Took my Submariner to Rolex Beverly Hills - what a surprise!

[SDRider]

Yeah, this is yet another reason I'll stick to buying new from an AD.

[seabreeze60]

Originally Posted by michaelodonnell123

But he did buy from the seller first...

' I thought was pure and purchased from a good jeweler in Beverly Hills'...

and he still got screwed.

Correct. The BV jeweler told me the Submariner was recently serviced and I paid full aftermarket price.

[seabreeze60]

Originally Posted by beshannon

Not sure what "good jeweler" even means.

Do they sell Rolex watches? How many have they sold? What is their reputation for dealing in Rolex watches? Rolex trained watchmaker? Rolex appraisals?

Sorry for the OP but this is NOT buying the seller.

Yes. They sell a lot of vintage and newer Rolex watches. However, this watch was not vintage and they are not an AD.

[Sunny Arizona]

I was just in Ed Marshals in Scottsdale. They had a Coke Bezel on a 1675. Guy argued with me that it was "original". They wanted 8,500 for it.

[seabreeze60]

Originally Posted by bardm

You should take the watch back to the seller and demand your money back

I found out 20 months after I bought the watch. I took the watch back since they are in walking distance of Rolex and he offered me 70% of what I paid as a trade-in. I did not outline all the issues.

[seabreeze60]

Originally Posted by faz

Thanks for sharing your experience and sorry to hear about the bad dealing. Some jewelers can be pretty shady, even in nicer shopping areas and high end brands.

In fact, when I was looking for a used TT DJ for my brother in law, one of the nice salespersons in the local AD gave me a good advice, that it was better to look for and buy from an original owner or just a regular seller who is NOT in the business, than it is to buy from a jewelry shop. Reason being, regular owners are not into swapping parts or repairing watches with aftermarket parts for profit, but jewelers familiar with watch repair can easily do that and then use their shop reputation to pass those watches to unsuspecting buyers.

BINGO. Follow this advice.

[seabreeze60]

Originally Posted by Wesley Crusher

Interesting. I've visited that store and spoke with a couple of guys that work there. I did not get the impression that they would try to pull a fast one one anybody. I'd like to believe that they just didn't know.

I purchased two Rolex watches from this dealer. I thought the same thing. Seem like good guys. But when it comes to Rolex and jewelers....buyer beware.

[seabreeze60]

Originally Posted by superdog

Curious.

When you sold it, did you disclose the issues to the new buyer?


Edit: Just saw that you sold it to Bobs. Still curious though, did you disclose or did he find the issues on his own?

He found the issues on his own. Bob is very shrewd.

[rushca01]

You guys are freaking me out a bit with all the parts swapping...

[seabreeze60]

Originally Posted by rushca01

You guys are freaking me out a bit with all the parts swapping...

Be freaked!! I purchased another Rolex from a well known jeweler in Long Beach. He assured me it was all original. I posted pictures of the watch on this forum. I was informed it was aftermarket.

I went back to the jeweler and said I was not happy and implied that I might take action. He got nervous, took the Rolex back and purchased a new DJ for me at his cost.

The Rolex aftermarket is unregulated and filled with pirates.

[Al1969]

Originally Posted by seabreeze60

Be freaked!! I purchased another Rolex from a well known jeweler in Long Beach. He assured me it was all original. I posted pictures of the watch on this forum. I was informed it was aftermarket.

I went back to the jeweler and said I was not happy and implied that I might take action. He got nervous, took the Rolex back and purchased a new DJ for me at his cost.

The Rolex aftermarket is unregulated and filled with pirates.

Thanks for sharing your experience with all this.
Guess it's either buy brand new from AD and if we choose to go the preowned route have your watch looked at by RSC ASAP, to ensure its 100% genuine.

[jackjack305]

Sucks to hear you went through that.

[jscw]

Appreciate for the advice and sorry for your loss.

[Racerdj]

Sorry to hear! At least you know how to avoid this situation in the future.

[HogwldFLTR]

That really does stink; congratulations on the DJ however!!!!

[seabreeze60]

Originally Posted by Al1969

Thanks for sharing your experience with all this.
Guess it's either buy brand new from AD and if we choose to go the preowned route have your watch looked at by RSC ASAP, to ensure its 100% genuine.

Yes. That is what I did with the new DJ. Even though it had all the tags, markers, etc. I took to a registered appraiser and had it checked out with an official appraisal.

[imperio]

Originally Posted by faz

Thanks for sharing your experience and sorry to hear about the bad dealing. Some jewelers can be pretty shady, even in nicer shopping areas and high end brands.

In fact, when I was looking for a used TT DJ for my brother in law, one of the nice salespersons in the local AD gave me a good advice, that it was better to look for and buy from an original owner or just a regular seller who is NOT in the business, than it is to buy from a jewelry shop. Reason being, regular owners are not into swapping parts or repairing watches with aftermarket parts for profit, but jewelers familiar with watch repair can easily do that and then use their shop reputation to pass those watches to unsuspecting buyers.

Based on this, we should avoid "trusted sellers"...?

[rushca01]

Originally Posted by imperio

Based on this, we should avoid "trusted sellers"...?

I would say that they buy and sell so many watches that they are not checking each one for 100% authenticity. I don't think it would be done on purpose however. Best to deal with those that offer a 3 day inspection period. That alone tells me they are putting their money where their mouth is.

[faz]

Originally Posted by imperio

Based on this, we should avoid "trusted sellers"...?

'Trusted' I think should mean exactly what it says.

Originally Posted by rushca01

I would say that they buy and sell so many watches that they are not checking each one for 100% authenticity. I don't think it would be done on purpose however. Best to deal with those that offer a 3 day inspection period. That alone tells me they are putting their money where their mouth is.

I have thought about this. When buying from trusted sellers, whether they have each watch that they receive as trade-in opened or not, fully inspected, etc., is up in the air. One would hope they do. I think if there are any issues with a trusted seller on a forum, even if it arises a while after the transaction, that they will hopefully go out of their way to take care of it. They have a lot to lose if the 'trusted' part of their title is lost.

[seabreeze60]

Here are the two watches that had aftermarket parts. The Date had an aftermarket dial and crystal. The Submariner had an aftermarket crystal and bezel.

[fskywalker]

Sorry to hear that!

[Old Expat Beast]

"Also Rolex found a blemish on the face of the Rolex along with several other wear issues."

So these formed the bulk of the extra $2,000 I imagine. RSC finds things that often really don't need fixing, in my experience. Very minor dial blemishes included. What would the price have been with just the new bezel (insert?) and crystal? None of the other stuff would be mandatory.

[seabreeze60]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

"Also Rolex found a blemish on the face of the Rolex along with several other wear issues."

So these formed the bulk of the extra $2,000 I imagine. RSC finds things that often really don't need fixing, in my experience. Very minor dial blemishes included. What would the price have been with just the new bezel (insert?) and crystal? None of the other stuff would be mandatory.

Rolex would not replace the parts without a full service. Also the Crown was warn so they insisted on replacing that. The total was $2,416.32. With a new dial, $2973.49. The watch would have been like new with a 25 year old body.

Here are the numbers:
1. Full service - $700
2. Balance on parts - $421
3. New Oyster SS bracelet required because of wear - $1,148
4. Optional black dial - $510
5. Balance CA taxes

[Investr]

Originally Posted by michaelodonnell123

Which seller here is 'authorized' by Rolex to sell their used watches?

Ill answer that- ZERO. Trusted, a few. This is why I buy NEW from ADs

[No SUBctitute]

Originally Posted by seabreeze60

Rolex would not replace the parts without a full service. Also the Crown was warn so they insisted on replacing that. The total was $2,416.32. With a new dial, $2973.49. The watch would have been like new with a 25 year old body.

Here are the numbers:
1. Full service - $700
2. Balance on parts - $421
3. New Oyster SS bracelet required because of wear - $1,148
4. Optional black dial - $510
5. Balance CA taxes

Bet Hills claimed that you would be forced to buy a new bracelet because of wear? Is this a real thing that Rolex does?

Better to just have one of the bracelet gurus refresh the current bracelet.

Also, why on earth would you not go back to Second Time Around and demand they make it right. I think selling to Bobs at a loss was the wrong and costly move.

[seabreeze60]

Originally Posted by No SUBctitute

Bet Hills claimed that you would be forced to buy a new bracelet because of wear? Is this a real thing that Rolex does?

Better to just have one of the bracelet gurus refresh the current bracelet.

Also, why on earth would you not go back to Second Time Around and demand they make it right. I think selling to Bobs at a loss was the wrong and costly move.

It was my decision to enhance the appearance of the Submariner. The old bracelet was worn and the Rolex stamping on clasp needed replacing. Repairing the links for $300 was not my goal. I wanted a new Rolex bracelet to enhance the appearance of my Submarine and $1000 was worth it.

The meeting with Rolex was based on replacing the bracelet which they agreed needed to be replaced. Once the watch was taken into the service department they said that updating the Rolex was a package deal...all or none.

I did take the Submariner back to the original jeweler who was in walking distance and pointed out the issue with the bracelet as a starter. They were clear that I purchased the watch as shown 20 months ago. There was no need to debate the Rolex view that the watch needed an overhaul. They offered me $3800. Bob's offered $4025.

It was time to take the loss and move on. Risk management

[amh]

If I owned some kind of franken I'd stick to the little (trusted) repair shops in my area. They can source Rolex parts if necessary but won't give you any grief about things that are out of spec.

These are expensive watches and one of the ways Rolex maintains their aura is via strict quality control. They also price their spare parts to astronomical levels which encourages people to keep the original configuration intact (eg. $2k for a SS bracelet.)

[seabreeze60]

Originally Posted by amh

If I owned some kind of franken I'd stick to the little (trusted) repair shops in my area. They can source Rolex parts if necessary but won't give you any grief about things that are out of spec.

These are expensive watches and one of the ways Rolex maintains their aura is via strict quality control. They also price their spare parts to astronomical levels which encourages people to keep the original configuration intact (eg. $2k for a SS bracelet.)

Do you know how to find a 'trusted' repair shop? This has come up a number of times in these posts.

We have several Rolex repair shops in Long Beach that were at one time a Rolex AD. They have a number of designations like ASA, JBT, ISA, AGS and GIA. But I have not found 'trusted'.

[gwalker]

My mother was gifted a TT Dj the day my sister was born. When we purchased my DSSD in 08 her bracelet was very stretched after 22 years of daily wear. She priced a new one and it was almost 4x what my dad paid for the watch. Rolex keeps part prices high to keep them off the market. Long story short Michael Young made it look new for a LOT LESS.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[seabreeze60]

Originally Posted by gwalker

My mother was gifted a TT Dj the day my sister was born. When we purchased my DSSD in 08 her bracelet was very stretched after 22 years of daily wear. She priced a new one and it was almost 4x what my dad paid for the watch. Rolex keeps part prices high to keep them off the market. Long story short Michael Young made it look new for a LOT LESS.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Excellent point! You new you had an original that was part of your family history. I would have done the same. Michael Young does fantastic work

In my case, having gone thru two bad experiences with used Rolex watches with aftermarket issues, it was worth it to me to pay the premium ($700) to hear Rolex say the watch was all original.

I ran an engineering company and to us everything had to be to specification. We ran our company like Rolex. If someone even took apart our product the warranty was void. Our products were all stainless and very expensive.