Check this before buying:

[glendon21]

So, we should check the ff. before we buy:

1. RRB coronet should align at 12 minute marker
2. No speck inside the face
3. Lume is evenly coated
4. dials are perfectly glued and spaced
5. crown closed at 3 o'clock position
6. clasp and easy link are in perfect shape.
7. 24 hand should align every hour marker
8. date should change at exactly 12MN.
9. No scratches
10. cyclops is centered
and more

[Alan111]

uh.. thanks for the helpful guide?

How about you just take it to an AD for verification. Leave the guesswork up to them

[glendon21]

What if you are about to buy and presented with 5 the same model by the AD? AD does not care what you choose but now you know which one to pick.

[dhiltonlittle]

definitely good things to look out for! especially the bezel's on subs and 24hr hands on gmt's . i've seen a lot of those around not lining up....

[Numismatist]

#11. Proper cleavage...

[Yume-sama]

Crown straight at 12 o'clock or no deal!

[Nicko]

Originally Posted by Yume-sama

Crown straight at 12 o'clock or no deal!

I guess that depends how tight you want it. After all, the trip lock does have a gasket that doesn`t allow a straight crown all the time...

[Yume-sama]

Originally Posted by Nicko

I guess that depends how tight you want it. After all, the trip lock does have a gasket that doesn`t allow a straight crown all the time...

I don't care if they have to take the watch apart and re-do it, my crown will be straight when all the way in.

[TonyD]

Originally Posted by Alan111

uh.. thanks for the helpful guide?

How about you just take it to an AD for verification. Leave the guesswork up to them

Not always... My Daytona has a booger on the crystal on the inside. My AD thinks its some kind of lube they used on the gaskets. No harm, its just a tiny fleck. They told me to wait until just before the warranty runs out and then they will send it in for a free checkup and fix it.

[Nicko]

Originally Posted by Yume-sama

I don't care if they have to take the watch apart and re-do it, my crown will be straight when all the way in.

[Ck8]

Originally Posted by dhiltonlittle

definitely good things to look out for! especially the bezel's on subs and 24hr hands on gmt's . i've seen a lot of those around not lining up....

Now you tell me after I bought my GMT IIc the 24 hr hands does not always aligned.

[JRA21]

Originally Posted by TonyD

Not always... My Daytona has a booger on the crystal on the inside. My AD thinks its some kind of lube they used on the gaskets. No harm, its just a tiny fleck. They told me to wait until just before the warranty runs out and then they will send it in for a free checkup and fix it.

[MortgageGuy]

I think it is 100% pathetic that you should have to confirm the $5-50k watch you are looking at has been manufactured correctly by the manufacturer prior to purchasing... This says something about Rolex quality if you ask me... Not too good anymore. I say this and own 2 M series models and am not nearly as impressed as I am with my 10 year old SD... Not to mention my M series GMT is at RSC again for the 2nd time. It has spent more time there than on my wrist in the 3 short months that I have owned it

[sakuraba]

Originally Posted by MortgageGuy

This says something about Rolex quality if you ask me... Not too good anymore. I say this and own 2 M series models and am not nearly as impressed as I am with my 10 year old SD...

They sure don't make em like they used to!

No wonder the vintage market is strong.

[deserted]

you know guys now that i look at the cornet it is at a 12 o'clock position it always stops there, wow who would have knew, thanks for the knowledge....you guys are good.

[Timber Loftis]

There may be defects due to high manufacturing rates -- like bits on the face falling off or the annoying dust particle locked inside the watch.

But that said, the watches are generally better than the vintage ones. Now, don't get me wrong -- I'd sell my soul for an orange hand expy. But the new bracelets and clasps and extension links and anti-counterfeiting measures make the watches vastly more detailed, sturdy, and well made. Pick up a vintage PN Daytona or a vintage GMT sometime and see how flimsy it feels compared to a GMT IIc or a Deep Sea or the new subs.

Yes, defects suck, and yes for so much money we can as consumers demand 100% QA/QC.

[Dr.Brian]

Originally Posted by MortgageGuy

I think it is 100% pathetic that you should have to confirm the $5-50k watch you are looking at has been manufactured correctly by the manufacturer prior to purchasing... This says something about Rolex quality if you ask me... Not too good anymore. I say this and own 2 M series models and am not nearly as impressed as I am with my 10 year old SD... Not to mention my M series GMT is at RSC again for the 2nd time. It has spent more time there than on my wrist in the 3 short months that I have owned it

My current car cost more than 10 times the price of the average Rolex and it came with several defects that had to be repaired and/or replaced in the first couple months. That's just the way it is. As I said in a similar thread, the crown on my crown is almost upside down. I could not care less, as long as it does the job. The thought of not buying a Rolex because the crown is not perfectly upright seems very strange to me. But I guess we all have our little pet peeves...
Regards,

[MortgageGuy]

Originally Posted by Dr.Brian

My current car cost more than 10 times the price of the average Rolex and it came with several defects that had to be repaired and/or replaced in the first couple months. That's just the way it is. As I said in a similar thread, the crown on my crown is almost upside down. I could not care less, as long as it does the job. The thought of not buying a Rolex because the crown is not perfectly upright seems very strange to me. But I guess we all have our little pet peeves...
Regards,

My car as well 10x's the cost of a Rolex and not a problem. Dont get me wrong, I love Rolex timepieces I just find it amazing that so many here sit and justify why a company can do a poor job putting together a $10k watch... Get in touch with reality folks, this is NOT a good thing! Then the excuse that this is due to high manufacturing rates I dont get it. Frankly I dont care if they made 7 GMT's or 7 trillion, the freakin fit and finish should be second to none and it is not. Again, I love Rolex but they have some serious quality control issues currently, you can justify it all you want but its time to open your eyes and realize Rolex has Bentley prices and a Hyundai finish... My 2 cents...

[deserted]

Originally Posted by MortgageGuy

My car as well 10x's the cost of a Rolex and not a problem. Dont get me wrong, I love Rolex timepieces I just find it amazing that so many here sit and justify why a company can do a poor job putting together a $10k watch... Get in touch with reality folks, this is NOT a good thing! Then the excuse that this is due to high manufacturing rates I dont get it. Frankly I dont care if they made 7 GMT's or 7 trillion, the freakin fit and finish should be second to none and it is not. Again, I love Rolex but they have some serious quality control issues currently, you can justify it all you want but its time to open your eyes and realize Rolex has Bentley prices and a Hyundai finish... My 2 cents...

No company is perfect by a longshot, just keep getting it serviced , it's like having a car......some cars require a lot more maintenance than others

Don't get frustrated my friend in time it will be all right.

[MortgageGuy]

I agree, it will all turn out in the end. I am no longer upset I am having issues, I just think we all need to realize Rolex has some issues here and if we just sit back and say it is ok, nothing will get changed and they will just assume people are ok with it... Whatcha think? We need to let Rolex know this drop in quality is not acceptable but how do we do this? I love Rolex I just want the bar raised on their quality standards again.

[deserted]

Originally Posted by MortgageGuy

I agree, it will all turn out in the end. I am no longer upset I am having issues, I just think we all need to realize Rolex has some issues here and if we just sit back and say it is ok, nothing will get changed and they will just assume people are ok with it... Whatcha think? We need to let Rolex know this drop in quality is not acceptable but how do we do this? I love Rolex I just want the bar raised on their quality standards again.

when i first purchased my ss daytona it was running 30 minutes ahead of time , but if you want to discuss this futher PM me.

[ingoodtime]

The corwn on my pre owned TT sub is almost upside down when properly secured. I don't care as long as it does its job properly. the watch is about 4 seconds slow over 48 hours as set by my computer clock. I think that is pretty darned good! COSC BABY!

[lwrm23]

I agree with MortgageGuy.. My GMTIIC is also at RSC for the second time in 8 months... Its ridiculous and Rolex certainly has some quality control issues.. If it’s not the way it should be the second time I get it back, there will be problems.

[Singslinger]

A friend paid about US$22,000 for an FP Journe and less than 3 months later, the power reserve indicator stopped working. The watch had to be sent back to the factory and it took around 6 months before it was returned.

Another friend's Breguet Type XX chrono broke down one month after purchase, brand new from an AD. It took more than a month before it was fixed and returned to him.

Yet another friend recently bought a Panerai Submersible, brand new from an AD, which he used for diving. In less than six months, he found the bezel could rotate in both directions so he took it to the service centre. They told him Panerai's guarantee only covers the watch's interior and not the exterior, so he had to pay for the bezel to be fixed (around US$50). (The service centre staff were amazed that he actually used the watch to dive; one said "most of our customers never use our watches for diving'').

Two months later, it started rotating in both directions again, so he gave up, paid to fix the bezel (again) and sold the watch.

My Omega Speedmaster Professional started gaining about 2 minutes a day. After sending it to the service centre twice, the fault persisted. I sold it.

Just like the cases mentioned in this thread involving Rolex, none of the above faults is acceptable, IMO. Each watch cost a lot of money and everyone affected had a right to expect top-class quality with no faults.

But it's also clear to me that quality lapses do occur and are not unique to Rolex - they can be found in many other major brands. That's the nature of the beast that is the mechanical watch, I suppose.

[springer]

Originally Posted by Singslinger

A friend paid about US$22,000 for an FP Journe and less than 3 months later, the power reserve indicator stopped working. The watch had to be sent back to the factory and it took around 6 months before it was returned.

Another friend's Breguet Type XX chrono broke down one month after purchase, brand new from an AD. It took more than a month before it was fixed and returned to him.

Yet another friend recently bought a Panerai Submersible, brand new from an AD, which he used for diving. In less than six months, he found the bezel could rotate in both directions so he took it to the service centre. They told him Panerai's guarantee only covers the watch's interior and not the exterior, so he had to pay for the bezel to be fixed (around US$50). (The service centre staff were amazed that he actually used the watch to dive; one said "most of our customers never use our watches for diving'').

Two months later, it started rotating in both directions again, so he gave up, paid to fix the bezel (again) and sold the watch.

My Omega Speedmaster Professional started gaining about 2 minutes a day. After sending it to the service centre twice, the fault persisted. I sold it.

Just like the cases mentioned in this thread involving Rolex, none of the above faults is acceptable, IMO. Each watch cost a lot of money and everyone affected had a right to expect top-class quality with no faults.

But it's also clear to me that quality lapses do occur and are not unique to Rolex - they can be found in many other major brands. That's the nature of the beast that is the mechanical watch, I suppose.

Great post.

[sevykor]

#8 very unlikely.