i changed my acrylic crystal at RSC - costs me $91

[taxico]

just a quick post:

i brought my 1601-8 to RSC this afternoon (sept 20th '10) for a crystal change after spending many days asking watch shops if they have one in stock.

most shops wanted $60+ and i had to wait a few days for a crystal to arrive (plus no guarantee that it's a genuine rolex part).

after intense scrutiny by that usual technician, my acrylic crystal was changed within an hour.

$60 service charge.
$31 parts.

n/b: the technician told the reception staff to write on job sheet "case and case back very badly dented and scratched" before work began... and i think he gave me the evil eye for mistreating the watch!!!

also, the gentleman at the counter was very patiently telling one customer after another, that "service starts from $730"...

yeeeeeeeeeeouch!

on the way home, i was video taped bravely using the bus lane. yeeeeeeeeeeeouch!!!

[avalanche]

Can change the acrylic crystal only? Did you specific that? Thanks.

[taxico]

yup, i walked in, told the recept staff i only wanted the crystal change. to be fair, my crystal (and the watch in general) was in VERY bad condition.

Click http://www.sg-roc.com/showthread.php?t=46973 for more details...

of course the staff quickly replied that the technician must first inspect it before that change can be done. maybe they will have to do other work prior to the acrylic change. i consented to that inspection.

the recept staff noted that the watch was scratched, and i said "yes, it's badly scratched and dented all over - just note that down, and don't worry about scratching it some more. i just want a new acrylic fitted."

the recept staff laughed and scribbled on the cardboard envelope before bringing it into the watchmaker's area.

when the technician (i was observing the whole process) that usually does verification poured the watch out of the green cardboard envelope, you can see he was NOT IMPRESSED...

he furiously noted down every physical defect with a loupe and was frowning the whole time. he looke quite irritated that the recept staff did not note down some dents and beckoned for him to come in after using the magnification camera to note down serial no/model no/other minute defects. he also timed the watch on the vibrograph.

so the recept staff came in, got told off (i think) for not noting down the general lousy condition of the watch case. he went back out and printed a sheet that said "case badly dented" then asked for me to come over.

he said that they will try to mount a new acrylic on the watch but as the bezel was thin (i don't believe this, as the bezel looked just fine to me - i've handled more than my fair share of gold 1601s), it may not hold the acrylic properly.

i said "fine" and told them to just proceed and do their best, but not touch anything else. my dial had minor transparent spotting, and at the edge of the dial (around 1 o'clock) there was some very slight staining.

2-3 tritium "balls" had dropped off and was running loose inside the dial (i cleared this up a few weeks ago at an ah pek watch shop), and those still stuck on the dial are all of differing colors. the movement had not been serviced for at least 18 years.

in spite of all that, i was not advised to change the dial or service the movement. the non-rolex strap was kept on the whole time.

if i had to change my uncommon O T SWISS T O dial, i would have declined and walked away.

if they made me service a movement that was still working fine (if it ain't broke, don't fix it) and keeping time to +1s a week, i would also have walked away.

[lkm88]

good info

[Watcha]

Thanks for sharing. Interesting info.