Can AD switch dials on unsold new watches?

[RouseyD]

I was in an AD yesterday looking at DJ31 for my wife.

I was looking for SS fluted bezel on jubilee with silver dial.

Closest the AD had was with blue dial, but they had a silver dial in a smooth bezel DJ31 and offered to have their watchmaker do a dial swap.

They said this doesn’t affect warranty and they could also switch jubilee and oyster bracelets on DJ models as well.

Has anyone else come across this? I asked a while back, my normal AD about doing something similar and they said it wasn’t possible.

[365DAS]

I’ve been offered this service also, was told that the ADs are authorised to do dial and bracelet swaps...but never taken them up on their tbh.

Would be interested in hearing how many others have also too


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[ocN55]

Originally Posted by RouseyD

I was in an AD yesterday looking at DJ31 for my wife.

I was looking for SS fluted bezel on jubilee with silver dial.

Closest the AD had was with blue dial, but they had a silver dial in a smooth bezel DJ31 and offered to have their watchmaker do a dial swap.

They said this doesn’t affect warranty and they could also switch jubilee and oyster bracelets on DJ models as well.

Has anyone else come across this? I asked a while back, my normal AD about doing something similar and they said it wasn’t possible.

Wow, seems like a common practice over there. But in my experience, the serial is tied to how the watch is configured, the same way a VIN number is. So my ADs, therefore, never would allow me to swap parts from another watch in their inventory.

[joli160]

Why not ? Good service from the AD, a dial change is easy.

[Andad]

Originally Posted by joli160

Why not ? Good service from the AD, a dial change is easy.

The question was not about how easy it is.

Did you read posts 1 & 3?

[GMT Aviator]

Yes they can, I had the dial swapped out on my girlfriends DJ31 from the rhodium is came with to a white Roman numeral. Had to wait another week for the watch but they did it in house at the AD. Looks great.

[jonathan17]

Bracelet swap is what inexperienced as well but not the dial so i cant say from experiemce.

[Vvillie]

I am looking for a blue dial DJ41, and am contemplating buying a second hand watch with a less popular dial to do a dial swap and get it over with. RSC said they can do the dial swap with the service for a reasonable price but would keep the original dial (not sure why). Looking for a bargain before I pull the trigger.

[watchmaker]

As long as the combination exists under the same model number then it can be done. The preference is always to order the correct configuration but that is not always an option (timescale/availability).

And it is only done if the AD has a Rolex qualified watchmaker. Any changes are submitted to Rolex and the database is updated accordingly so there is no worry readying the serial number showing a different config to the actual watch
.

[watchmaker]

Originally Posted by Vvillie

I am looking for a blue dial DJ41, and am contemplating buying a second hand watch with a less popular dial to do a dial swap and get it over with. RSC said they can do the dial swap with the service for a reasonable price but would keep the original dial (not sure why). Looking for a bargain before I pull the trigger.

They keep the original dial because the price you pay is an exchange price, not an outright purchase of a second dial. Exceptions occur when diamond/mop dials are involved. You keep your mop/diamond dials when you purchase a standard dial.

[Ken B]

When I bought my wife her DJ31 she wanted the Jubilee bracelet. My US Dealer swapped it without an issue. They where willing to swap the dial and bezel however the wife liked the dial bezel combo in the piece she got.

I honestly think dealers have/take more latitude with the small DJ models.

[Flex368]

Originally Posted by RouseyD

Has anyone else come across this? I asked a while back, my normal AD about doing something similar and they said it wasn’t possible.

When I bought my wife´s DJ31 my AD had only one watch in stock with the wrong dial. The watchmaker ordered the desired diamond dial for me and swapped dials. Perfectly normal and great service at that time because a price increase was imminent.

[TswaneNguni]

Nope,would rather have it complete from the Rolex factory.Dont trust a dealer's watchmaker to change dials .Rather the RSC in the country .

[Jim Smyth]

Went into a AD in Jacksonville Fl in January. They had a white Gold GMT with the Blue dial in the case. It was the first blue dial I have seen in person. While talking with the salesman he told me it used to be a black dial and they changed it to blue since the black one was sitting a while. I wonder if they make up new warranty cards if applicable when they show dial color that may not match the dial change?

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by watchmaker

As long as the combination exists under the same model number then it can be done.

This

The only down side is that the warranty card doesn’t reflect the dial combo

I had my DJ2 dial swapped from azzurro blue romans to dark blue sunburst index. The hands were swapped out too as they weren’t lumed on the azzurro dial.

[Russell996]

Originally Posted by ocN55

Wow, seems like a common practice over there. But in my experience, the serial is tied to how the watch is configured, the same way a VIN number is. So my ADs, therefore, never would allow me to swap parts from another watch in their inventory.

Car dealers will do the same in some instances. Not on new but certainly on used cars.

[DoctorA]

I was in Dubai a couple of months ago and the store manager told me they can swap the bracelet for a jubilee!! I was kinda surprised and questioned what would happen at time of service, would rolex switch it back to its birth bracelet and was told they do that all the time and it’s not an issue
I was still very skeptical and didn’t pursue it!

[rod442]

Originally Posted by DoctorA

I was in Dubai a couple of months ago and the store manager told me they can swap the bracelet for a jubilee!! I was kinda surprised and questioned what would happen at time of service, would rolex switch it back to its birth bracelet and was told they do that all the time and it’s not an issue
I was still very skeptical and didn’t pursue it!

Don't send it in for service with the bracelet attached; problem solved.

[Navarino]

Dial style isn't necessarily on the product ID/card, is it?

So long as the end-result configuration is something available from Rolex I am not sure why this would be a problem. If the watch were to ever be sent into servicing, they wouldn't flag it as a part that does not belong on that watch. For example, say I want a blue dial DJ on jubilee but and AD only has a blue dial on oyster bracelet and black dial on jubilee. There should be a problem swapping the dial or bracelet from another DJ. Where I think you cross the line here is if you are trying to put a dial on a watch where it doesn't belong, e.g., a dial reserved for TT or PM watches only and swapping it onto a SS model.

I suppose the one big exception here is the 116500LN. I have heard from some people here in previous threads that if you send that watch in they won't swap out the dial (e.g, black to white or white to black). Guessing the same probably applies to things like the SS SkyD as well.

[Batmannr1]

Originally Posted by RouseyD

I was in an AD yesterday looking at DJ31 for my wife.



I was looking for SS fluted bezel on jubilee with silver dial.



Closest the AD had was with blue dial, but they had a silver dial in a smooth bezel DJ31 and offered to have their watchmaker do a dial swap.



They said this doesn’t affect warranty and they could also switch jubilee and oyster bracelets on DJ models as well.



Has anyone else come across this? I asked a while back, my normal AD about doing something similar and they said it wasn’t possible.

It is possible and common practise.
Last year the AD swapped the dial of my girlfriends newly bought DJ36 116244 from jubilee silver to plain silver, the plain silver dial was in back order and arrived two weeks later.
For about $2k extra the silver dial can be upgraded and swapped with a mother op pearl dial.

[ninjin]

Not sure about the practice today but when I purchased my wife datejust in around 1999 we had 3months to pick another dial colour if we didn't like it. The watch would go back to Rolex UK to be done.

[InitialAndPitch]

Originally Posted by watchmaker

They keep the original dial because the price you pay is an exchange price, not an outright purchase of a second dial. Exceptions occur when diamond/mop dials are involved. You keep your mop/diamond dials when you purchase a standard dial.

Yes they do supposedly charge for an “exchange” and keep the old dial. They says there’s a reduced price for the exchange but they will never give you the option of retaining your old dial. The same goes for a ten year old watch.

This applies to every part, crowns, dials etc

It’s supposed to stop you reselling the part and reduce the creation of so called FrankenWatches cobbled together from lots of spare parts. Same with many of the manufacturers.

I think it’s pretty rough that you don’t get to keep your own parts after a change or service.

[Kliminator]

Originally Posted by InitialAndPitch

Yes they do supposedly charge for an “exchange” and keep the old dial. They says there’s a reduced price for the exchange but they will never give you the option of retaining your old dial. The same goes for a ten year old watch.

This applies to every part, crowns, dials etc

It’s supposed to stop you reselling the part and reduce the creation of so called FrankenWatches cobbled together from lots of spare parts. Same with many of the manufacturers.

I think it’s pretty rough that you don’t get to keep your own parts after a change or service.

I thought they used to give back the dials and then in more recent history stopped.. I have read that some folks go to an independent watchmaker so that they can keep their dial. If you go that route you obviously need to source your own dial.

[ROLEXster]

Yes, ADs can do some switching around if they wanted to.

My sis-in-law wanted a blue dial, fluted, jubilee, 31 DJ.
AD had the exact watch but with oyster bracelet.

AD swapped to jubilee and waited 10 days to pick up new warranty card to reflect the change.

[Tools]

The DJ has always been available with dozens of dials, and you can change to any one of them, at any time, as long as that combination was available for your model.

At one time they would change your SS Daytona dial between white or black within the first month - don't think they do this any more.

[watchmaker]

Originally Posted by InitialAndPitch

Yes they do supposedly charge for an “exchange” and keep the old dial. They says there’s a reduced price for the exchange but they will never give you the option of retaining your old dial. The same goes for a ten year old watch.

This applies to every part, crowns, dials etc

It’s supposed to stop you reselling the part and reduce the creation of so called FrankenWatches cobbled together from lots of spare parts. Same with many of the manufacturers.

I think it’s pretty rough that you don’t get to keep your own parts after a change or service.

When the original parts are not supplied for exchange there is a 50% surcharge on the cost of whatever is being supplied. You are right that there isn't really the option to request this though, it applies when the part simply isn't there (think missing bezel/bracelet).

[nicon]

DJ is not some rare bird. I would rather ask them to order the watch with a silver dial to make everything matching. Also I would not risk any potential defects after dial swap in AD. We read here about RSC damage all the time.

[watchmaker]

Originally Posted by nicon

DJ is not some rare bird. I would rather ask them to order the watch with a silver dial to make everything matching. Also I would not risk any potential defects after dial swap in AD. We read here about RSC damage all the time.

It is always the preferred option to order the combination that is desired but sometimes that is not always possible in a reasonable time frame.

I would say almost without exception that a service centre watchmaker has trained for longer and to a much greater level than the assembly technicians in the manufacture. There is nothing to fear about having a watchmaker handle your watch.

The number of RSC damaged watches represents a very small percentage of the total number of repairs completed successfully. Unfortunately it is human nature to tell everybody when something goes wrong and not say a thing when all goes well.

[returntorolex]

Yes.