Bummer - scuff on Batman

[HiBoost]

Originally Posted by Nutbeem

So I've worn this watch maybe 5 times in the last 6 months, and I look down today to see a good size scuff on the right side of the case (see pic).

Would any high end jeweler be able to buff that out, and would it affect resale since it's been "polished"?

Also, how the hell does this happen when the roughest thing I do during the workday is type aggressively.....

Apologies for the mocking responses some have given. Some minds cannot comprehend that people buy items for different purposes. Some people buy a luxury watch to have it look pristine and enjoy the wow factor of the high polish. Let's cut the BS and not pretend that a modern era Rolex is designed as tool watch (your exact reference is marketed as the "cosmopolitan" watch). I really don't understand why so many are so inconsistent on how a watch "must" be treated.

If you saw a guy with a new 911 and the rims were scratched to hell, would you think "oh yeah, this guy really knows how to live"? No, you'd think jesus man, that's embarrassing, get that fixed.

If you saw a guy with a 7000 square foot house off a golf course that had paint peeling off the siding, would you think "oh yeah, that place really looks like it has some stories to tell"? No, you'd think "glad I don't live next to this bum".

And on and on...

But somehow, for some reason, the one luxury item you absolutely MUST NOT give a damn about is a watch. Beat the living hell out of it or just turn in your man card!!

Anyway, I once had a Swiss born master watchmaker check the timing on my Pepsi. This guy was formerly the head of all service for Rolex N.A. and later for Audemars. Seemed to have some pretty good credentials so I felt I could hand the watch over to him. He brought it back 10 minutes later saying that he had adjusted the time and made it "perfect". He also said he could tell the movement had not been touched since the factory because most watchmakers were "butchers" and left telltale signs on the screw heads. This comment left me thinking "ok, this guy gets me, this is who I want working on my watches".

I thanked him for his care and service and proceeded to leave the store. As I stepped outside I noticed 2 vertical scratches on the case side, presumably from the timing machine itself. I was crushed. I went back in, hat in hand, and said I don't mean to be a pain, but it looks like this got scratched during the timing check, is there anything you can do? "No problem" he said and took it to the back. He brought it back out 10 minutes later and it looked like it was gone so I thanked him and left again.

Once I got outside I saw that the two defined scratches on the otherwise perfect side were now replaced by a slightly cloudy surface over the entire area. Ugh. At home I tried a Cape Code but it didn't improve. It always maintained that slightly milky appearance. Nobody but me would ever notice it, but man did I notice it. I just learned to deal with it but it is something that I have thought about for many years now. It is truly a curse at times to have a detailed eye and to care about the condition of your things. I actually think the ideal situation for me personally is to buy used watches that already have some marks, so there is never a chance of "keeping them perfect" in the first place.

In any case, you can always polish this thing down the road. And it's not going to take any more effort or cost any more money to remove 3, or 30, scuffs from the side than to remove 1. So just wear it for a while. See if you can adapt. Don't get into that feedback loop of thinking every scratch has to be immediately remedied. If for no reason other than that you may very well end up with a worse result after the "fix" just depending on the hands it is in.

Good luck and enjoy!