Mom joins the Rolex club

[leed]

Hello everyone,

I ended up getting my mother a 28 mm Datejust Ref 277160. She is over the moon with the watch, however there is an issue: the roman numeral makes it hard for her to read the time. There is no way to exchange the watch or get a different dial, since this was a final sale. There is an option to do a dial exchange but it's quite expensive...can you fellas suggest what I can do to remedy the situation? (Please don't suggest a 31 mm, she tried this on and it was too heavy/big for her)

Oh, this might be a stupid question but anyone know when this model was released? I can't seem to track this on the Rolex website or anywhere on google search. I figured this place would be a good place to find out, thanks in advance!

Here is a picture for those that may be interested:

[leed]

Anyone care to chime in?

[envuks]

I am certainly no expert on lady DJs, quite the opposite.

Tried to do some searching for you just to help. I think you may have your reference number incorrect. I'm thinking it’s a 279160 (I could be incorrect)

You mention the Roman numerals as the problem, but perhaps it’s actually the dark dial color that is causing the challenge?... Just an idea.

Dial swap seems like the only option unless you want to sell this piece and get a different one with a different dial.

You may want to reach out to a trusted seller here or a watch dealer local to where you live. Perhaps you could trade the watch + cash for one with a different dial. Perhaps this would be less costly than a dial swap. Not sure.

Either ways it’s a great gift. Good on you for giving it.


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[Thrasher36]

You have to change the dial.

[leed]

Originally Posted by envuks

I am certainly no expert on lady DJs, quite the opposite.

Tried to do some searching for you just to help. I think you may have your reference number incorrect. I'm thinking it’s a 279160 (I could be incorrect)

You mention the Roman numerals as the problem, but perhaps it’s actually the dark dial color that is causing the challenge?... Just an idea.

Dial swap seems like the only option unless you want to sell this piece and get a different one with a different dial.

You may want to reach out to a trusted seller here or a watch dealer local to where you live. Perhaps you could trade the watch + cash for one with a different dial. Perhaps this would be less costly than a dial swap. Not sure.

Either ways it’s a great gift. Good on you for giving it.


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Thank you for the correction, it is 279160!

Are lady's datejust hard to sell or do they sell well like men's model? I may opt to do that..sell this and get a different dial (I think you may be correct about the color making it hard to see) but I am hesitant to go down that route...I've never sold anything worth more than 1K in my life!

[leed]

Originally Posted by Thrasher36

You have to change the dial.

Seems like that may be the best route....is the process relatively easy? My Ad told me that Rolex won't allow new watch to be changed to a new dial, apparently they don't like opening up a new watch or something like that. They suggested to wait until service which is 5-10 years....

Also, they told me it's $776 CAD for dial change ($240 for labor, $430 for dial, $106 for hand)...kind of depressing since I already spent a lot of money on the watch

[envuks]

Originally Posted by leed

Thank you for the correction, it is 279160!

Are lady's datejust hard to sell or do they sell well like men's model? I may opt to do that..sell this and get a different dial (I think you may be correct about the color making it hard to see) but I am hesitant to go down that route...I've never sold anything worth more than 1K in my life!

I’d assume it’s not an easy sell to sell yourself which is why I recommended reaching out to a dealer. There are many on TRF who are referred to here as “trusted sellers” because they do a lot of business on this site and seem to sponsor select aspects of it (I’m no expert on that). These trusted sellers also have established businesses outside of TRF. They are verified to be good to do business with many times over. I think a trade for a different version of the same watch wouldn’t be that hard.

Although, I have no idea on cost you’d need to add for a trade. It might be more than the dial change cost you outlined in the other post here. That actually doesn’t seem expensive to me. That’s the main question between the two options.

Cost and time. Trading the watch would be quicker. Swapping the dial may be cheaper.

Either way, it seems like a small cost to make a great gift be the best it can be in mom’s eyes

Just my $.02

Good luck!


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[leed]

Originally Posted by envuks

I’d assume it’s not an easy sell to sell yourself which is why I recommended reaching out to a dealer. There are many on TRF who are referred to here as “trusted sellers” because they do a lot of business on this site and seem to sponsor select aspects of it (I’m no expert on that). These trusted sellers also have established businesses outside of TRF. They are verified to be good to do business with many times over. I think a trade for a different version of the same watch wouldn’t be that hard.

Although, I have no idea on cost you’d need to add for a trade. It might be more than the dial change cost you outlined in the other post here. That actually doesn’t seem expensive to me. That’s the main question between the two options.

Cost and time. Trading the watch would be quicker. Swapping the dial may be cheaper.

Either way, it seems like a small cost to make a great gift be the best it can be in mom’s eyes

Just my $.02

Good luck!


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Thank you for the sound advice! I am leaning toward dial exchange at the moment, I would not sell the watch as it is now sentimental if you know what I mean. I am moving to another city so I am hoping the new AD will understand the situation and help out even though I did not purchase a watch from them.

[EEpro]

Originally Posted by leed

Thank you for the sound advice! I am leaning toward dial exchange at the moment, I would not sell the watch as it is now sentimental if you know what I mean. I am moving to another city so I am hoping the new AD will understand the situation and help out even though I did not purchase a watch from them.

Skip the AD and send it in to RSC. Adding the 3rd party won't help and could cause miscommunication. I'd switch to white Roman dial if I were you.

[leed]

Originally Posted by EEpro

Skip the AD and send it in to RSC. Adding the 3rd party won't help and could cause miscommunication. I'd switch to white Roman dial if I were you.

Called the RSC and they said they can't do it. Apparently Rolex don't want to open a new watch just to do a dial change, I am out of luck unfortunately

[NachoNeal]

If you got a good deal on the watch, just sell it for a substantially similar amount and start over.

Alternatively, don't go AD or RSC but rather go to a trusted grey who can likely do a dial swap for significantly less.

[leed]

Originally Posted by NachoNeal

If you got a good deal on the watch, just sell it for a substantially similar amount and start over.

Alternatively, don't go AD or RSC but rather go to a trusted grey who can likely do a dial swap for significantly less.

I was not able to get discount but are ladies Datejust a hard sell? Is the model I have in high demand? I was unable to find source for this anywhere, there seem to be lack of demand for ladies' watches

[GST15]

If you can find a RSC to do it, it would be $510 for the dial, and it is mandatory that they change the hands at that point for another$320

[GST15]

Originally Posted by GST15

If you can find a RSC to do it, it would be $510 for the dial, and it is mandatory that they change the hands at that point for another$320

That was the price I got from NY RSC for a similar dial switch.

[leed]

Originally Posted by GST15

If you can find a RSC to do it, it would be $510 for the dial, and it is mandatory that they change the hands at that point for another$320

Yep, add in extra few hundreds for labor (I was quoted a little over $200 for labor) cost!

[kits73]

Seems like a dial swap is the best option although it won’t be a guarantee that it will be legible enough for your mom to see. Does she wear contacts or eyeglasses?

[MrMercedes]

Much congrats! Just change the dial, thats no deal!

[EEpro]

Originally Posted by leed

Seems like that may be the best route....is the process relatively easy? My Ad told me that Rolex won't allow new watch to be changed to a new dial, apparently they don't like opening up a new watch or something like that. They suggested to wait until service which is 5-10 years....

Also, they told me it's $776 CAD for dial change ($240 for labor, $430 for dial, $106 for hand)...kind of depressing since I already spent a lot of money on the watch

This is your best bet. Text the sellers here on the forum for a quote. I suspect the offers will be low $5,000s USD range. You're gonna lose 15-20% plus sales tax selling it to them.

[coucher]

Changing he dial should make it perfect

[brandrea]

Dial and hand swaps must be getting expensive ...

I did this to a DJ2 (so that was about 5 years ago if memory serves). The dial and hand set change was about $150.00

EDIT: done at RSC Toronto

[leed]

Originally Posted by kits73

Seems like a dial swap is the best option although it won’t be a guarantee that it will be legible enough for your mom to see. Does she wear contacts or eyeglasses?

She wear eyeglasses in certain situations! She has a smaller watch (not a Rolex) that she can read well, the Roman numeral and color layout makes it difficult to read sadly. I am 100% certain or at least hoping that a different dial should fix this

[leed]

Originally Posted by EEpro

This is your best bet. Text the sellers here on the forum for a quote. I suspect the offers will be low $5,000s USD range. You're gonna lose 15-20% plus sales tax selling it to them.

I've thought about this but I am afraid I would lose a lot of money should I try to sell this and buy a new watch. Thanks for the suggestion though

Edit: Are Roman numeral easier to sell? How's value retention of female datejust?

[leed]

Originally Posted by brandrea

Dial and hand swaps must be getting expensive ...

I did this to a DJ2 (so that was about 5 years ago if memory serves). The dial and hand set change was about $150.00

EDIT: done at RSC Toronto

Wow, that is definitely a lot lower cost than I was quoted!