Watches Updated with 3235 Movement - Why isn't this a bigger deal?

[904VT]

Originally Posted by sillo38

I think it's mostly because how few of them made it into the 16710 so it's seen as a collectible variation. I mean I'm kind of guilty too, I made sure I got a 16570 with the 3186.

I think the Parchrom hairspring at the time also held a lot of intrigue. It probably would've been the reason i looked at mine if in the market, for a GMT Master or Exp2 at the time, just because kind of cool. I like the 3185 though and a great movement imo

[jlovda]

Originally Posted by Brny11

I recall a thread from a professional watchmaker on the forum compare the two movements 3135 and 3235 and ultimately he preferred the 3135. I am not knowledgeable enough to have an opinion, but the 3135 is an absolute workhorse, proven and time tested. It has its place in history and I am perfectly happy with it. I would love 70 hour power but in the end of the day, if the next sub has enough aesthetic changes I enjoy, I’d love to get it, but if the watch has similar proportions, I am perfectly happy with the 3135.

The biggest thing I took away from that movement comparison was that the ball bearing rotor assembly had to be replaced as a major unit and was proprietary. Down the road, the watch you gifted to your grandson will be very expensive to service.

[THC]

I wear and own one Rolex so the extra time is nice to have, but no biggie

[singe89]

Will only buy new rolexes with the updated movement. Never liked the sleeve bearing design and my DSSD is running at +.25 sec/day.

[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by gccmd

Longer power reserve does nothing for me. It’s easy to reset the time and date on a Rolex if it stops. Now if we were talking about something like a PP grand complication it would be a completely different story.

Had a hand-wind Patek grand complication, and that's why I love the Sky Dweller. :-)

While I really don't care much of the difference in power reserve, to try to set a Patek with all those old-school pushers you may as well learn origami, yoga, and some super secret handshake all at the same time. The Rolex SkyD is just turn the bezel and have fun

Added bonus, the SkyD is about 5 seconds fast... a month!

[singe89]

Originally Posted by jlovda

The biggest thing I took away from that movement comparison was that the ball bearing rotor assembly had to be replaced as a major unit and was proprietary. Down the road, the watch you gifted to your grandson will be very expensive to service.

Still a better design and sucks for my kids or grandkids that they will have to pay a little more for service when they've been gifted my Rolexes, APs and Pateks.

[Bobby100]

People only care about it saying ROLEX on the dial.

[RTG]

Originally Posted by JacksonStone

It's great Rolex completed the movement conversion in the GMT line, but I don't like how they went about it: they eliminated most of the watches that still had the 3186, while introducing a lot of redundancy to make up for it. The Y-M transition actually made more sense: just update the existing watches, while introducing a new model to grab attention. How hard is that? (Granted, I still think the Y-M line has aesthetic multiple personality disorder, but that was true before the movement conversion.)

The Yacht-Master line is mostly unisex so it has to be multiple personality. My wife has one and now I'm buying one. One of us is crazy. I think the line has broad, growing appeal.

Your right again on the GMT. 3 of 6 are BRLO. I wouldn't have bet on that or gone that way myself. That said the blue/red pepsi is the choice of most. Rolex is tripling down on it and I bet they win. Personally I would like to see a meteorite on a LN bezel and prefer the taste of coke.

On specifics I almost always agree with you. But as a hole I guess I trust that Rolex knows what they are doing. Might be harder if they did not make something new that I liked.

[nick c]

Originally Posted by rootbeer7

Sadly, people are only interested in what Rolex they can buy to flip, show off, beat the system with etc etc. Movements are just unimportant to most. Sad state of affairs to those that love the heritage, the brand and strive to own one.

Nicely said my friend

[nick c]

Originally Posted by Bobby100

People only care about it saying ROLEX on the dial.

I couldn’t agree more

[zjd168]

It is definitely a big enhancement. However a lot of people still choose to wait and buy the 48 hr power res sub, instead of the 70 hour DJ. Now you tell me what does "big deal" mean?

[Wahlberg]

Originally Posted by pkincy

But we give up something also. With the DJ 36 we give up the hidden crown clasp on the jubilee

Where have you been? They already removed the hidden clasp last year.

Catch up brother.

[904VT]

Originally Posted by enjoythemusic

Had a hand-wind Patek grand complication, and that's why I love the Sky Dweller. :-)

While I really don't care much of the difference in power reserve, to try to set a Patek with all those old-school pushers you may as well learn origami, yoga, and some super secret handshake all at the same time. The Rolex SkyD is just turn the bezel and have fun

Added bonus, the SkyD is about 5 seconds fast... a month!

[Wahlberg]

I hope, one day, that Rolex brings out a movement that just keeps ticking and never ever stops. Kinda like a quartz movement. I would be all over that.

[pkincy]

Originally Posted by Wahlberg

Where have you been? They already removed the hidden clasp last year.

Catch up brother.

I am. The SS jubilee still has it. The TT was changed last year and the SS this year, but the 116234 still has it. The 126234 (new 19 model) will not.

[AK797]

If we could see it, it would make a huge difference.

[dtwer]

My theory is that it is because deep down, mechanical watches are fundamentally jewelry pieces for many WIS, even the most hardcore ones.

That would give a logical explanation why so many are way more upset about the gold colors or jubilee bracelets of the new watches than they are happy about this significant mechanical enhancement of the new watches. It’s a Freudian slip.

[Wahlberg]

Originally Posted by pkincy

I am. The SS jubilee still has it. The TT was changed last year and the SS this year, but the 116234 still has it. The 126234 (new 19 model) will not.

I can't find the correct topics at the moment but I remember seeing the pictures and posts that the hidden clasp wasn't available anymore on the SS models.

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=598798

April 2018

So yesterday I went to my local AD in the UK and purchased a stainless steel and fluted bezel 116234. The salesperson told me this is the last one they have and they have now been discontinued already!

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=640563

[pkincy]

I put in an order last week for it. Now my worry is that the AD will receive a 126234 not a 116234 but I have been assured both by folks here and at the AD that the system will continue to fill orders for the non new watches for several months yet. I will let you know. And the differences are the hidden oysterclasp and the old movement. Other difference is my order is for white stick dial no longer available in the 126234. My AD had the watch in White Roman dial but I wanted the stick so ordered it. And theirs did have the oysterclasp. But clearly the clasp was changed when the TT DJ36 received its updated movement last year and we all speculated that the same would happen to the SS DJ36 this year and it did.

[lecorsaire]

Why isn’t it a bigger deal? Because 2 days is enough and most people with multiple watches own something called a winder. So it’s a nice achievement for 28,800 vph movements but it’s not game changing unless you only own a single watch and take it off regularly for a couple of days.

[mray6375]

I rotate once a week due to always working out of town. Power reserve doesn’t matter to me. I can see if rotating every few days it would be really convenient

[lecorsaire]

Originally Posted by pkincy

I put in an order last week for it. Now my worry is that the AD will receive a 126234 not a 116234 but I have been assured both by folks here and at the AD that the system will continue to fill orders for the non new watches for several months yet. I will let you know. And the differences are the hidden oysterclasp and the old movement. Other difference is my order is for white stick dial no longer available in the 126234. My AD had the watch in White Roman dial but I wanted the stick so ordered it. And theirs did have the oysterclasp. But clearly the clasp was changed when the TT DJ36 received its updated movement last year and we all speculated that the same would happen to the SS DJ36 this year and it did.

Dude there are tons of unsold 116234s with concealed clasp on the market. The only benefit is having your name on the card. If you really want a particular 116234 and don’t like the Oysterclasp then look online for one in the event that your AD can’t source the 116234 you want. You’ll save some money too. I believe retail on the 116234 was $7950 or so. Now they are $8200. That’s just $250 more but they will probably charge the new price for the old model now.

[jonnyz1245]

Because there is nothing wrong with the older movement which has been largely bulletproof for 30 years. I own both and honestly never think about one being better than the other. Is the extra 24 hours PR a nice thing? Sure if it is something one utilizes. If I only had two watches and took one off on Friday and wanted to wear it Monday morning without re-setting it then its a great thing. I tend to wear a different watch everyday for a week and sometimes the same watch for 2 weeks in a row so extended PR means nothing to me.

[stoic]

How much would be the accompanied costs if one were to change movement totally within a watch?

Lets say that the current Day-Date (2019) model has new 3255 movement but you'd like to change to the older one (3155 movement) OR other way around (changing movement from older Day-Date to the newest movement).

Would this be theoretically infeasible? I am not sure whether the casket size are identical with the latest Day-Date models.

If the swapping of movement is easy, one could just according to mood switch the movement

[grymg]

The 72h power reserve doesn't really apply to me. I only wear each watch 2 days per week. It probably would matter to a person who owns two watches and rotates everyday.

[Sunly]

Originally Posted by pkincy

But we give up something also. With the DJ 36 we give up the hidden crown clasp on the jubilee and the white stick dial all for a slightly newer movement. On balance not a real win.

You nailed it! With the new dial..I would prefer to old DJ36....

Sent from my BAC-L22 using Tapatalk

[Cesium137]

I have both and the 70 hour is nice. Always impresses me.

[Late]

Originally Posted by smym18

It seems that a lot of members don't care that a bunch of watches were updated with the 3235 movement, which gives the watch basically another full day of power and another 5 or so years until service time.

Probably partly because people are invested in what they already own. Fear that the 3235 will reduce the 3135 value.
But also, it's overshadowed by other changes. The DJII just didn't do it for me, but I snapped up a DJ41 PDQ. The DJ41 came with both the update to the 3235 and a slimmer profile, better-proportioned bezel and different lugs such that it fits my borderline-Elven wrists much better.

[Likestheshiny]

I see the new movement as a pleasant bonus, but it's not a meaningful factor in my buying decisions. Looks and price will always be much more important to me than some extra power reserve.

I mean, if it were a five-day watch or something huge, that might be a factor for me. But for me personally it's rare that I take off a watch and put it back on between 49 and 70 hours later. I might literally never notice the additional PR. I could see it having meaningful value for someone who has a weekday and weekend watch, though.

[zetaplus93]

I tend to wear my watch for weeks at a time, so the longer power reserve doesn’t add anything meaningful.

As others mentioned, 48hr vs 72hr PR only really matter if you take it off Friday night and back on Monday morning.