Help Pepsi Bezel

[Colorado1492]

Woke up this morning put on the watch and look weekday I saw. I never dropped or banged it. Do i send to rolex to fix??

[Cassian739]

To confirm, the bezel is cracked at the "4" marker? If yes, off to RSC it goes.

[Colorado1492]

Yes it is ugh ! I never banged it, dropped it. Been extremely careful.

[EndlessEight]

Originally Posted by Colorado1492

Yes it is ugh ! I never banged it, dropped it. Been extremely careful.

Well we know this obviously isn’t true. It didn’t crack itself.

[JasoninDenver]

Originally Posted by Colorado1492

Woke up this morning put on the watch and look weekday I saw. I never dropped or banged it. Do i send to rolex to fix??

Take it to Williams (an authorized service center) on S. Broadway. They will probably be much faster than Dallas.

[Pepperjack]

Originally Posted by JasoninDenver

Take it to Williams (an authorized service center) on S. Broadway. They will probably be much faster than Dallas.

I've broken some Blue/Red inserts in my shop. They seem to be more fragile than the other ceramic inserts. When a GMT insert needs to be replaced, we now have to send the insert back to Rolex for them to ship us a new one. The last couple of ceramic inserts I've ordered have taken some time to arrive. It might be as fast or faster for an RSC to do the swap.

[Bazil]

Ouch …

[saxo3]

Originally Posted by Colorado1492

Yes it is ugh ! I never banged it, dropped it. Been extremely careful.

Ok, but how did it crack?
What about thermal stress (large temperature difference in a short time)?

[omar-rye]

Originally Posted by EndlessEight

Well we know this obviously isn’t true. It didn’t crack itself.

It can definitely crack without being hit, possibly due to fitment issues, manufacturing defects, weak spots, etc. Someone can correct me if I’m wrong, but ceramics can expand and contract, which could also be a factor.

[Colorado1492]

I have no idea I woke up this morning and saw it. Been in the box for the past 2 weeks. Been rocking my olive president. Weather I'm colorado has been cold then warm. I can't just find a bezel and have a local Independent watch guy replace?

[Cassian739]

Originally Posted by Colorado1492

I have no idea I woke up this morning and saw it. Been in the box for the past 2 weeks. Been rocking my olive president. Weather I'm colorado has been cold then warm. I can't just find a bezel and have a local Independent watch guy replace?

If you find a legitimate source for BLRO Bezels, many TRF members will want that contact info :). If it were me, I would go directly to an RSC.

[brucethemanlee]

I would only do RSC

[brandrea]

Weird situation. I hope you get it sorted.

I’ve owned a BLRO since the 2018 release and I wear it regularly without much thought as to the bezel being any more fragile than other ceramics.

[geoach]

that's what can happen when you go from having a tool watch to pretty jewelry watch

[travisb]

RSC is the only way to go.

[Manu74]

Your local AD can order and replace your bezel, not a difficult job.

[1William]

Unfortunate. Send it to the RSC and get it sorted.

[Phil8352]

If the Crown really does 86 the Pepsi GMT due to bezel issues, it would stand to reason that the RSCs around the world would have a finite supply of replacement bezels. If I were an owner of a modern Pepsi, I’d be baby’ing it. There may come a day when a Pepsi goes in for a service due to a cracked bezel and gets returned to the owner as a Coke. Only half-joking here.

[EagleBear]

Sorry to hear that also take a closer look at the insert it looks like it’s not only cracked at the 4 it’s also cracked through the 1 at the 18? Can you take a closer look and show us the 18?

[Ravager135]

These sorts of threads get me weirded out. I have a BLRO and have never had an issue with it, but it seems like every week we are getting new threads about issues, the fragility of the ceramic, the lower production volume (which may just be a rumor). I just have a hard time believing Rolex would really put something out that was so problematic.

I am interested to hear how Rolex solves this issue (if it truly exists) long term for current owners. If the BLRO is discontinued, will Rolex replace them in GMT-Master IIs that are brought in for servicing or after damage? Will Rolex be able to correct this with a more robust ceramic insert in the future?

[Ravager135]

Originally Posted by EagleBear

Sorry to hear that also take a closer look at the insert it looks like it’s not only cracked at the 4 it’s also cracked through the 1 at the 18? Can you take a closer look and show us the 18?

I see what you're seeing.

[Ravager135]

Originally Posted by Phil8352

If the Crown really does 86 the Pepsi GMT due to bezel issues, it would stand to reason that the RSCs around the world would have a finite supply of replacement bezels. If I were an owner of a modern Pepsi, I’d be baby’ing it. There may come a day when a Pepsi goes in for a service due to a cracked bezel and gets returned to the owner as a Coke. Only half-joking here.

That's not entirely unrealistic IF the rumors are true. If these bezels are problematic long term I could see Rolex offering whatever modern alternative they have even if it means changing the configuration. Which brings me back to the points I made above, I am left wondering just how widespread this issue is. The BLRO has been out for some time in one iteration or another. It's only recently I've begun hearing about all of these problems.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Ravager135

That's not entirely unrealistic IF the rumors are true. If these bezels are problematic long term I could see Rolex offering whatever modern alternative they have even if it means changing the configuration. Which brings me back to the points I made above, I am left wondering just how widespread this issue is. The BLRO has been out for some time in one iteration or another. It's only recently I've begun hearing about all of these problems.

Maybe they’d go back to aluminum

[Gearjockey]

Originally Posted by Ravager135

These sorts of threads get me weirded out. I have a BLRO and have never had an issue with it, but it seems like every week we are getting new threads about issues, the fragility of the ceramic, the lower production volume (which may just be a rumor). I just have a hard time believing Rolex would really put something out that was so problematic.

YouTube is rife with videos showing refinishers (polishers) who are unwilling to remove the BLRO bezel because it is so fragile and don’t want to risk cracking while extracting the bezel. It’s not a rumor at all.

WRT Rolex producing something so problematic well, this is exhibit B.
The jury is still out for exhibit A. Waiting to see how that is resolved.

[Chiboy]

Wow, that's a bummer. I guess it's just the date window magnification, but it looks like the rectangular window isn't "square" and that the meteorite dial is deformed.

[Dan Pierce]

Originally Posted by brandrea

Maybe they’d go back to aluminum

Back to the future!
dP

[gnuyork]

Originally Posted by geoach

that's what can happen when you go from having a tool watch to pretty jewelry watch

Boom!

[wgdaytona]

Been wearing mine since later 2020, no issues yet. Godspeed. If yours is still under warranty, let the RSC deal with it. If not, I would still go RSC in case there is another hidden issue, and to guarantee the source of the new replacement bezel. Ie: read the threads on UV light and Pepsi bezels.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Bazil

Ouch …

Yes ouch indeed and going to be expensive to replace not a fan of these ceramic inserts give me the aluminium ones far cheaper if ever needed to be replaced.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Dan Pierce

Back to the future!
dP

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