repair center every third weekend of the month.
You should aim to have your watch serviced at least once every 10 years if you only wear it occasionally and it hasn’t received any major damage like a drop or serious scrape.
What you should remember is that having your watch serviced more frequently than this is not necessarily any better for the watch.
Make sure to check how well your watch is keeping time. If it is significantly losing or gaining time every week, it is probably time to get it in for a service.
Rolex Service Center or Local Repairman?
Before you send your watch to be evaluated, you must make a key decision. Do you want to have your watch serviced by the authorized Rolex Service Center, or would you prefer to have your local trusted watch expert do the job instead?
Although many people will opt to have their watch shipped to Switzerland for their service, this isn’t necessarily the best choice, especially if you own a vintage Rolex.
It goes without saying that Rolex will give your watch a great service. However, this may come at the cost to the character of your watch.
Rolex has become famous for swapping out dials and bezels, all with the aim of making their watches look as if they have just left the factory again.
Some users will like this, but to many true watch aficionados, this is sacrilege. The patina that a watch develops over years of usage makes each piece unique. Having these worn exterior parts replaced eliminated years of hard-earned history.
On the other hand, a local watch repairman will be able to work to your exact specifications. You can protect the patina of your watch whilst still having its movement checked over and repaired to a high standard.
How Much Will The Service Cost?
After you have decided on whether to use a local Rolex watch repair service or ship it to the Rolex HQ in Switzerland, you can begin to work out how much the service of the watch is going to cost you.
The price that you can expect to pay for a service for your watch is dependent on a number of factors.
Four of the key factors that will impact the price of the job include:
- Movement: Some of the more complex movements, such as watches with date functions and chronographs will require more work.
- Model of the watch: Models such as the Rolex Sky-Dweller are incredibly complex, and will require more man-hours to repair.
- Case type: Working on precious metal watches is more difficult, and thus more expensive.
- Condition of the watch: Expect to pay a larger price to repair a watch that has had heavy damage during its lifetime (such as a fall onto concrete).
When it comes to watch repair work, just like Rolex watches themselves, time is money. The worse the condition of your watch, the longer it will take to repair, and the more money will be required to get it working again.
Likewise, worn-out components within the movement will also significantly raise the price of any repair work.
Overall, you could expect to pay $400 for a basic service, rising to $800 depending on some of the factors listed above.
What Happens if I don’t Service My Rolex?
Although you initially won’t be able to make out any difference, you should not make a conscious decision to never have your Rolex serviced. As an investment decision, it would be far better to sell the timepiece than to leave it unserviced in the long term.
Without servicing, your Rolex will become less accurate over time. Worst comes to worst, a major component inside the watch could become damaged, and then break other parts inside the watch.
All of this will eventually lead to a timepiece that needs major repair work. This would impact the value of the watch, as you would not be able to sell it in poor condition without accepting a major discount on the price you paid for it.
Rolex Watch Repair Work Protects Your Investment
A once in a decade repair is not too bad considering what you will gain in return. Your Rolex watch will stay with you for a lifetime, maintaining the accuracy that it had on the day that it left the factory.
When you split the cost over the lifetime of the product, this starts to look like a pretty good bargain.
Be sure to check out our stocks of Rolex watches online your dream watch is waiting for you today.
