Reply With QuoteGreat Story. I hope Rolex do the service free of charge.
Originally Posted by jools
Great Story. I hope Rolex do the service free of charge.
Not working? Must have forgotten to screw down the crown.
Would be nice gesture/PR if Rolex could service gratis.
Now that's what I call patina!
Nice story. Wasn't there a similar story of a Seiko that had been under water for about ten years? Think the Seiko was still in full working order though.
Heart warming story and pleased for the old chap, have to say though it's a magnificent sludgedust dial, whoops SC patter kicking in...
I hope the 2 lume plot can be put back into its bed, I would imagine its going to come back restored with service dial, hands etc.....
I wonder if they will go for the repair when they see the quote.....
Think it's had the hands done once already, but you would like to think Rolex would oblige the fella for a refurb in the circumstances.
It looks like that after only 18 months? Second story this week about how SD's aren't all they are cracked to be waterproofness wise and this one can't be dismissed by the fanboys as fantasy!
Agreed, I hope they give them the backstory and existing media attention.....
Hang on... "It only works if you move it." Doesn't that just sound like it's wound down? Has anyone tried winding it?
A Sea Dweller jolly well ought to survive dwelling in the sea for a while.
Nobody questioning the quality of the bracelet clasp yet?
great story. i guess the fact it was engraved made it much more likely to be reunited with its owner.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
I vaguely remember reading a story about a fruit picker in Cyprus or some other Mediterranean country who took off his Seiko (I don't recall the model) and hung it on a branch while picking fruit and forgot where he put it...
It was found some years later covered in moss and debris and after a quick clean up was merrily ticking away even after being exposed to the elements for a long time...Admittedly not the same as seawater but impressive nonetheless...
I think this is still the record: Watch returned after 20 years underwater
No, I think the story was about a fruit picker who exchanged an apple for a Seiko. They both agreed the exchange wasn’t fairly balanced, so shared the apple for lunch.
"....driver’s license number engraved on the back."
smart move
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Nice ending for the old boy.
A superb good news story for this time of year. Great to hear that it happened to a good old Suffolk boy too.
Exactly what I thought, just give the bugger a wind and it'll be fine.
Given one of the lume dots has fallen off and the state of the dial, I doubt the watch will wind
I wonder why the damage has occurred though. I'd like to think it was down to a loose crown rather than sea water damaging the seals and thus penetrating the oyster case
The crown is clearly screwed in, from the picture. However, the watch has probably been bashed around in the river a bit.
Yes, in the picture it is
Doesn't mean it was for the last 18 months
Just read the story. Found after dredging. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeyAqMP3mzs might answer why it sustained some damage!
Let's not forget it was dredged up. either dipper, or sled, it's going to take a pounding.
mike
I think the fact that it has been through a dredger may have something to do with it's current state?
edit - just noticed I am about the third person to say this...
Last edited by josep; 19th December 2015 at 14:32.
Quite possibly but then again quite possibly not. If the crystal and crown were intact and unmolested which they appear to be then I would still expect it to have maintained water integrity and this watch clearly hasn't. I have personally experienced a Datejust suffering water ingress with the crown finger tight, not long after a service so I have a fairly jaded view of Rolex water fastness!
This watch belongs to a student of mine. His grandad was a pilot in WW2. On 2 ocassions his plane was not successfully launched off the carrier and so was run over by an aircraft carrier at full steam.
Watch (and pilot) survived both and is now a daily wearer in the City.
You mean once where a chap jumps in the sea with his crown unscrewed; and this example of where the watch sits at the bottom of a river for 18 months (where it seems to me the elements have simply eaten the bezel away). God knows what's in the water. Not being a "fanboy" of any particular make, you've used "story" and "fantasy" in the same paragraph. What I don't see yet, is any substance.
Two questions if I may:
Where do Rolex guarantee waterproofness whilst the crown is pulled out? I can't see any info in my submariner paperwork;
What makes you sure the watch has suffered water damage? If it has, would it be reasonable to expect the watch to be in a less-than-perfect state when it's pulled out of the river 18 months later? Probably.
Thanks.
1. They guarantee precisely nothing about watertightness when the crown's left unscrewed. What I'd like to know is how anyone would get the opposite impression.
2. That's what water damage looks like.
Annual dredging at that - it may well have taken a pounding this time last year without being brought to the surface.
Indeed so - I also find it easy, thanks to my special "brand-filtering" spectacles, to dismiss all the evidence of perfectly functioning Rolexes operating happily for decades in favour of one every 18 months which looks like the crown wasn't screwed down properly when the chap dropped it in the water.
...but what do I know; I don't even like watches!
Great stuff id like to see that working again!
This kind of story always reminds me that Tony Groom, a published author but previously an RN clearnace diver, discussed the fact that he lost a milsub windsurfing in Dorset.
By my reckoning of current price, it must almost be worth mounting an expedition to get it by now, he was quite specific where he lost it.
Dave
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx-7wgMAjF0
This guy has a nice collection of mil-subs and also has one found in Dorset with lived under the sand for years. Maybe Tony's?
No surprises there....
Typical fanboy comment....
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Maybe it is, I wonder.
You might expect it but that doesn’t mean it would and furthermore it would depend on a number of factors. This watch was purchased 25 years ago (and it was pre-owned then) so if it had never been serviced - or not serviced for a number of years - your expectation of maintaining water integrity after a period of 18 months submersion is somewhat unrealistic.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
Thanks for posting, enjoyed reading that.
I would expect everyone has read every page on the fascinating little site below. If not I reccomend starting at the top and working down. A must read for any Rolex, dive or military watch fan.
Some cool stories on this page..
http://diving-watch.org/DIVING-WATCH-STORIES
Yep all possible. And maybe that bit of the river is 4001ft deep.
It’s got nothing to do with the depth but everything to do with the life expectancy of O-rings.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
I am well aware of that but my attempt at humour was to gently suggest that neither of us gain a fat lot by second guessing either the pre immersion state of the seals nor the circumstances of its retrieval. Fact is the watch ended up water damaged. While it would be nice to think that Rolex would offer a goodwill service as suggested earlier, I should think that the fact that it let water in, regardless of circumstances would be a little embarrassing and not something they would wish to advertise. If it were any other model than a SD or perhaps Sub then maybe but as it stands I should think they will steer clear.
Still don't see your point padders, if the o-rings are knackered, and it goes through a dredger and leaks, why on earth would Rolex be embarrassed?
as an aside, I have personal experience with Rolex subsea, I know what they do.
mike
I’m quite confident the seals failed.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
What a load of bollocks!!
Weak and pathetic attempt to point finger at Rolex!
I'm really happy for the owner.
The evidence speaks for itself, a Rolex failed.
Never mind the fact it was over 25 years old, ignore the bit about it getting battered about at the bottom of a river for a year and a half, we won't even talk about the thing having gone through a dredger, maybe even twice.
A Rolex failed, that's the important bit.
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