Bad day at the Lake

[lmbishop]

After spending the day at the lake I noticed water inside my Date Just. After 12 years of constant wear, and lots of water, I was a little surprised. Upon further inspection I noticed that the crown was not screwed tight. Is there any way to get the moisture out, or do I need to take it to the shop? The lake is fresh water and very clean, so I am not worried about contaminants.

Thanks for any advice.

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by lmbishop

After spending the day at the lake I noticed water inside my Date Just. After 12 years of constant wear, and lots of water, I was a little surprised. Upon further inspection I noticed that the crown was not screwed tight. Is there any way to get the moisture out, or do I need to take it to the shop? The lake is fresh water and very clean, so I am not worried about contaminants.

Thanks for any advice.

No matter how "clean" the lake water may seem, water is still water......and steel and water aren't exactly the best of friends!!

So, you'd be best to take it in to a Rolex Service Centre and have the watch serviced.

Good luck - JJ

[Andad]

Hi,

Sorry your first post is not a happier one.

Can't add anything to JJ's advice.

[Tools]

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

No matter how "clean" the lake water may seem, water is still water......and steel and water aren't exactly the best of friends!!

So, you'd be best to take it in to a Rolex Service Centre and have the watch serviced.

Good luck - JJ

JJ is absolutely correct....This is a ticking time bomb as moisture will rust and corrode the steel parts inside and dilute the oils...

If its been 12 years since a service call, the O-rings that provide waterproofing around the stem have probably become stiff and no longer tightly grip the stem....water resistance is lost.. The gasket under the crown that seals when screwed down is the secondary safety.....

Take it to an AD with a watchmaker on staff, or a reputable watchmaker immediately and tell him it has water inside the case.... If you wait too long the repair costs could be astronomical..

[Rawhyde]

Yeah, get it serviced quickly. Don't allow corrosion to get started!

[daunwaun]

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

No matter how "clean" the lake water may seem, water is still water......and steel and water aren't exactly the best of friends!!

So, you'd be best to take it in to a Rolex Service Centre and have the watch serviced.

Good luck - JJ

that is all that can be done

[txrob779]

No offense here at all sir, but I am suprized at the frequency that we read posts of guys having Rolex's 10 or 12 years and never having them serviced or maintained. Unless I am wrong doesn't all the paper work emphasize regular maintanence? Even if you bought it pre-owned the sellers in most cases are going to tell you about service. It kind of reminds me of the comercial back in the 70's, "You can pay me now or pay me later"

Here is a story I over heard the other day at the "AD that that made me scratch my head". This older man, probally in his 70's wearing a cowboy hat and "uh speakin' like kat" good ole country boy he wuz had a Datejust layed out on the counter. I saw the one competant sales girl Jennifer come out and say, "ok sir, we'll get that sent off to the Rolex service center for you you right away" and he said, in a slow draw," we'll you call me now if'in that's gonna cost more than a hundred dollars hun, do you think it WILL be that much"? I about fell over laughing, he was Dr. Somesuch, a retired family doctor. I over heard him say he got the watch as a gift for retirement in 1995 for god sake and now the d+Datejust was broke down. He about crapped on himself when he was told service STARTS at $475.00. He said, "$475.00 your uh kiddin' right", she said " no sir, it will most certianly cost more than a hundered dollars and service starts at $475.00 and it may very well go up from there depending on what is wrong with the timepiece". He just mumbled kinda pissy and filled out all the paper work. He was obviously clueless about his Rolex's mechanical movement.

Good luck getting the Rolex fixed but be ready for the full monty service bill.

[pol]

Sorry about the bad day at the lake...get it straight to the RSC!

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by pol

Sorry about the bad day at the lake...get it straight to the RSC!

....and have a good day ogling at some cleavage!!

[Destroy]

Looks like your watch is about to get a service!!!

[timebroker]

Take it down there first thing tomorrow, that is what I would do.
When examining vintage movements, scratches on the movement are not as abundant as water damage and if ye know the % of good watchmakers ...

[Mrdi]

Put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 2 1/2 hours with the crown unscrewed.
Remove
Let stand for one hour to cool.
Spray with WD 40 thru the crown aperature.
Close tightly and shake with vigor until fully wound.

[SPACE-DWELLER]

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

No matter how "clean" the lake water may seem, water is still water......and steel and water aren't exactly the best of friends!!

So, you'd be best to take it in to a Rolex Service Centre and have the watch serviced.

Good luck - JJ

Very good advice, and I would just like to add:

ASAP !!

Welcome to TRF!

[BiG JeEzY]

Everyone has suggested to take it to the RSC to have its serviced as soon as possible and I agree with each and everyone of them. Don't wait to get the timepiece repaired, act now!



By the way, welcome to the forum!

[Tombstone]

IMBISHOP,
Sorry to hear about your bad luck, you must get the watch to a service center quick. You can not just let the watch dry out as it will rust, and may cause dial damage, watch hand damage, spring damage, and result in other expensive repair issues. My brother in law had his old style GMT II get wet the same way your watch did, he took the watch in the following day and the damage was not that great. The Rolex watch smith said the longer you wait when a mechanical watch gets wet inside, the worse the damage becomes. Think of it as putting motor oil in your gas tank instead of fuel.

You can not go wrong by having a professional break your watch down, inspect parts, and tune up your watch as it has served you well for so many years.

[watchloverdave]

Corrosion starts VERY quickly when watch movements get wet. If it were me, a RSC would be my second stop right after I had taken the watch to a qualified local watch repair person and had the case opened and the movement gently but thoroughly dried out. Once it was good and dry, I'd make arrangements to have it sent to the RSC. Get that water out of there FAST.

[GoldenBear]

Someone mentioned how long it has been since he had it serviced. It didn't seem like that was the point/cause of the damage. He said that the crown was left open. Although they recommend service on a more regular basis, I know I have had mine for a long time and they still run perfectly. However, I do remember to screw down the crown when I open it and/or change times.

[Gedanken]

Well, the seals on that watch are well past their use-by date, GB. When they're in good shape you can expect some degree of protection even if the crown is unscrewed, but old seals, water and an unscrewed crown are a bad combination.

[sheldonsmith]

Still not sure if water actually got into the movement. Depending on the model, there are one-two seals in the tube. Although the watch has not been serviced, the tube seals might have had enough integrity to keep lake swimming water out...

-sheldon

[Mrdi]

If you are not sure water got in, put the watch under a table light with the bulb close,
and the crystal facing up towards the bulb.
Crown closed
Water inside will condense on the inside of the crystal.

[lmbishop]

Took the watch in on Wedensday. It apparently had been leaking for a while, but had just become obvious.

Thanks to all for the advice.

[Ed Rooney]

Originally Posted by txrob779

No offense here at all sir, but I am suprized at the frequency that we read posts of guys having Rolex's 10 or 12 years and never having them serviced or maintained. Unless I am wrong doesn't all the paper work emphasize regular maintanence? Even if you bought it pre-owned the sellers in most cases are going to tell you about service. It kind of reminds me of the comercial back in the 70's, "You can pay me now or pay me later"

Here is a story I over heard the other day at the "AD that that made me scratch my head". This older man, probally in his 70's wearing a cowboy hat and "uh speakin' like kat" good ole country boy he wuz had a Datejust layed out on the counter. I saw the one competant sales girl Jennifer come out and say, "ok sir, we'll get that sent off to the Rolex service center for you you right away" and he said, in a slow draw," we'll you call me now if'in that's gonna cost more than a hundred dollars hun, do you think it WILL be that much"? I about fell over laughing, he was Dr. Somesuch, a retired family doctor. I over heard him say he got the watch as a gift for retirement in 1995 for god sake and now the d+Datejust was broke down. He about crapped on himself when he was told service STARTS at $475.00. He said, "$475.00 your uh kiddin' right", she said " no sir, it will most certianly cost more than a hundered dollars and service starts at $475.00 and it may very well go up from there depending on what is wrong with the timepiece". He just mumbled kinda pissy and filled out all the paper work. He was obviously clueless about his Rolex's mechanical movement.

Good luck getting the Rolex fixed but be ready for the full monty service bill.

Seems like a cruel joke to give someone a retirement gift that will need to be maintained at a cost of $500 every 5 or so years.

[timebroker]

Originally Posted by Ed Rooney

Seems like a cruel joke to give someone a retirement gift that will need to be maintained at a cost of $500 every 5 or so years.

0.273972603 $ a day, gimme 3 of those for which I will gladly pay that amount

Imbishop, so it was actually good that that happened instead of finding out much later?

[marshallr47]

Here's a question for the experts. After showering one day, I notice condensation under the crystal of my 1968 Oyster Perpetual. I put it under a lamp and the condensation disappeared after about 10 minutes. I had just had the watch serviced at a local watchmaker. Is there something wrong with the watch or is this normal? Would being in a cold environment and then exposing the watch to heat have this effect? What are your thoughts?