Submariner bezel hard to turn

[miket-nyc]

I recently had my vintage 1983 Submariner serviced by the Rolex Service Center in Manhattan. It was returned late last month and now it works fine except for one thing -- the rotating bezel is very hard to turn and it seemed to be harder in some orientations than others.

So today I brought it back for a fix in that area, and they replaced the spring. Now at least it's evenly hard to turn but still very difficult. The technician said with use it will become easier. In other words, that, according to Rolex, is how it's supposed to be.

Is this actually true? The difficulty of turning the bezel was fine before I sent it for service, and as far as I know it hadn't been serviced in this area before. So maybe with use it will become easier, but if it takes another 39 years, I won't be around to enjoy it.

Has anybody else had this problem and what did you do about it? I'm considering trying to lubricate it in some way. Also, I've seen YouTube videos showing that popping the bezel off a Sub is fairly easy, so I could try to adjust the spring myself, if I dare. I've worked on cheaper watches, but nothing on this level.

Mike Taglieri

[OrangeSport]

It’s hard to say without trying it, but monthly aren’t that hard to turn. Just firm.

[lear60man]

Lubricating it with some silicone spray isnt going to hurt anything. My sub gets a little sticky after diving. Quick rinse under fresh water with some aggressive turning of the bezel dissolves the salt water crusty stuff.

[c17r15]

I had the bezel spring in my ‘82 16800 replaced and the experienced the same — slightly more force needed to turn the bezel.

Chalked it up to may be the old spring mechanism was a bit worn / softened.

[Paka]

Originally Posted by lear60man

Lubricating it with some silicone spray isnt going to hurt anything. My sub gets a little sticky after diving. Quick rinse under fresh water with some aggressive turning of the bezel dissolves the salt water crusty stuff.

Yes, exactly this. Should solve the problem. At least worked for me.

[Hemdog]

I used wd40 on my seiko when the bezel seized up

Worked like a charm

[Old Expat Beast]

You know you're meant to press down on that type of vintage bi-directional bezel in order to turn it, right? It's a safety feature to stop accidental turning.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

You know you're meant to press down on that type of vintage bi-directional bezel in order to turn it, right? It's a safety feature to stop accidental turning.

Exactly .

[911991]

I just had my 1985 serviced and notice the same the bezel much harder to rotate (never experienced this on the other cleanings), but it has started to free-up a bit and rotates easier under water

[1William]

Give it some time and use. Should be fine. Great watch.

[Heater3000]

This happened to me on my 16610. So i popped off the bezel and found the bushing had jammed up tight inside the bezel. Once I separated it and re-assembled it worked smooth and easy as it should. There are many videos on you tube on how to remove the bezel. It was very easy for me