Dial swaps “moratorium”

[tonypap]

Went to Rolex service center yesterday in NYC and asked if I would swap dials on a new RG Daytona. In the past this was something that was regularly done with dials that were not hard to acquire, like black to white or vice versa. Obviously can’t walk in with a white dial and leave with a meteorite, that’s understood.

I was told tho that there is now a moratorium on dial swaps and Rolex with not swap a dial on a watch that is under warranty. They will once it’s out of warranty, not before so I was told I would be able to swap dials after 5 years.

Anyone else heard this? You think this is temporary due to supply issues or is this something that will last and be permanent.

[padi56]

That's correct now new rules introduced quite a few months ago by Rolex.

[brandrea]

Interesting. I did not know that. I guess times have changed.

[1William]

Interesting.

[sherrill]

I just sent my out of warranty Daydate 36 in for a dial swap that was available for for the model. They said it was on back order 6-8 weeks, maybe longer. Sounds like supply issues.

[dannyp]

More likely labor issues. Reading between the lines, it sounds like Rolex is saying: "No dial swaps unless paying out of pocket for full servicing." This makes sense mostly if Rolex feels it needs to conserve its human watchmaking resources for actual watch servicing vs. dial swapping.

[AbeFroman]

This is a permanent worldwide change that has been discussed previously. It became effective June 2022. This only applies to watches within the 5 year warranty period.

See threads below. First thread has my sources.

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=863659
https://www.rolexforums.com/showthre...9#post12162729

If your dial is somehow defective, they will still replace it with the same color, but not swap to another. If you’re out of a warranty then this doesn’t apply to you.

[AbeFroman]

Originally Posted by brandrea

Interesting. I did not know that. I guess times have changed.

I told you last month in that other thread lol.

[RogerOP]

Yes I was told this a few months back.

[SixBells]

I'm assuming that there are rules about what you can swap it to. Does that mean that if a watch was built and issued with a blue dial that it could be changed to white or black within their range?

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by AbeFroman

I told you last month in that other thread lol.

Yes, I'm Pete not repeat

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

[Solo118]

Originally Posted by tonypap

Went to Rolex service center yesterday in NYC and asked if I would swap dials on a new RG Daytona. In the past this was something that was regularly done with dials that were not hard to acquire, like black to white or vice versa. Obviously can’t walk in with a white dial and leave with a meteorite, that’s understood.

I was told tho that there is now a moratorium on dial swaps and Rolex with not swap a dial on a watch that is under warranty. They will once it’s out of warranty, not before so I was told I would be able to swap dials after 5 years.

Anyone else heard this? You think this is temporary due to supply issues or is this something that will last and be permanent.

It really depends on the model. I went in with a white dial 116520 for a service and just asked about the black dial and they said no on this particular model.

Maybe the rose gold model is different, but if they allow you to do it go for it.

[IAN1]

I would..

[seriously_watch_this]

I have an older Explorer II 16570 with the black dial. The lume is totally shot. I went to the RSC in Dallas and asked if it was possible to "recharge" the lume. They said the only way to do that is to completely replace the dial, which would also require replacing the hands and the GMT hand.

However, they did ask me if I wanted the new dial to be black, like the original, OR switch it to white. Had I proceeded with the repair, the total cost would have been around $1,500. I did not go forward, but I still think about it and might. I only have one other white dial - it seems most of my dials are black. Might do the "Polar" dial just for the sake of variety.

[AbeFroman]

Originally Posted by SixBells

I'm assuming that there are rules about what you can swap it to. Does that mean that if a watch was built and issued with a blue dial that it could be changed to white or black within their range?

There are.

Some dials are strictly off limits for swaps regardless of warranty status. They are commonly referred to as "Geneva Specials", such as olive green (DD40), white & black (Daytona - 116500), blue (SkyD - 326934), etc. *This isn't an exhaustive list*

For example, if you bought a RG DD40 w/ a white roman dial in May 2017, you would be eligible for a dial swap given your five year warranty has lapsed. In this case, you can choose any other color roman dial, but you cannot opt for the olive green.

I know someone is going to chime in saying they got this swap done before, which may be the case then, but it is no longer possible after June 2022.

[YGRLX]

Yes not possible however you absolutely CAN swap out to an olive DD40 that is over 5 years out. This was the case as of 2 months ago.

[AbeFroman]

Originally Posted by YGRLX

Yes not possible however you absolutely CAN swap out to an olive DD40 that is over 5 years out. This was the case as of 2 months ago.

Just as I thought. Call Dallas RSC and report back. It’s not possible anymore for olive.

My management contact @ NY and Dallas RSC just confirmed again with me.

[Smobews]

So if I want to switch out an OP 41 to a yellow or turquoise dial in five years, I shouldn’t have an issue?

That sure does sound better than paying $20K or $30K on Chrono24.

[QuelleHeureEstIl]

There a ton of rules. And they constantly change for uncommunicated reasons.

(After the 5 years warranty) With the info I got, my understanding is that the basic rule is you can swap lateral and down. Up is limited/not possible/restricted. But they are exceptions because of rarity, current hotness on the market, availability, etc.

So if you have a plan. Best is to go and ask the closest RSC. Maybe the person will miss a rule and you can slip through. :)

If I can give 2 advices:
- If you have your watch serviced by a RSC, I would follow the rules and only do what they allow "officially".
- Keep preciously the papers about the swap. One of my acquaintance bought a DD in the 70s or 80s at Bucherer in CH (So he is the original and only owner). At that time they allowed a swap (I think it was the bezel, not sure). In the 201X, he had it serviced by Rolex. They returned the watch without the swapped part. He spent a lot of time and had a lot of troubles to "prove" that it was an official and allowed swap at that time.

[ArtNouveau]

Originally Posted by Smobews

So if I want to switch out an OP 41 to a yellow or turquoise dial in five years, I shouldn’t have an issue?

That sure does sound better than paying $20K or $30K on Chrono24.

I think that will fall into Abe’s “Geneva Special” category. They will not let you swap to a discontinued dial(yellow for all sizes, turquoise for 41).

[milgauss2232]

So.. I can swap out my 7 years old Milgauss gv black dial for the z-blue dial?

[msdaytona]

Rolex Canada has the same policy...I called and asked a few months ago