Recent RSC experience: Daytona 116500LN broken crystal

[Charlie7]

I wanted to share with you my recent RSC experience for a couple of reasons:

1) As general information for those who may be in the same situation,
2) Set the record straight on a few things, including warranty and service options.

Quick background on the watch: Daytona 116500LN purchased from a reputable dealer. Watch was originally purchased from AD in September 2016 and of course, has the 5-year warranty. Card is named and dated but not in my name. I rotate this watch on a weekly basis with my GMT II and an Omega X-33, I take great care of my pieces and have dealt with RSCs (Dallas and NY) twice before.

In one of those “try another million times and it’ll never happen again” type accidents, my brother (who was wearing a Milgauss) and I accidentally bumped into each other and his watch tapped mine right where the crystal meets the ceramic bezel at the 4 o’clock marker. Needless to say, being the most fragile portion of the watch due to the raised crystal, the impact left my Daytona with a *tiny* chip in the crystal. Milgauss 1 : Daytona 0. The chip was so small that you would never know it was there until you really looked at the watch up close – or swipe it with your finger.

The issue? I knew it was there and it bothered me. So…I turned to TRF for answers on 2 main questions:

Q1) Can Rolex replace the crystal without a full service? Yes: I’ll do it. No: I’ll wait until scheduled maintenance.
Q2) Will replacing the crystal void my 5-year warranty and replace it with a 2-year warranty? Yes: I’ll wait until 5 years pass. No: see Q1.

Needless to say, I found a lot of conflicting information. Most worrisome was the high number of people saying I’d lose my 5 year warranty because Rolex has to open the watch. Let me tackle this right now: myth - not true. At least for my specific situation with no broken crystal on the inside that could end up in the movement/watch was not dropped/watch has been marked as “mint” by AD.

I decided to try my luck and be a Ginny pig for the rest of us. I took my 116500LN to one of the local ADs in my city and asked them to contact Rolex and get answers to my 2 burning questions. Sure enough, after Rolex asked the AD’s watchmaker to inspect it fist, they OK’d the replacement of just the crystal for $284.00 USD. AD to cover overnight shipping both ways. No need to fully service the watch (I dodged a ~$1k bullet) and I declined the refinishing since the watch certainly doesn’t need it from just a few and minor desk swirls.

My watch is currently at RSC Dallas (I specifically requested this service center due to prior experiences) and I’ve been told it will be 2 weeks from today. So, there you have it: if you have a small chip in the crystal (or, I’m told, Cerachrom bezel too) but the watch has not been dropped and is otherwise in great condition, you can just have those parts replaced without voiding your 5 year warranty and without having to perform the full service – as long as it is done at a RSC. Oh and of importance to me, the replacement crystal will have all original factory etchings as if it was brand new, no way to tell it apart from the original part used when the watch was built.

I hope this info can be helpful to others – after all, that’s the point of forums like this one. Happy to answer any questions you may have!

[RichM]

Glad it worked out for you.

[Tridor]

Thanks for the tip.

[JR16]

Thanks for posting and being a good TRF citizen in sharing your experience


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[HK Islandboy]

Thanks for your post. Did your AD give you any definitive insight into what circumstances cause the 5 year warranty to be replaced by a 2 year warranty - clearly an important point to be aware of when buying used watches that are still ostensibly under original warranty!

[Rebel]

Thanks for sharing.

[yxc145]

thank you for the info.

[GerardoG]

Thank you for the information. Hope you get it back soon.

[Benjamin Choi]

Logical.


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[Al1969]

Thanks for the info. This is good to know.

[jrs146]

Great info thanks for sharing.

[underpar31009]

Great info thanks for letting us know.

[meganfox17]

Originally Posted by Charlie7

Done at a RSC. Oh and of importance to me, the replacement crystal will have all original factory etchings as if it was brand new, no way to tell it apart from the original part used when the watch was builtHappy to answer any questions you may have!

Can I ask you a question Mr. Charlie Let's assume your Daytona is just back from the RSC. What would be your reaction if I claim that the replacement s.c isn't exactly all factory original but had undergone very minor cosmetic changes? Would that bother you Sir ?
It's Guinea, Mr Charlie not Ginny pig. Ginny has a different meaning

[Charlie7]

Originally Posted by HK Islandboy

Thanks for your post. Did your AD give you any definitive insight into what circumstances cause the 5 year warranty to be replaced by a 2 year warranty - clearly an important point to be aware of when buying used watches that are still ostensibly under original warranty!

Thanks for asking - forgot to mention: the AD said had the watch shown signs of a drop/harder impact, or the crystal breaking/chipping releasing small fragments on the inside, the 5 yr warranty would be replaced by a 2 yr one because the watch would be forced to undergo the full ~$1k service.

I'm not sure there's a way to verify if a particular used watch one might be interested in buying is still covered by the 5 year warranty...at least until it's sent to RSC for a warranty claim of some kind...

[HK Islandboy]

Originally Posted by Charlie7

Thanks for asking - forgot to mention: the AD said had the watch shown signs of a drop/harder impact, or the crystal breaking/chipping releasing small fragments on the inside, the 5 yr warranty would be replaced by a 2 yr one because the watch would be forced to undergo the full ~$1k service.

I'm not sure there's a way to verify if a particular used watch one might be interested in buying is still covered by the 5 year warranty...at least until it's sent to RSC for a warranty claim of some kind...

Thanks. That's great insight

[DGB]

Meganfox17 is right, normally you should see a small "s" inside the little crown when you replace the Cristal.
Not that many will see it but with a loupe it can be clearly seen.

[tamiya]

Originally Posted by meganfox17

Can I ask you a question Mr. Charlie Let's assume your Daytona is just back from the RSC. What would be your reaction if I claim that the replacement s.c isn't exactly all factory original but had undergone very minor cosmetic changes? Would that bother you Sir ?

thought they've stopped doing the Service logo..?

[IMG]
It's Guinea, Mr Charlie not Ginny pig. Ginny has a different meaning[/QUOTE]

Mrs Harry Potter hehehe... if you're not a drinker.

[lord91]

Why would they put the "S" in the crown?! Is that for replaced crystals, or for every watch once it gets a service work done?

[scooba]

Originally Posted by Charlie7

I wanted to share with you my recent RSC experience for a couple of reasons:

1) As general information for those who may be in the same situation,
2) Set the record straight on a few things, including warranty and service options.

Quick background on the watch: Daytona 116500LN purchased from a reputable dealer. Watch was originally purchased from AD in September 2016 and of course, has the 5-year warranty. Card is named and dated but not in my name. I rotate this watch on a weekly basis with my GMT II and an Omega X-33, I take great care of my pieces and have dealt with RSCs (Dallas and NY) twice before.

In one of those “try another million times and it’ll never happen again” type accidents, my brother (who was wearing a Milgauss) and I accidentally bumped into each other and his watch tapped mine right where the crystal meets the ceramic bezel at the 4 o’clock marker. Needless to say, being the most fragile portion of the watch due to the raised crystal, the impact left my Daytona with a *tiny* chip in the crystal. Milgauss 1 : Daytona 0. The chip was so small that you would never know it was there until you really looked at the watch up close – or swipe it with your finger.

The issue? I knew it was there and it bothered me. So…I turned to TRF for answers on 2 main questions:

Q1) Can Rolex replace the crystal without a full service? Yes: I’ll do it. No: I’ll wait until scheduled maintenance.
Q2) Will replacing the crystal void my 5-year warranty and replace it with a 2-year warranty? Yes: I’ll wait until 5 years pass. No: see Q1.

Needless to say, I found a lot of conflicting information. Most worrisome was the high number of people saying I’d lose my 5 year warranty because Rolex has to open the watch. Let me tackle this right now: myth - not true. At least for my specific situation with no broken crystal on the inside that could end up in the movement/watch was not dropped/watch has been marked as “mint” by AD.

I decided to try my luck and be a Ginny pig for the rest of us. I took my 116500LN to one of the local ADs in my city and asked them to contact Rolex and get answers to my 2 burning questions. Sure enough, after Rolex asked the AD’s watchmaker to inspect it fist, they OK’d the replacement of just the crystal for $284.00 USD. AD to cover overnight shipping both ways. No need to fully service the watch (I dodged a ~$1k bullet) and I declined the refinishing since the watch certainly doesn’t need it from just a few and minor desk swirls.

My watch is currently at RSC Dallas (I specifically requested this service center due to prior experiences) and I’ve been told it will be 2 weeks from today. So, there you have it: if you have a small chip in the crystal (or, I’m told, Cerachrom bezel too) but the watch has not been dropped and is otherwise in great condition, you can just have those parts replaced without voiding your 5 year warranty and without having to perform the full service – as long as it is done at a RSC. Oh and of importance to me, the replacement crystal will have all original factory etchings as if it was brand new, no way to tell it apart from the original part used when the watch was built.

I hope this info can be helpful to others – after all, that’s the point of forums like this one. Happy to answer any questions you may have!

Thank you for clearing the questions up

[Ruud Van Driver]

Originally Posted by meganfox17

Can I ask you a question Mr. Charlie Let's assume your Daytona is just back from the RSC. What would be your reaction if I claim that the replacement s.c isn't exactly all factory original but had undergone very minor cosmetic changes? Would that bother you Sir ?

This is wrong. There is no discernible difference between a factory fitted crystal and a replacement OEM Rolex 'service' crystal.

Rolex used to fit a replacement crystal that had an 'S' etched into the LEC (laser etched crown) in order to distinguish original fitments from replacements. They stopped doing this over two years ago; I write from experience having had a replacement crystal on my LVc 18 months ago to rectify poor Cyclops magnification.

I asked the question at RSC Singapore when I took my Sub in to have a new crystal and was told that Rolex had stopped that particular practice.

[Jhquek]

Originally Posted by Ruud Van Driver

This is wrong. There is no discernible difference between a factory fitted crystal and a replacement OEM Rolex 'service' crystal.

Rolex used to fit a replacement crystal that had an 'S' etched into the LEC (laser etched crown) in order to distinguish original fitments from replacements. They stopped doing this over two years ago; I write from experience having had a replacement crystal on my LVc 18 months ago to rectify poor Cyclops magnification.

I asked the question at RSC Singapore when I took my Sub in to have a new crystal and was told that Rolex had stopped that particular practice.

Yes, my replaced crystal from RSC does not have the 'S'

[Dave-B]

Same here, my replaced SubC crystal is a standard one without the S in the LEC.

[sager]

Glad it went well.


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[travisb]

Good to hear. Looking forward to seeing it back on your wrist!

[Racerdj]

Very nice detailed information.

[1William]

Thanks for the detailed information.

[tommy91]

Interesting, thanks for the info

[Rentalcarman]

Thank you for the information and your experience. Funny how something so small like a chip that no one will see, will bother us because we k ow its there. Probably wise to replace anyway because now that there was an actual chip, that part of the crystal was weakened.


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[Lol-x]

Good information

Also good to know there is no longer the "s" for service on replacement crystals. I couldn't understand the reason for Rolex using the "s" to signify a service replacement crystal in the first place........

[regnant]

Thanks for sharing, I didn't know that