1980 datejust

[Steve82]

New member, don’t know protocol.

~1980 datejust bought new in 1980 for around 950 i think.

Served me well until some unfortunate service was performed.

Have a local shop with certified Rolex guy and tools, but speaking to them they said if there’s a problem we’ll send it to Rolex.

Wrong crystal was installed, water inside, original face ruined. New face installed (wrong color). Now the stem wont close. Never seen moisture sine the “repair “

Question to you experts is do I have a local guy evaluate it to start, or just get Rolex to refurb. I am aware it may take more than I originally paid for purchase to make right.

Thanks

[Tools]

If you want it to be returned to a Rolex baseline, then you would likely want that to be done at Rolex. They cannot make it "original", but they can make it authentic.

Certified Rolex guy isn't really a thing, unless the shop and watchmaker can provide a true Rolex warranty. These are rare, but there are still some around.

Some independent watchmakers can do excellent work, others, not so much.

[vesnyder]

That is unfortunate! Good luck.

[jimcameron]

Send it to Rolex asap.

[Oystersteel92]

Originally Posted by Steve82

New member, don’t know protocol.

~1980 datejust bought new in 1980 for around 950 i think.

Served me well until some unfortunate service was performed.

Have a local shop with certified Rolex guy and tools, but speaking to them they said if there’s a problem we’ll send it to Rolex.

Wrong crystal was installed, water inside, original face ruined. New face installed (wrong color). Now the stem wont close. Never seen moisture sine the “repair “

Question to you experts is do I have a local guy evaluate it to start, or just get Rolex to refurb. I am aware it may take more than I originally paid for purchase to make right.

Thanks

RSC will easily be able to return the watch to you looking and performing like new, but given it's history, that may be costly. I spent $1900 rehabbing my wife's ladies OP from 1995 with a similar history. Fortunately I got that watch for a very, very good price so it was ok in the end, but my original service budget was $1000.

[Freespeach]

With respect to any independent, what you need to ensure is that they have a Rolex parts account. Rolex over the last few years has been taking parts accounts away from independents after they failed to meet Rolex standards. The independent must also use Rolex tools. Example: presure tester. There are very few independents left with parts accounts with Rolex.

I have had several 1990's watches refurbished by my independent. In one where the crystal was broken, he replaced it with a Rolex crystal. Rolex crystals now have the hologram. However, in the 90s they did not. So now if you looked closely at my watch you would see that it is genuine Rolex (hologram) but not period correct. Rolex would not allow a generic crystal without hologram to be used. So good thing my independent has a parts account, but bad he had to repair per Rolex standards and could not make period correct.

PM me if you would like his information.
Folks from all.over the world sends him watches for repair so it may take up to 6 weeks for a repair. A full overall for a man's watch is just $895. But then again,, that is about what Rolex charges.