Wow! That is awful! I would definitely be bothered by those scratches!!:banghead::banghead:

Was the service performed on-site at the AD? Or was it sent off to one of the official RSCs in the UK?

Wow. I can only imagine how bad that must look in direct sunlight :thumbsdow

They really did you bad, that’s unacceptable. You should take it back to them.

That's really poor, hope it gets fixed to your satisfaction. Was it RSC King's Hill?

Unbelievable! I would be very upset at RSC not the AD. The good thing is RSC will make it right whatever it takes. That is a bad spot to fix hopefully the scratches are not deep.

Unacceptable. Needs to go back and replaced.

Oof, that's pretty bad - I highly suspect that the watchmaker was fully aware of the damage done before sending it back - it's pretty obvious, even without a loupe. It does make you question the overall level of quality control.

As others have said, at least it isn't damage they can accuse you of.

Wow, those look like a couple of hard scratches. Gouges I would even say! Definitely not acceptable. I hope they make it right for you.

Bloody hell!

Was that West Malling or St James?

I'll be interested about the outcome.

I once sent a Blancpain Bathyscaphe in for warranty service and the Swatch group decided it would be a good idea to also refresh the case. They absolutely ruined the case and sent it back to me. When I received it saw how bad it looked I called, they looked up the photos they took when they received it and offered to replace the entire case, which they did. It was sold when returned.

I am certain the RC will make it right - looking forward to a positive outcome.

Omg, that’s insane

So I went to the AD today. The watch is going back to the RSC where they’ll either polish the scratches and re-engrave the rehaut, or change the mid case. The AD believes they’ll change the mid case as the scratches are too deep.

Also, I was told that the engraving in my rehaut are hollow, whereas Rolex is now using a sandblast finish for the rehaut engravings, so they might not be able to re-engrave the two affected letters in the same finish as all other letters. I asked, but I wasn’t told which RSC worked on my watch and whether it’s going back to the same one.

All the best with it.

Thats a rough amount of damage, and I'm amazed it happened. I'm always tentative to use an RSC (or any official service center), as it seems to me to be the same thing as when you take your car to the dealership for work: You're going to get whatever person they assign to you, which might range from great to 'meh' to newbie, with no ability to choose.

Small shops, both for watchmaking and for cars, you can get a good feel for the ONE guy working on your thing, and know how much pride he is going to take in his work/etc. The RSC/dealerships are often too much of a 'black box' in that regard for me.

Good luck getting it fixed though! The one benefit to the RSC is you at least know that once they acknowledge the mistake, they have the whole company behind them to 'fix' it for you.

If they change the mid case then you’re end up with a service case with a new serial and paperwork won’t match up.
RSC damaged the case on my YM40 during a warranty repair and sent it back damaged. Long story short it’s been back to them a few times since to try to resolve but ended up with Geneva making a new case with matching serial.

So many doubters on here last week posted that Geneva wouldn't do such a thing.

I told them it's indeed possible but needs to reach the highest levels within the service division for approval. Thanks for chiming in.

Correct, it is possible just not done easily or lightly.
Yes I had to have a call with the local RSC customer service manager and a counter part from Geneva to run through options to make it possible.

Thanks for the heads up. I asked them exactly the same questions today, if I’d get a new serial number for the service case and, in this “case”, new papers because I’d otherwise have unmatching papers and serial number. The guy at the AD didn’t seem to have an answer for me

Yours is a rare case in context of the AD. They likely have no more experience than you. Escalating your case through the RSC customer service is the best chance of obtaining the resolution you desire. The AD can set you up with the RSC that will make the repair decisions. I wouldn't use the AD as a middle man. They'll just muck up the process.

Completely agree with this, you need to deal with RSC directly.

No you won’t get new papers. You’re get a service receipt showing the swap but you’re original papers will no longer match and they won’t issue new ones.

Location of the scratches is bothersome.

Looks like a tool slipped, I'd be concerned about collateral damage that cant be seen.

RSC should make the whole watch right

I highly doubt that any Rolex Service Center (RSC) anywhere in the world has the tooling necessary to remachine the rehaut and then re-engrave the anti-counterfeit markings and serial number. Because of that, I’d bet they’re going to offer you a new watch case. It’ll either be specially fabricated in Switzerland to match your original serial or a replacement case with an entirely new serial number.

If the serial number changes you'll have paperwork to explain it.

Please update after new servicing

Good Luck

Sorry I wouldn’t put up with that!

Whatever they can do to fix it will not erase it from from your memory.:crying:

I hope it can be resolved satisfactorily. Please keep us posted.

Not that I'd SELL a watch, but if I saw a 'change of serial number' paperwork on a watch I was going to be buying, I'd be quite suspicious and less likely to buy.

Its different enough/weird enough/etc, that I suspect it would reduce the value of the watch in the future.