Certification at RSC - will they tell u what need to be serviced

[Dream]

Hi,
I am looking to buy a preowned rolex.
When I send the watch for certification at RSC, apart from telling me whether the watch is authentic, will they tell me what servicings / parts needed to be replaced?

By reading the forum, I understand servicing or repair can be expensive.

Thanks for any guidance.
Cheers.

[seiko.citizen]

yes, they will also tell you if any parts need changing.

depending on watch, expect a service to be in the region of $700+

[taxico]

Hi,
I am looking to buy a preowned rolex.
When I send the watch for certification at RSC, apart from telling me whether the watch is authentic, will they tell me what servicings / parts needed to be replaced?

By reading the forum, I understand servicing or repair can be expensive.

don't always take their word for it and apply some common sense. if it's a new'ish watch and looks to be in good condition, it probably doesn't need much work...

if it looks like it's been to hell and back, and the insides grind and moan when adjusted/shaken... even if it's new, you could reconsider. but i usually leave them alone until something goes wrong.

RSC is a business and they may make declarations that helps to improve their balance sheet.

[KuchingKu]

RSC is a business and they may make declarations that helps to improve their balance sheet.

Bingo. Afaik, they always do this.

[Dream]

Thanks for the info.
Appreciated it.
Cheers.

[dongfang richard]

I was at the RSC in january this year. The certification cost is $107 incl. GST.

They asked me to service, oil and change my chipped crystal... they quoted me about $800/-. I gladly declined them. Can get them much cheaper outside.

of coz trustable after market dealers.

[ethen3]

Just went to RSC yesterday for certification, was told to collect at end of the day cos they were very busy.Collected today. Surprise, surprise, never tell me to service anything. Just a minor crystal chipped and scratches on the bracelet. Happlily left

[seiko.citizen]

the minor chip and scratch was caused by RSC? or it was there prior to bringing into RSC?

[tintinstuff]

Recently i got a sub1680 from preown market, many gurus said the serial number does not align with the internet experts said. Was told it was franken rolex vintage. Out of dismay send this old vintage sub 1680 to Rolex for verifications. Took 2 days cos they are different from last time that verify on the spot.
Now they must check the serial number with their swiss parents and confirm that the s/n had records that tally the case and dial.

Very happy watch was authentic, nice people RSC and they advise me to only read and take reference from the internet for vintage watches not trust fully the gurus there. when ever in doubt must bring in and they will check thoroughly.

Once a Receipt is issued and verified, watch is safe as fully original. I feel it is worth paying for this $107 to have peace of mind rather than hear the rolex vintage self claimed super gurus criticises my 1680.
nothing can be more trusty than Rolex verification right?

RSC

[ethen3]

the minor chip and scratch was caused by RSC? or it was there prior to bringing into RSC?

prior to RSC. They point it out to me immediately on handing the watch over.

[taxico]

Took 2 days cos they are different from last time that verify on the spot.
Now they must check the serial number with their swiss parents and confirm that the s/n had records that tally the case and dial.

...nice people RSC and they advise me to only read and take reference from the internet for vintage watches not trust fully the gurus there. when ever in doubt must bring in and they will check thoroughly.

Once a Receipt is issued and verified, watch is safe as fully original. I feel it is worth paying for this $107 to have peace of mind rather than hear the rolex vintage self claimed super gurus criticises my 1680.

nothing can be more trusty than Rolex verification right?

you would be surprised. i brought in a vintage rolex for service and was told that they want to check with switzerland that the serial number was issued to that case. after a week, i was told they cannot touch the watch because the number did not tally with their records in geneva.

i spent the few next months chasing down various RSCs around the world as well as a whole ton of correspondence between Rolex HQ and me.

in the end, i found that it was a GOLD service replacement case (non 4.4 mil) from an actual RSC somewhere in south east asia (i'm not saying which country right now) whose watchmaker had manually stamped the case number and there was a botch up.

i believe that a case can only be matched to a serial number and IF there was a service replacement, geneva needs to be updated accordingly. otherwise, like in my situation, the RSC will simply say that this oyster case is FAKE although it looks exactly like when it came out of the factory.

in the past, some RSCs were issued with blank cases and the numbers were supposed to be stamped back manually (to tally with the original case and number which was retained by RSC) so mistakes CAN and DO happen, as i have witnessed myself.

i also believe that it is quite difficult to know if a movement (all COSC movements have serial numbers) was issued to a particular case because movements and plates can (possibly) be changed during service. further, rolex movements are COSC tested without cases.

as such, IMO, there is no way that RSC can ascertain if the dial was issued with the case. they can only tell if it is genuine or not, to the best of their ability... and their ability is only matched by their willingness to charge you for such a verification process, and of course they will tell you to bring it to them when in doubt (this is something i do not discourage).

but your claim that "once a receipt is issued... [the] watch is safe [because it is deemed] fully original..." does not cut it with me, and i would advise everyone to pay attention to their purchases and to Singapore's RSC's claims.

i do not admit that "gurus" know everything, but there has to be some semblance of truth in why doubts can exist over a watch's authenticity (in terms of correctness of parts/marks), but a particular collector would be wise to steer clear of anything that does not match the acceptable norm, albeit when it comes to rolex, nothing is really considered "norm"!

so what i'm saying is: rolex verification is a paid-for service which doesn't mean anything except that the parts they have looked at is genuine. everything else is open for interpretation.

[KuchingKu]

Fully agree with Taxico.

I brought to them years back a ND sub with a replacement dial (Swiss) to verify...they ok it....even though the dial is obviously not period correct to the watch.

[tintinstuff]

you would be surprised. i brought in a vintage rolex for service and was told that they want to check with switzerland that the serial number was issued to that case. after a week, i was told they cannot touch the watch because the number did not tally with their records in geneva.

i spent the few next months chasing down various RSCs around the world as well as a whole ton of correspondence between Rolex HQ and me.

in the end, i found that it was a GOLD service replacement case (non 4.4 mil) from an actual RSC somewhere in south east asia (i'm not saying which country right now) whose watchmaker had manually stamped the case number and there was a botch up.

i believe that a case can only be matched to a serial number and IF there was a service replacement, geneva needs to be updated accordingly. otherwise, like in my situation, the RSC will simply say that this oyster case is FAKE although it looks exactly like when it came out of the factory.

in the past, some RSCs were issued with blank cases and the numbers were supposed to be stamped back manually (to tally with the original case and number which was retained by RSC) so mistakes CAN and DO happen, as i have witnessed myself.

i also believe that it is quite difficult to know if a movement (all COSC movements have serial numbers) was issued to a particular case because movements and plates can (possibly) be changed during service. further, rolex movements are COSC tested without cases.

as such, IMO, there is no way that RSC can ascertain if the dial was issued with the case. they can only tell if it is genuine or not, to the best of their ability... and their ability is only matched by their willingness to charge you for such a verification process, and of course they will tell you to bring it to them when in doubt (this is something i do not discourage).

but your claim that "once a receipt is issued... [the] watch is safe [because it is deemed] fully original..." does not cut it with me, and i would advise everyone to pay attention to their purchases and to Singapore's RSC's claims.

i do not admit that "gurus" know everything, but there has to be some semblance of truth in why doubts can exist over a watch's authenticity (in terms of correctness of parts/marks), but a particular collector would be wise to steer clear of anything that does not match the acceptable norm, albeit when it comes to rolex, nothing is really considered "norm"!

so what i'm saying is: rolex verification is a paid-for service which doesn't mean anything except that the parts they have looked at is genuine. everything else is open for interpretation.

Yes i agree you are right some points... but i am emphasizing on Rolex authentication on vintage watches. Most buyers knows that a vintage Rolex does not come cheap nowadays, easily $10 k. Any buyer will not want to throw thousands of dollars down the drain and realised that parts are not original. Verification is a peace of mind to sleep well. is a peace of mind to know you can sell it later cause the next buyer will request for Rolex verification too.
I want to sleep well and hug my vintage rolex tonight knowing is fully original as it has been verified.
No one will want to buy even a $100 bucks watch if is non original, let alone $10,000 watch.

[tintinstuff]

Fully agree with Taxico.

I brought to them years back a ND sub with a replacement dial (Swiss) to verify...they ok it....even though the dial is obviously not period correct to the watch.

you are correct, i am not sure what is the current new system verification applys to vintage watches. Maybe it still will be the same on the dial part but as for casing and serial number is definitely more strict now.

[taxico]

Yes i agree you are right some points... but i am emphasizing on Rolex authentication on vintage watches. Most buyers knows that a vintage Rolex does not come cheap nowadays, easily $10 k. Any buyer will not want to throw thousands of dollars down the drain and realised that parts are not original. Verification is a peace of mind to sleep well.

i need to know what points i am not right so i can learn more and we can share more with others.

the problem is... rolex does not have a vintage division or even a vintage classification/recognition process.

eg, i would pay more for a matte 666 than a gloss 666. but i would pay more for a 666 with an earlier serial than a later serial.

but to rolex, as long as all parts are genuine, the receipt is issued and the watch is considered "genuine".

all parts being original: how much would you pay for a SL dial replacement on a red sub? what about an original tritium red sub?

what about a DRSD with a white dial? or a 1530 parts on a 5512? what about a white day/date disc on day-date with a champagne dial?

and at the end of the day: what difference do those things make for a new collector? and what difference does it make to RSC when they verify such watches?

this post is not meant to say that there is something wrong with your watch but just to ensure that people know RSC (especially singapore RSC) is not the end-all when it comes to verifying watches, ESPECIALLY vintage rolex watches.

RSC singapore does not care if you paid $150,000 for a 5517 or $1,500 for a 1601... they just want to charge you for a service to look at the watch, tell you about what they say and print out a receipt for you if everything looks okay.

they do not recognize mark variants for sub LVs... even less so for vintage watches. consumers made these variants up, not them.

in fact, i wonder if they will refuse to service a 5517...!

remember: rolex prefers to sell new watches.