The watch Rolex should make

[greekbum]

Rolex should make a service free automatic watch.

When I bought my 1st Rolex as a teenager I remember the salesman saying it will last a lifetime if I take care of it.That was 25 years ago and its still looking good.I had it serviced for the 1st time a few years ago so I am good for a while I hope.
Now if the car industry can make a car go 100k miles before a tuneup dont you think Rolex can make a watch that can go 50 years without a service?
Its all about money I guess.I bought my GMT for around 1k and now they are around 6k a service than was around $100 now $600
I think its about time they make an automatic watch that doesnt need a service.

[valentine]

almost like sealed transmissions?? ....I mean yes...a car will go that long..but the oil still needs changing..i think a better comparison would be a car that went 100k without needing an oil change...belts...gaskets...hoses...because when a watch is serviced...thats the same gig...gaskets...lubrication, etc..

[DadsWatch72]

Originally Posted by greekbum

Rolex should make a service free automatic watch.

When I bought my 1st Rolex as a teenager I remember the salesman saying it will last a lifetime if I take care of it.That was 25 years ago and its still looking good.I had it serviced for the 1st time a few years ago so I am good for a while I hope.
Now if the car industry can make a car go 100k miles before a tuneup dont you think Rolex can make a watch that can go 50 years without a service?
Its all about money I guess.I bought my GMT for around 1k and now they are around 6k a service than was around $100 now $600
I think its about time they make an automatic watch that doesnt need a service.

If you want a service free Rolex.........here it is.

[adelgado]

I forget the numbers, but I thought an "average" rolex balance "turn" through thousands of miles a year. i thought it was like 3-4 thousand miles. But that's a constant "pace" (assuming the watch stays wound year long).

pretty good considering the tolerances, etc.

But I am lawyer not an engineer, dammit Jim!

I wonder about some the UN "freak" watches and the newer watches with different material - i think JL has some watches with newer composite materials which don't require oils? How often do they need to be serviced!

[shandy]

Ahh, but remember, it is in the industries interest to have regular service intervals, they make a great deal of money from it, keeps people in the loop as well!

[sexner]

Originally Posted by greekbum

Rolex should make a service free automatic watch.

When I bought my 1st Rolex as a teenager I remember the salesman saying it will last a lifetime if I take care of it.That was 25 years ago and its still looking good.I had it serviced for the 1st time a few years ago so I am good for a while I hope.
Now if the car industry can make a car go 100k miles before a tuneup dont you think Rolex can make a watch that can go 50 years without a service?
Its all about money I guess.I bought my GMT for around 1k and now they are around 6k a service than was around $100 now $600
I think its about time they make an automatic watch that doesnt need a service.

I don't think we'll ever see anything "mechanical" that's maintenance free.

A service every 5 years like clockwork (pun intended) has always suited me just fine.

[The GMT Master]

I think the only way that could be possible would be to develop an entirely frictionless movement with a lubricant that never dried - I think that may be beyond even Rolex's capabilities for a while yet

[Toxicant]

Doesn't someone make a watch that's oil filled, seems as if that should last quite long time.

[YuppieKid]

remember what it's called, but there it is. Go to watchbuys.com, the web site for their US AD. You'll see.

Originally Posted by valentine

almost like sealed transmissions?? ....I mean yes...a car will go that long..but the oil still needs changing..i think a better comparison would be a car that went 100k without needing an oil change...belts...gaskets...hoses...because when a watch is serviced...thats the same gig...gaskets...lubrication, etc..

[cody p]

grand seiko 9f quartz movements have a 50 year service interval. the important stuff is hermetically sealed, i believe.

[TempoKing]

Just because you are Greek-American...I agree..

[deserted]

Wow can't wait the day i see that happen.

[IT-guy]

There will never be a maintenance-free mechanism. Maybe the length of between-service intervals will evolve, but a periodic maintenance will always be required.

[BOA]

Originally Posted by DadsWatch72

If you want a service free Rolex.........here it is.

That one's great, but I'm holding out for the Stonehenge Calendar.

[YuppieKid]

http://www.watchbuys.com/store/pc/vi...gory=0#details

Originally Posted by YuppieKid

remember what it's called, but there it is. Go to watchbuys.com, the web site for their US AD. You'll see.

[Singslinger]

You serviced your GMT ONCE in 25 years?? I'd say that's pretty good going, by any standards, and pretty darn good testimony to Rolex's quality!

[watchmaker]

Say a balance that vibrates 28800 times per hour rotates through (a conservative guess) 15mm cycle. That is 10368 meters per day, or 3784km per year. With a 5 year service interval that is a distance of 18920km. ALSO the watch is expected to put out a constant 99.996% accuracy.

Now think of a service charge of $500. That is 27cents per day. A car costs more than that to run for 24hours solid.

[sexner]

Originally Posted by watchmaker

Say a balance that vibrates 28800 times per hour rotates through (a conservative guess) 15mm cycle. That is 10368 meters per day, or 3784km per year. With a 5 year service interval that is a distance of 18920km. ALSO the watch is expected to put out a constant 99.996% accuracy.

Now think of a service charge of $500. That is 27cents per day. A car costs more than that to run for 24hours solid.

x2

The benefits of the cost of service at 5 year intervals in order to maintain an exquisite machine cannot be overstated.

[dannyp]

Originally Posted by Toxicant

Doesn't someone make a watch that's oil filled, seems as if that should last quite long time.

IIRC, Bell & Ross had a diver's watch that was filled with liquid. I also believe that had to do more with increasing the depth rating (something like 10k meters or beyond) as opposed to service. There was also a rubber caseback, allowing it to expand and contract.

[PHPuser]

Originally Posted by watchmaker

Say a balance that vibrates 28800 times per hour rotates through (a conservative guess) 15mm cycle. That is 10368 meters per day, or 3784km per year. With a 5 year service interval that is a distance of 18920km. ALSO the watch is expected to put out a constant 99.996% accuracy.

Now think of a service charge of $500. That is 27cents per day. A car costs more than that to run for 24hours solid.

And the added benefit ypoui don't have to put gas in it

[DadsWatch72]

Originally Posted by sexner

x2

The benefits of the cost of service at 5 year intervals in order to maintain an exquisite machine cannot be overstated.

I agree. Rolex changes any worn parts in the movement when you have a service no matter how many parts are needed. Thats awsome. I feel that is one part of having a Rolex Service Center do the work on the watch that a private watchman could not compete with. They have all the new gears, jewels, pins, ect right there at their disposal. Its not even an issue to check the parts and toil with the decision to replace them or not. They just make it practically new when in doubt.

[dieseldragon]

No way any one could engineer a virtually service free mechanical device.

If we comparing to engines, service intervals are increased by using bigger oil capacities and bigger oil filters (for example Renault Trafic 1.9 dci has a 25 litre sump!! reducing service intervals) Cadillac Northstar V8´s use electronics to manage the engine in such a way that it will shut down parts of the engine that are being abused. Its said that you can run this engine on virtually zero oil, because electronics will shut down cylinders and restart others as temperatures rise and fall..

The poor Rolex just has get its head down and chug away till it either dies or someone oils it. I love honest engineering, no bells and whistles, it just does what it has to...

[BigHat]

You can't have your cake and eat it too. You think these folks that make watches aren't on the cutting edge of technology? Lots of things moving and in contact with each other.

Now have you been following the lube-free silica based parts in some of the Pateks and the UN watches? It will get better. Even the Omega co-axials purport to require less service, but I've also read that their service interval is an aspiration rather than a reality at this point.

The car analogy is somewhat flawed too. No car is maintenance free for 100,000 miles, only elements of it. Oil, tires, battery, other fluids, wipers, etc all need changing. Even the things with a long-service interval are based on the fact that the accountants get to vote against the engineers. BMW is a perfect example, sell the car with free maintenance and then only do the minimum necessary to get through the warranty period. Like my cars, I chose to take proper care of my watches and figured that in to the ownership cost when I opted to buy them.

[SDDS]

i would luv to see if it happens

[Ike]

Originally Posted by BigHat

You can't have your cake and eat it too. You think these folks that make watches aren't on the cutting edge of technology? Lots of things moving and in contact with each other.

Now have you been following the lube-free silica based parts in some of the Pateks and the UN watches? It will get better. Even the Omega co-axials purport to require less service, but I've also read that their service interval is an aspiration rather than a reality at this point.

The car analogy is somewhat flawed too. No car is maintenance free for 100,000 miles, only elements of it. Oil, tires, battery, other fluids, wipers, etc all need changing. Even the things with a long-service interval are based on the fact that the accountants get to vote against the engineers. BMW is a perfect example, sell the car with free maintenance and then only do the minimum necessary to get through the warranty period. Like my cars, I chose to take proper care of my watches and figured that in to the ownership cost when I opted to buy them.

I've got one of the BMWs with free maintenance. The free oil changes are every 15,000 miles. However, the people that follow that are having so much sludge in their engines that they are having problems with them. I have mine done every 5000 miles at an independant shop where they don't touch the computer so I still get a free one at the dealer.

My dad's Rolex I mentioned in my other post stopped about 5 years ago. He was pretty upset because the salesman told him when he bought it in the seventies that it would never need anything done to it. I guess some people will believe that. I can't see how moving parts can last that long without the oils getting dirty or breaking down.

[nektar]

Originally Posted by TempoKing

Just because you are Greek-American...I agree..

Just because you are both Greeks, i agree