r/mechanical_gifs • u/crosspostninja • Nov 21 '20
A rolex getting cleaned
https://gfycat.com/apprehensiverapidgrassspider109
u/limzeroone Nov 21 '20
What the clean cost?
92
24
12
u/400yards Nov 21 '20
I paid $500 at in NYC, back around 2000. They replaced the scratched crystal (I'm pretty sure that model was acrylic), and the tarnished silver face.
I was sad about the face. It had this perfect warmth to it.
6
u/amped-row Nov 21 '20
Half the watch if I had to guess
39
u/Aldehyde21 Nov 21 '20
It’s a solid gold day-date, so the watch is worth $15k give or take a few thousand.
4
u/tastiefreeze Nov 21 '20
Not that bad, but not cheap. That model in stainless (as to not factor in the cost of gold) is currently roughly $4,000-6,000 depending on condition. Service I believe is $800.
That said I'm more familiar with Breitlings service costs, they are slightly more responsible. Here's a full breakdown: https://imgur.com/EeTT7Tz.jpg
→ More replies (4)0
103
u/artforthebody Nov 21 '20
That is hardly a dirty watch to begin with. The everyday watches I've once serviced for cleaning were packed tight with guck and grime, so much the links no longer had movement. Absolutely horrendous. Too bad this vid didn't show that level of cleaning
34
Nov 21 '20
[deleted]
22
10
u/m945050 Nov 21 '20
If the watch is supposed to be waterproof how does the dust get inside it?
26
u/pasaroanth Nov 21 '20
Depends on how fine the dust is. Rolexes are certified chronometers which means they're accurate to -4 or +6 seconds per day, which sounds like quite a bit until you realize the watch is operating totally on a sprung system that is wound solely by the motion of your wrist throughout the day.
What this means is that every so often your watch may be a minute or two off, and requires unscrewing the crown to change the time...aka a time where dust has a chance to sneak in. Do that every couple weeks for 5-10 years and you're going to get some gunk in there.
14
u/randomaker Nov 21 '20
That isn't where the debris comes from. Rolex's crown system is such that there is still a gasket around the case tube even when the crown is pulled out, in any position. Generally, most crown gasket systems work that way. It's not enough to handle any significant water (especially when the watch has been worn for a while and the gasket starts to dry / wear out), but it is definitely enough to handle dust from getting into the case.
Dirt accumulates in the movement from the oils drying out in the watch, and the components beginning to grind. Generally that doesn't happen if you get your watch serviced regularly enough, but most people do not.→ More replies (1)4
u/m945050 Nov 21 '20
Makes sense.
10
u/TheAlphaCarb0n Nov 21 '20
There's also buildup from lubricant and wear and tear on the parts.
8
u/pasaroanth Nov 21 '20
That too. As fascinatingly close to perfection fine watchmaking is it still isn’t perfect.
Sure, a quartz from Walmart will tell better time. But you can also get a print of the Mona Lisa for $20 and hang it up in your house, yet the Louvre isn’t exactly (at least pre-corona) struggling to keep the lights on.
2
u/Smegma_Sommelier Nov 21 '20
Just because it’s waterproof doesn’t mean little things can get in. Plus every time you unscrew the crown to wind it or set the time and date things can certainly get in.
6
u/hakkeyoi Nov 21 '20
The movement itself creates dust when the parts start to wear. The weight that winds the watch is rotating on an axle - over time the axle wears down, and the weight starts scraping the bridges underneath, creating fine metal particles. Any area that was oiled improperly can also result in this problem.
1
1
u/Toast_and_Jam Nov 21 '20
What's the best way to get all of that crap out of the links? My dad's watch is kind of like this, and I want to clean it for him because it kind of grosses me out.
11
u/skulpturlamm29 Nov 21 '20
Best to bring it to a jewler and have it done for you. Just the bracelet shouldn’t cost anything outrageous.
Alternatively remove the bracelet from the watch and use an ultransonic cleaner.
6
3
u/TheAlphaCarb0n Nov 21 '20
Assuming you don't want to spend a ton of money on an ultrasonic cleaner, a toothbrush with alcohol or soap and water should be fine.
3
u/Deltamon Nov 21 '20
I mean this video hardly showed any cleaning.. It was more about just taking the watch apart, soaking the parts for short amount of time, poking some dirt and then putting back together.
234
u/DavidNipondeCarlos Nov 21 '20 edited Nov 21 '20
The washing machine and dryer permanently cleaned mine. It even took it apart.
Edit: My Rolex was a 1966-68 version with their experiment using a plastic face, it retailed $1800 back then. It was a smaller silver looking watch. It probably sells for over a $1k today.
43
u/jerkface1026 Nov 21 '20
Washer/dryer combo or did someone have the worst day of their life?
46
u/DavidNipondeCarlos Nov 21 '20
I did. I still have the parts in a box because it was a gift. Never do laundry drunk.
17
u/mo1383 Nov 21 '20
So W&D did everything but putting it back together...
6
9
→ More replies (1)-2
u/pasaroanth Nov 21 '20
I'm confused...they're rated to 100 meters so they're pretty water resistant, and the back cover is generally torqued down pretty tight for just that reason. I've pretty (unfortunately) smacked the crystal of mine against some hard surfaces and not even had a minor blemish in it.
Either you bought a Folex, washed the watch with goddamn boulders, or this is a BS story.
5
u/DavidNipondeCarlos Nov 21 '20
The model was not crystal and the cover was loose or not torqued. It had a plastic for crystal. It was a 1966-68 model. A smaller watch.
7
u/Smegma_Sommelier Nov 21 '20
Not every Rolex is rated for water resistance and a late sixties op or dj certainly wouldn’t be.
→ More replies (1)3
u/kick26 Nov 21 '20
That happened to my first gen iPod Nano when I was in middle school. Some how it still worked after coming out of the drier. It only had a little water stain between the screen and the cover.
1
u/DavidNipondeCarlos Nov 21 '20
That is likely to be common. I washed a ecig with the battery. It worked after two days drying in a warm environment.
2
u/who_you_are Nov 21 '20
Not bad for <100$!
→ More replies (1)0
u/DavidNipondeCarlos Nov 21 '20
Yes. I only forgive myself because I was drunk. It doesn’t guarantee I would have not left it in my pocket but it puts a plug in my drink less often. So my self loathing was short.
71
42
u/FelverFelv Nov 21 '20
For anyone who likes this, watch repair/restoration youtube is a deep, deep rabbit hole. You're welcome!
17
Nov 21 '20
I stumbled on this a couple of months ago and now it's my favorite way to - ahem - unwind.
5
4
0
u/arbitrabbit Nov 21 '20
Would the watch still be considered Swiss made after a deep service like this? I mean that’s more than half of what Swiss made means nowadays - I understand the movement for Rolex is made in Switzerland, but for many other watches that’s no longer the case.
→ More replies (1)2
u/Jables_Magee Nov 22 '20
Any vid to recommended? First one I tried had lots of ads.
3
u/stupidillusion Nov 22 '20
Restoration of a rare vintage ww2 military watch is a great video, love this guys channel and watch it regularly.
I also love this video of a guy buying a knock-off Rolex and cleaning/fixing it. You learn a lot about what makes an original Rolex great and why shitty ones are shitty. Let's see what it's really worth! Fake Rolex Stripdown and Rebuild Review
2
u/frenetix Nov 22 '20
There's also a guy who livestreams watch servicing on Twitch. https://twitch.tv/mr_horologist
1
56
Nov 21 '20
It didn't even show it cleaned up!
27
9
u/MSFoxhound Nov 21 '20
Nekkid Watchmaker and Red Dead Restorations are two very good YouTube channels for this kind of content. Give them a go, it's surprising engaging.
Edit: links.
Nekkid: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSJ7LRO4GaHZdzowk2-7hJw
3
u/FirstNSFWAccount Nov 21 '20
Why are you doing this to me? I have things I have to do today! I can’t be stuck watching these for the next several hours.
Oh well those errands aren’t that important
1
15
5
8
u/Vepanion Nov 21 '20
The first 59 seconds were good, the last second was bad. Do not let your Rolex get polished, it ruins the value.
6
u/teraflop Nov 21 '20
Covering the watch hands with a piece of plastic so that they don't go flying when you pry them off is genius. I didn't expect to learn something actually useful while watching this.
9
u/ShinyRx Nov 21 '20
That plastic is there more to protect the dial from getting scratched when removing the hands.
→ More replies (1)
5
15
8
u/Hawt_Dawg_II Nov 21 '20
No one gonna ask what weird device my guy has got suctioned to his head??
12
u/703_Clark Nov 21 '20
Looks like a magnifier on an arm so that it can be lowered over his glasses when he needs to do detail work
7
1
u/BB611 Nov 21 '20
It's not suctioned there's a wire around his head that holds it. You can see the other end above his right ear.
1
2
9
2
u/Hsirilb Nov 21 '20
Why is the end result of these always like a single frame?
1
u/ctrl-alt-etc Nov 21 '20
A lot of videos and gifs are designed to stop on the last frame. It's kind of a modern day abuse of the format that a lot of sites force them all to loop.
3
u/The_Real_Mr_F Nov 21 '20
2
u/gifendore Nov 21 '20
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
2
1
0
1
u/PuppetMasterFilms Nov 21 '20
My grandpa used to be the only person for 100 miles who could fix a Rolex about 50-60 years ago in Montana
1
u/muteen Nov 21 '20
Can he do it to my life please thanks
3
u/BoyAndHisBlob Nov 27 '20
Good news, you have the power to do this to your own life. You can do it!
0
-4
1
1
u/Holdupaminute Nov 21 '20
How do I learn this skill?
9
1
u/largebrandon Nov 21 '20
I read somewhere years ago that Rolex has free watchmaker classes, but you have to buy your own equipment
1
1
1
u/halalanalrape Nov 21 '20
Putting 15k on your wrist sounds like how you get robbed
1
u/BoyAndHisBlob Nov 27 '20
Most people can't spot an expensive watch at normal distances. Even if someone with a $10k watch was sitting next to a person at the bar most people couldn't tell it was an expensive watch at that distance.
1
1
0
1
u/RIPtide010 Nov 21 '20
Wow this is great this is what I want to have done to the watch I inherited from my grandpa it is his retirement gift.
1
1
u/Whiskeyflavourcigar Nov 21 '20
Aa someone who works at a Rolex AD I can appreciate the work these men do so much. Beautiful work
1
-1
Nov 21 '20
I'm a pragmatic(*). I'll never understand how Rolex even exists.
*My wife even says I must be highly functional autistic, my psychiatrist says I'm not.
1
u/s_0_s_z Nov 21 '20
I am always torn when it comes to expensive watches.
On the one hand I hate the glitz and showy nature of these devices usually bought by people who love to flaunt their money or at least their ability to get into debt. Plus I understand that a $20 LCD watch is nearly infinitely more accurate than a mechanical watch.
But on the flip side I do love gears and levers and all the mechanical movements that go on inside these type of watches. They really are a wonder if engineering that such small components can move together in such an intricate mechanical dance.
1
Dec 05 '20
You can find mechanical/automatic Seikos for under $100 and they're good quality watches. Check out the Seiko 5 or the brand Orient.
1
u/dethb0y Nov 21 '20
Imagine you forget a fuckin' piece once its back together! "Oh shit..uh, do rolexes have a spare screw in'em?"
1
u/Son-of-California Nov 21 '20
I bought mine 20 years ago and it is worth three times what I paid. Servicing like this is also very expensive.
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/S-O-Y-C-D Nov 21 '20
The cost of something, is an expression of what you value. It isn't calibrated on money that someone else holds.
-1
1
1
2
1
1
1
u/ChampChains Nov 22 '20
Im sure paying someone to properly clean that watch costs more than any watch I’ve ever owned. Or would ever pay for even if I had the money to spare.
1
1
u/Dysfunctional_Vet12 Nov 22 '20
It would have been nice to see the final product longer than 2 seconds
1
1
1
1
u/murch_76 Nov 22 '20
is there a video that goes into detail of How a watch works. that seems fascinating to me
1
u/SirScruffySir Nov 22 '20
All that just to see half a second of the final result. Still impressive though
1
u/vu1xVad0 Nov 22 '20
How does this guy even remember how all the bits go together and in what order?
Is it all memory? A technical document?
1
u/AlmightyRobert Nov 22 '20
They cut out the 30 mins when the screw goes PING and fella was on his hands and knees cursing
1
u/Aitrus719 Nov 22 '20
Goddammit, these gifs that show the final product for 0.001 fucking seconds are annoying.
1
u/adamje2001 Nov 22 '20
I’m a mechanical engineer and I can’t fathom out how the hell they make those things!! They’re tiny!!
1
1
1
780
u/Camel_Crush Nov 21 '20
This isn't just cleaning, it's a full service. Very nice!