Rolex automatic and durability for sport, motorcycle,mountainbiking,... ?

[Utini]

Hey there,

I have been interested for a long time already in buying a Rolex GMT Master II Pepsi. There are three reasons I might finally buy one:

1. Blue and Red
2. Red and Blue
3. Durability ?

I am riding my motorcycle (Daytona 675 SE), mountinbike,...
I do sport (volleyball, basketball, soccer, swimming, running,...)
On sunny days I am driving a sporty cabrio with a not so comfortable suspension that might give some hard punches to the watch (Honda S2000).
Will the automatic movement in the Rolex GMT Master II survive this for the next 20 years or more?

I currently wear a Tissot LeLocle Automatic and after 5 years I brought it to the service where they told me that one of the movement-holding-ankers was about to break. That probably happened due to riding my motorcycle or swinging a hammer too many times or I dont know. It was generally recommended to me to not wear my automatic watch when doing such activities.

Does this alao count for the Rolex GMT Master II ?

Please be honest. I know Rolex is the best and all other ones suck ;-)

Thanks in advance !

[Huliganchik]

I've had gmt coke since 2004. I wore it non stop up untill about a year ago. Swim, bike, motorcycle and even sauna. Secondary reason it's not my daily watch anymore is because I bought smart watch while it was in service for the first time after 12 years. Primary reason is the value and I also started rotating more. The watch can definitly take a beating, but i wouldn't have turned it into a beater, if I paid today's prices for it. Bought it new from AD for $3600 back then. I wear it when I travel these days or when I simply miss it as it's an amazing watch. People often times ask on forums which watch would you have if you could only have one. The choice would be easy for me.

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[Lol-x]

A Rolex GMT will take all that and more.

You need to worry about physical injury to yourself, before you need to worry about damage to your watch.

You just need to make sure that you get the bracelet properly adjusted so that the watch is not bouncing around on your wrist.

[Utini]

Originally Posted by Lol-x

A Rolex GMT will take all that and more.

You need to worry about physical injury to yourself, before you need to worry about damage to your watch.

You just need to make sure that you get the bracelet properly adjusted so that the watch is not bouncing around on your wrist.

That wouldnt be a problem as I generally wear my watch quite tight on the wrist.

[HogwldFLTR]

Originally Posted by Utini

Hey there,

I have been interested for a long time already in buying a Rolex GMT Master II Pepsi. There are three reasons I might finally buy one:

1. Blue and Red
2. Red and Blue
3. Durability ?

I am riding my motorcycle (Daytona 675 SE), mountinbike,...
I do sport (volleyball, basketball, soccer, swimming, running,...)
On sunny days I am driving a sporty cabrio with a not so comfortable suspension that might give some hard punches to the watch (Honda S2000).
Will the automatic movement in the Rolex GMT Master II survive this for the next 20 years or more?

I currently wear a Tissot LeLocle Automatic and after 5 years I brought it to the service where they told me that one of the movement-holding-ankers was about to break. That probably happened due to riding my motorcycle or swinging a hammer too many times or I dont know. It was generally recommended to me to not wear my automatic watch when doing such activities.

Does this alao count for the Rolex GMT Master II ?

Please be honest. I know Rolex is the best and all other ones suck ;-)

Thanks in advance !

Rolex climbed Mt. Everest a long time ago and has only gotten more durable since. I would warn against any watch surviving an unplanned get off of a MC however specially if ground into the black top. No issue with modern Rolex ruggedness.

[Utini]

Originally Posted by HogwldFLTR

Rolex climbed Mt. Everest a long time ago and has only gotten more durable since. I would warn against any watch surviving an unplanned get off of a MC however specially if ground into the black top. No issue with modern Rolex ruggedness.

I believe any watch can climb Mt. Everest and it is good advertising. Purely advertising in that case.

I think only real experiences or someone with high technical knowledge about watch movements can honestly tell howbdurable and how suited the Rolex (GMT Master II) is for such acticities.

[watchwatcher]

The watch will be fine...however, agree with the above comments from Steve and Lee. The real danger would be if something traumatic happens to you while doing the activities.

[Utini]

Every watch can climb the Mt Everest, especially in advertising. And thats what it is. Advertising.

I think only personal real life experiences or someone with high technical knowledge about watch movements and or Rolex (GMT Master 2) can really tell.

But so far it seems like ppl are really using their Roxel automatic for all kind of stuff. Stuff of which I thought of as abusive torture for an automatic watch :D
And the Rolex automatic watches seem to be able to handle it just fine !

[dysondiver]

the most dangerous thing to a rolex ,,, or any watch as far as i can tell is taking it off.
they seldom get dropped onto tiled floors or concrete paths while your actually wearing them.

[broken_link]

Originally Posted by Utini

Will the automatic movement in the Rolex GMT Master II survive this for the next 20 years or more?

I currently wear a Tissot LeLocle Automatic and after 5 years I brought it to the service where they told me that one of the movement-holding-ankers was about to break. That probably happened due to riding my motorcycle or swinging a hammer too many times or I dont know. It was generally recommended to me to not wear my automatic watch when doing such activities.

If the watch movement survives between the service (i.e. 5 years) that's all you should care about then, isn't it?.

[Utini]

Originally Posted by broken_link

If the watch movement survives between the service (i.e. 5 years) that's all you should care about then, isn't it?.

Not really, if the anker breaks and the movement is loose then it bounces around iaide the watch and could damage the whole movement. Atleast that is what I was told.

Originally Posted by JR16

I think a ceramic sub or gmt may fit your activities better. I def feel more comfortable banging around my SubC (and I do) than my 16710


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A ceramic sub? You mean the housing and wrist will be ceramic? But that wont change anything for the movement?

The movement is all I am worried about

[beshannon]

Originally Posted by Utini

I am riding my motorcycle (Daytona 675 SE), mountinbike,...
I do sport (volleyball, basketball, soccer, swimming, running,...)
On sunny days I am driving a sporty cabrio with a not so comfortable suspension that might give some hard punches to the watch (Honda S2000).
Will the automatic movement in the Rolex GMT Master II survive this for the next 20 years or more?

I know Rolex is the best and all other ones suck ;-)

If you know Rolex is the "best" then what are you worried about?

As for riding in a car, I cannot imagine any car bouncing hard enough to hurt any watch before it hurts you more.

As an avid mountain biker I can tell you that I would not risk any Rolex while riding. It is not a matter of if you crash it is only a matter of when and how hard. The movement will be the least of your worries.

Originally Posted by Utini

I think only real experiences or someone with high technical knowledge about watch movements can honestly tell howbdurable and how suited the Rolex (GMT Master II) is for such acticities.

So like the watchmaker in Geneva?

Originally Posted by Utini

Not really, if the anker breaks and the movement is loose then it bounces around iaide the watch and could damage the whole movement. Atleast that is what I was told.



A ceramic sub? You mean the housing and wrist will be ceramic? But that wont change anything for the movement?

The movement is all I am worried about

Parts fail, anything mechanical can break. Period.

Not sure where you are going with this thread.

Best of luck.

[HogwldFLTR]

Originally Posted by Utini

I believe any watch can climb Mt. Everest and it is good advertising. Purely advertising in that case.

I think only real experiences or someone with high technical knowledge about watch movements can honestly tell howbdurable and how suited the Rolex (GMT Master II) is for such acticities.

Originally Posted by Utini

Every watch can climb the Mt Everest, especially in advertising. And thats what it is. Advertising.

I think only personal real life experiences or someone with high technical knowledge about watch movements and or Rolex (GMT Master 2) can really tell.

But so far it seems like ppl are really using their Roxel automatic for all kind of stuff. Stuff of which I thought of as abusive torture for an automatic watch :D
And the Rolex automatic watches seem to be able to handle it just fine !

Originally Posted by Utini

Not really, if the anker breaks and the movement is loose then it bounces around iaide the watch and could damage the whole movement. Atleast that is what I was told.



A ceramic sub? You mean the housing and wrist will be ceramic? But that wont change anything for the movement?

The movement is all I am worried about

I don't believe this is hype contrary to what you may assume. Rolex has a long and well known history for it durability. More so than any other automatic I know of. Regarding Ceramics, that is only the bezel insert. I can see you have little knowledge of the brand and as such I suspect little knowledge of horology over all.

[JR16]

I think a ceramic sub or gmt may fit your activities better. I def feel more comfortable banging around my SubC (and I do) than my 16710


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[FreddyNJ]

I do all of that plus boating and fishing with my modern era GMT 2 tone 116713

[adawil2002]

Have worn my 16550 Explorer II 24 hours a day for decades without giving it a second thought. Rolex makes watches that will withstand any activity you can withstand.

[Chiboy]

I wore a Datejust every day from 1985 to the end of 2016 when I got a Daytona. I have worn it while working out thousands of times, and afterwards in a steam/sauna/whirlpool/shower (generally two of those four). I have played tennis and platform tennis with it hundreds if not thousands of times. I have gone on 60 mile bike rides with it. I have run with it, although usually only on vaca where I don't have my running watch. It has been fine.

I suppose a Sub or Explorer is perhaps even more rugged than a DJ, but that's been my experience.

[sager]

The GMT will be fine

[mahefa]

I do for example boxing with Explorer II on. Days turn steady 10-15 seconds after midnight and keeps +-1s time per day.

Anatomy of Rolex is rugged and it can take more what the owner of the watch can take i would say.

[Chadridv]

you can break a g shock falling off a mountain bike. I wouldn't expect any rolex to be different. If you go down on your motorcycle and damage your watch, you'll likely have bigger problems than if your watch still ticks.

Not sure what's up with the Tissot, but assuming all goes according to safe plan there aren't many activities a Rolex couldn't handle. That said, when I ride a motorcycle or mountain bike, I wear my Seiko.

If you do go down and your watch still ticks that's not to say it wouldn't be pretty banged up. Simply not worth the risk with those particular activities, IMO.

Either way, be safe out there my friend!

[jdpny]

the most dangerous thing to a rolex ,,, or any watch as far as i can tell is taking it off.
they seldom get dropped onto tiled floors or concrete paths while your actually wearing them.

This has been my experience as well.

[HogwldFLTR]

Rolex tool watches have been around for a long time...

Explorer was made specifically for mountain climbing.

Explorer II was made specifically for spelunking.

Submariner was one of the first dive watches. Later the Sea-Dweller was developed to handle greater dive depths and saturation dives.

GMT was made for pilots.

Milgauss was made to handle magnetic fields.

None of these were fragile watches and all more fragile than their modern versions. Rolex didn't become the king of tool watches through hype but through performance. The GMTII may not be as good for diving as a Sub but it's water resistant enough to handle anything most can throw at it. It's tough enough to handle most knocks that a human can survive. IMHO the main issues are the ceramic bezel and the sapphire crystal. The older ones had Plexiglas crystals and aluminum bezel inserts. Neither would crack upon impact but they would scratch. The ceramic and sapphire are much more scratch resistant and what the world expects.

Utini, you might also check this thread...

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=553814

[Boaters]

It is a Rolex it will take most anything within reason. Plus with all the inserts virtually like having three watches in one.

[Utini]

Originally Posted by Boaters

It is a Rolex it will take most anything within reason. Plus with all the inserts virtually like having three watches in one.

Well, this brings me to my next question:

Is it a no go to mount the ceramic pepsi bezel on the batman gmt 2 (ceramic blue/black) ?

So far the ceramic pepsi bezel is originally only intented for the white gold model. But I would add it on the "cheap" steel modell.

The blue GMT hand will always indicate that this is a steel modell (the white gold pepsi has a red GMT hand).

[broken_link]

Originally Posted by Utini

Well, this brings me to my next question:



Is it a no go to mount the ceramic pepsi bezel on the batman gmt 2 (ceramic blue/black) ?



So far the ceramic pepsi bezel is originally only intented for the white gold model. But I would add it on the "cheap" steel modell.



The blue GMT hand will always indicate that this is a steel modell (the white gold pepsi has a red GMT hand).

I recall seeing one for €13k on Chrono24 a year ago. Don't remember what color was the gmt hand.

[HogwldFLTR]

Originally Posted by Utini

Well, this brings me to my next question:

Is it a no go to mount the ceramic pepsi bezel on the batman gmt 2 (ceramic blue/black) ?

So far the ceramic pepsi bezel is originally only intented for the white gold model. But I would add it on the "cheap" steel modell.

The blue GMT hand will always indicate that this is a steel modell (the white gold pepsi has a red GMT hand).

My understanding is that the watches are different enough in sizing to prevent swapping the ceramic bezels. Also special tools are needed with the ceramics. Hands can be swapped fairly easily. For a GMTII in ceramic I'd personally go black. Many don't like the coloring of the ceramic pepsi insert. Adding the ceramic Pepsi to stainless could likely get one accused of counterfeiting since to the untrained the stainless and white gold look a lot alike.

[Fleetlord]

It's all fun and games wearing a Rolex during rougher activities...

Until you break / bust it and get the repair bill. Then the fun stops.

Just wear a Gshock. When you bust, throw it away.

[Boaters]

Originally Posted by Fleetlord

It's all fun and games wearing a Rolex during rougher activities...

Until you break / bust it and get the repair bill. Then the fun stops.

Just wear a Gshock. When you bust, throw it away.

Perfect!

[shortstop]

It's so easy to just take the Rolex off and put it in your pocket when you swing a hammer or do other shock inducing activities. Why risk a $1000 bill for a new balance shaft, pallet fork or cracked pivot? I take the watch off when I shoot after having the seconds hand pop off a Hamilton while shooting a big bore handgun.

I have an L L Bean quartz field watch that I wear when doing rougher activities. Maybe thats why my 1972 Oysterdate Precision and 2006 Datejust ss/ 18kt remain in top condition. Presently considering a new Explorer II.