Reply With QuoteIt will be full disassembly and service of movement and they will probably recommend a new dial and handset. Sounds like £1k plus
My friend recently went for a swim wearing his Rolex Deep Sea, with the crown unscrewed. Water obviously got in and the bag of rice trick hasn't removed the inner moisture.
He's going to send to Rolex and is very worried about the expense.
Has anyone here had a similar experience and what work/expense he might expect?
Thanks
Lee
It will be full disassembly and service of movement and they will probably recommend a new dial and handset. Sounds like £1k plus
Thats gonna be pricey expect it to be above a grand i would say.
Depends on the water. If it was in the sea then there may be replacement parts needed in the movement, i would expect a 4 figure bill tbh
He went for a swim or a dive? I took my PRS-82 swimming in Lake Michigan once with the crown accidentally left in its unscrewed-down position (there were a few beers involved the night before ;). But I never got deeper than shoulder deep water so the watch never got deeper than 5-6 feet, 2 meters max. I was horrified of course and immediately upon my return from this trip I took it to my watchmaker for an examination. He gave it a clean bill of health and said that the design of the stem/crown had saved it. If a $600 dive watch can do this, I have to think that a Rolex would be even better.Originally Posted by Lammylee
Myron
Thank you for your replies! It was in salt water, which made me think it would be an expensive repair. I hadn't thought of replacement dial, hands etc.! Not a very merry Christmas for him! I might let Rolex break the news!
It was a swim in shallow salt water Myron. I'm wearing my PRS-82 and have just checked the crown after typing this ;-)
I did this in the local pool in one of my Vostoks. Couple of days on the radiator with the crown unscrewed, it was good as new. Worth a try?
I will pass this on, thanks!
I may have misunderstood recent Rolex marketing, but I was under the impression that the Triplock was water resistant to at least 100m (and perhaps, even, up to 500 bar) in the unscrewed crown position. Perhaps, however, I've just spent too much time on Rolex Forums...
No doubt it is in a test tank. Unfortunately, you have a side load on a loose crown (such as from the wearer's wrist) and it's forced off-center, you can easily form a gap between the stem and the O-ring that will allow water to enter.
That was my understanding too, with the extra protection provided by the (two?) seals positioned further down on the shaft as well as one where the crown meets the case - however, I'm sure there are others on here who can provide a fuller explanation/correct any misunderstandings I may have ..... there have certainly been other stories on here of folk swimming with both twin- and trip-lock crowns unscrew without ill effect ..... maybe luck?
Very sorry to hear of the damage anyway .... very upsetting .....
O-rings.
But yes. I'm sure they can fail.
Does Rolex actually "guarantee" water resistance on an unscrewed Triplock(TM) crown?
Of course there's more than one O-ring in the assembly.
Unfortunately, when water get in throug an unsecured crown, it's not failure per se, but rather operator error. Therefore, Rolex doesn't cover water damage from the crown being left open. I'd get it to a watchmaker — any watchmaker — sooner rather than later to get as much moisture out as possible. Even the ball-of-duct-tape trick done immediately wouldn't be a bad idea in this case.
I had a caseback on a Sinn come loose during a ski weekend once resulting in a badly-fogged crystal. Leaving the caseback off and putting the watch under a dust cover in a warm place with some dessicant material saved it from having any permanent damage, though the oil was displaced and it needed a service.
No chance with salt water!
Think about it, the salt will be left behind as solid when it dries out, and that'll cause all manner of havoc.
No easy way to dress this up, it'll be expensive. Hopefully it will teach him a lesson, he'll never do it again. NEVER leave a watch crown unscrewed, it's trouble waiting to happen.
What he needs to do is get it to a repairer ASAP. The sooner this watch is completely stripped the better. if it is left festering it'll only make matters worse. Get it to a repairer and explain what's gone on as a matter of priority. Bill Rice at Beverley is the guy I`d recommend, he's Rolex accredited.
Paul
Last edited by walkerwek1958; 18th December 2015 at 17:45.
I'll update when I next see him. He's gutted as he buys his watches on interest free credit so doesn't have a spare couple of grand lying around.
Hope it's not too long from now; rust never sleeps.
Seems silly that one of the most over engineered watches made would fail because the crown was unscrewed .You would think in todays world the could improve this area and reduce the risk ? you can get push fit plumbing fitting that take some abuse and dont leak
It's why I usually swim with a lower value watch.
No they don’t. A claim within the warranty period for water ingress will not be accepted if the crown had been left unscrewed.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
I was only wondering last week how people manager to leave the crown unscrewed after altering the time / date......... On Monday I was in the process of altering my DSSD Blue and took a work call, got distracted and realised later on that day that it was unscrewed. Thankfully I was nowhere near water. Easily done.....I now realise.
Hope it isn't as bad or expensive as most of us fear for your friend.
Chris
Have you had the back off to inspect the movement?
F.T.F.A.
500 bar? That would be 7250psi.
Or in other terms 5000m
I'm going to call bullshit on this. Photos or it didn't happen. There's not just the oring you can see when you unscrew the crown that's sealing them stem.
I believe they are rated to 3.900m, presumably with the crown screwed down. I had to Google that mind you, I don't keep up to date with the specification of the fashion brands.
Ouch, double ouch, no, triple ouch. So he can't really afford his watch, goes swimming with it without screwing the crown in (how does that even happen?) and will probably be left with a bill he can't pay? I'd advise him to buy a Seiko 😉.
Thank you.
- - - Updated - - -
I know. That's what I'm complaining about. Why do people continue to peddle such nonsense?
I am also in the "I don't [quite] believe it!" camp. A swim should not ingress such a watch.
Gray
(Sharp intake of breath and a wince here)
There's essentially no risk if you operate, test and maintain the watch properly. I've been exposing one Rolex or another to water nearly every single day for years without incident; that's exactly what they're designed to do.
It's why I usually swim with a lower value watch.
In fact, the only mishaps I've had with watches have occurred when they've been off the wrist. I'm far more concerned about drops than I am about water ingress. I just returned from island-hopping in the Andaman Sea, and the Explorer II I took didn't leave my wrist for any activity — including diving.
Last edited by Belligero; 18th December 2015 at 20:17.
I've seen that the watch exists ( pre-alleged immersion) and can't see why he would make it up.
Deep Sea Sea Dweller. There's a clue there somewhere.
Shocking, thousands of pounds for probably the most famous divers watch that you have to be careful not to get wet?
May be it was a fake.
That's both highly amusing and also quite a good possible explanation.
Are you sure the watch is genuine?
Are you sure water has penetrated the seals?
Gray
He said it was genuine and that he purchased new from an AD. It looked right to my eyes, although I know high end fakes can be very good. He stated the crystal became fogged after immersion from swimming with the crown unwound and has sent to Rolex.I haven't asked for evidence of receipt/paperwork or a photograph before it was sent.
Last edited by Lammylee; 18th December 2015 at 20:56.
My view is this may be a mistruth (not you OP - the owner).
http://forums.timezone.com/index.php...=5426941&rid=0
Last edited by Chris_in_the_UK; 18th December 2015 at 21:17. Reason: typo
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
I can assure you that the local Rolex service centre gets the occasional watch that's taken on some water specifically due to the crown being unscrewed. It doesn't happen often, but it happens.
give the novice a g shock!
Typical fanboi response.
Why are people questioning a watches integrity because it took on water with the crown unscrewed? If the watch was designed to be waterproof without screwing in the crown, why have a screw in crown? It's a bit like saying the bracelet on a watch is shit because it fell off my wrist when I didn't close the clasp.
This is a very handy table showing how overall risk is not related only to probability of an event occurring but to the impact of that event too. Very many people ignore the overall significance and risk of high impact but low probability events.
I always wear my watches when I go swimming or sauna steam that includes my submariner and sea dweller and have luckily had no water ingress in any of them.
Typical hater response.
To be fair, it is water-resistant as long as the crown stays still, as the sealing doesn't really depend on whether the threads are engaged; they're just there to make sure it stays put mechanically.Why are people questioning a watches integrity because it took on water with the crown unscrewed? If the watch was designed to be waterproof without screwing in the crown, why have a screw in crown? It's a bit like saying the bracelet on a watch is shit because it fell off my wrist when I didn't close the clasp.
However, once the loose crown starts getting pushed around on the wrist, all bets are off, so the point that it's akin to blaming an unfastened bracelet definitely stands.
So long as you get it pressure tested once in a while and replace the seals before they fail, luck's got nothing to do with it. :)
If you know what Rajen's collection looks like, you would eat your words....
I'm off to the bearpit 😂
Let's see something meaningful as opposed to flicking peanuts at people?
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Concorde is one of the most over engineered planes made. Try opening the door mid flight and see what happens :)
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