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Old 17 November 2008, 11:07 AM   #1
Rolex_07
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How to clean a Rolex bracelet/band

Hey everyone. My bracelet is starting to get a little bit dirty. What is the best way to safely clean it?

Would cleaning it 1x per week be conidered too much?
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Old 17 November 2008, 11:10 AM   #2
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Hey everyone. My bracelet is starting to get a little bit dirty. What is the best way to safely clean it?

Would cleaning it 1x per week be conidered too much?
Warm water, a little liquid detergent (shampoo will do) and an old toothbrush.
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Old 17 November 2008, 11:11 AM   #3
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Warm water, a little liquid detergent (shampoo will do) and an old toothbrush.
Soft bristled toothbrush.
I wash it about every other weeks or so since I rotate watches.
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Old 17 November 2008, 11:15 AM   #4
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Soft bristled toothbrush.
I wash it about every other weeks or so since I rotate watches.
Thanks; I just came out of the kitchen to add that!
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Old 17 November 2008, 11:26 AM   #5
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DON'T USE A TOOTHBRUSH!!!

I have had Rolex's since 1982 AND NEVER CLEANED WITH A TOOTHBRUSH!

It's not like your working in the mines or digging ditches!!!

I only use a mild jewelery cleaner and then rinse in warm water ....not HOT or COLD WARM......here is my 1992 Rolex that has never seen a brush....and pat and whipe dry with a chamois cloth.

I have heard people esp with white or yelowgold NEW Rolex'x ask why they are seeing marks on the shiney part of there case and bracelet....A TOOTHBRUSH WILL SCRATCH GOLD!!!

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Old 17 November 2008, 11:29 AM   #6
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I use a soft bristled tooth brush and it has not caused any issues on my TT Sub bracelet. I usually make 100% certain that the crown is screwed in properly, the rinse it with some warm water, I use a little shampoo then brush both the inside and outside of the bracelet, case and face. I rinse it, then dry it with a soft towel. It works like a charm and keeps the watches looking great !
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Old 17 November 2008, 01:14 PM   #7
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I have heard of some ppl using ultrasonic cleaners for their bracelets every so often so as to remove any grime, etc that regular soap & water washings can't quite reach. This also helps to prevent "stretch" to the bracelet that can occur over time.
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Old 17 November 2008, 01:56 PM   #8
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I agree...i would never use a toothbrush even if its soft bristle it will leave a thin line scratch to it..you might not notice it but it will leave one trust me..just warm water and a polishing cloth will be ok...
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Old 17 November 2008, 02:17 PM   #9
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Guys, stop with the toothbrush scratching gold or any metal nonsense.

The plastic fibers in the toothbrush are softer on the moh's scale of hardness than any metal and you cannot scratch something with an item that is softer than the metal being rubbed.

Saying it scratches even when you are using it while it is wet with a mild detergent which will act as an additional lubricant is BS.

Sorry, but I had to call you out on this one, its nonsense.
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Old 17 November 2008, 02:51 PM   #10
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I use eyeglass cleaner and it works great. Just use a soft cloth afterwards.
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Old 17 November 2008, 02:56 PM   #11
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Get a bowl and drop about a dime size of dishwashing soup in it with warm water. Then place your watch inside and let it sit for about 10 minutes.(Make sure the crown is screwed down) then just rinse the watch with warm water put in a shirt and let it sit for another 5 minutes. The watch should dry oitself off and just pad down the bezel and spot where might still be water. Don't apply force thinking your going to get a better shine. Since all your doing is probablky adding swirl marks on the metal and the shiny parts. As for the shirt look for something that ridiculously soft and use the inside part of it .
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Old 17 November 2008, 03:17 PM   #12
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Hmmm... If a soft bristled tooth brush will scratch it, then I guess I'm thrashing mine pretty badly wearing it everyday. TT DJ with polished gold center links.
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Old 17 November 2008, 03:20 PM   #13
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What about using a baby toothbrush? A toothbrush made for infants has the softest bristles.
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Old 17 November 2008, 03:21 PM   #14
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That is one fantastic looking watch!


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Old 17 November 2008, 03:23 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by Rolex_07 View Post
Hey everyone. My bracelet is starting to get a little bit dirty. What is the best way to safely clean it?
This is the recommended method:

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Old 17 November 2008, 03:36 PM   #16
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Guys, stop with the toothbrush scratching gold or any metal nonsense.

The plastic fibers in the toothbrush are softer on the moh's scale of hardness than any metal and you cannot scratch something with an item that is softer than the metal being rubbed.

Saying it scratches even when you are using it while it is wet with a mild detergent which will act as an additional lubricant is BS.

Sorry, but I had to call you out on this one, its nonsense.
I'm afraid you may be wrong on this. The Mohs scale is relative...so, yes, the toothbrush bristles will be affected more by the metal than the metal will be by the bristles. HOWEVER...your eye can resolve fine scratches that are mere microns deep on a highly polished surface. Using the tootbrush may well cause fine scratches, especially on softer materials such as gold. It doesn't take much to cause multiple micron-level scratches that are visible to the naked eye.

Here's another example: should ordinary glass be able to scratch sapphire? On the Mohs scale, glass is around 5.5 while sapphire is around 9. By your example, sapphire should not be scratched. However, using a glass point WILL scratch sapphire, as a local Omega dealer will attest after challenging me to rub the crystal on the edge of his glass case. Using only light pressure, I made a slight scratch in his Seamaster's sapphire. Not huge, but it was noticeable. Very high point stress concentrations can be created by pressing through a glass point. This WILL scratch sapphire! Granted, the glass probably came out much worse in this, but the point is that the sapphire DID scratch.

Something else to think about: if diamond is the hardest substance known to humankind, how are we able to cut diamond? By using diamond, of course! Both pieces of diamond have hardness of 10 Moh and will thus wear each other equally. Again, the point is that the Mohs scale is relative. It cannot be said that something will NEVER scratch something else...only how MUCH will it scratch!

Back to cleaning gold: use a mild soap (NO DETERGENT!!! This causes seals to shrink - why risk that??) and warm water and you will preserve the high polish!

SNB
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Old 17 November 2008, 10:08 PM   #17
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Although is doesn't say anything about it in my Rolex manual, my Omega manual says AVOID DETERGENTS.
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Old 17 November 2008, 11:29 PM   #18
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the whole thing puzzles me? I have read countless pages on 904L steel used for the case and bracelet on my sports models....yet people suggest that a toothbrush will scratch it???
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Old 18 November 2008, 12:16 AM   #19
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Originally Posted by CanuckRolex View Post
Guys, stop with the toothbrush scratching gold or any metal nonsense.

The plastic fibers in the toothbrush are softer on the moh's scale of hardness than any metal and you cannot scratch something with an item that is softer than the metal being rubbed.

Saying it scratches even when you are using it while it is wet with a mild detergent which will act as an additional lubricant is BS.

Sorry, but I had to call you out on this one, its nonsense.
Have to agree with you 100% there, some of the guys with there Rolex watches today they sure get a very pampered life.Just plain old soap and water is all thats need keep watches looking good.Scratches etc from wearing is quite a normal part of its life.But fear not those guys at the RSC at service time, will brush and polish and return your watch almost as good as the first day you bought it.

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Back to cleaning gold: use a mild soap (NO DETERGENT!!! This causes seals to shrink - why risk that??) and warm water and you will preserve the high polish!

SNB
How could detergent make the seals shrink,how could the detergent find its way to the seals,if the crown is screwed in the watch should be water and detergent proof.And if you rinse watch fresh water,all the very small residue of any detergent left will be gone.
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Old 18 November 2008, 12:44 AM   #20
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Ultrasonic Cleaner

I use a ultrasonic cleaner with plain water and a special rack for watches and just watch the dirt swim out, if any.
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Old 18 November 2008, 12:49 AM   #21
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I'm afraid you may be wrong on this. The Mohs scale is relative...so, yes, the toothbrush bristles will be affected more by the metal than the metal will be by the bristles. HOWEVER...your eye can resolve fine scratches that are mere microns deep on a highly polished surface. Using the tootbrush may well cause fine scratches, especially on softer materials such as gold. It doesn't take much to cause multiple micron-level scratches that are visible to the naked eye.

Here's another example: should ordinary glass be able to scratch sapphire? On the Mohs scale, glass is around 5.5 while sapphire is around 9. By your example, sapphire should not be scratched. However, using a glass point WILL scratch sapphire, as a local Omega dealer will attest after challenging me to rub the crystal on the edge of his glass case. Using only light pressure, I made a slight scratch in his Seamaster's sapphire. Not huge, but it was noticeable. Very high point stress concentrations can be created by pressing through a glass point. This WILL scratch sapphire! Granted, the glass probably came out much worse in this, but the point is that the sapphire DID scratch.

Something else to think about: if diamond is the hardest substance known to humankind, how are we able to cut diamond? By using diamond, of course! Both pieces of diamond have hardness of 10 Moh and will thus wear each other equally. Again, the point is that the Mohs scale is relative. It cannot be said that something will NEVER scratch something else...only how MUCH will it scratch!

Back to cleaning gold: use a mild soap (NO DETERGENT!!! This causes seals to shrink - why risk that??) and warm water and you will preserve the high polish!

SNB
Sorry, but you are wrong here. As I am a practicing geologist, having a good knowledge of the moh's scale of hardness is key for mineral identification.

There is in no way a possibility that a soft plastic toothbrush bristle will scratch a gold or any metal surface. Now somthing that gets dislodged during the cleaning (a grain of sand) may get lodged in the bristles and therefore cause the scratches but even then only if you use excessive force, but saying the bristles scratch is nothing less than pure ignorant nonsense and the spreading of uninformed baseless opinion.

If that was the case, some of our synthetic sweaters that are essentially made from a thin form of threaded plastic should scratch the heck out of our watches in no time which again, is nonsense.

Using a soft tothbrush is perfectly safe, using a mild detergent is safe and using water and detergent and a soft toothbrush used very lightly is perfectly safe. You are 100 times as likely to scrath a watch dry buffing it with a polishing cloth than even using water, soap and a TB.

Anyone waving the red flag saying that this is unsafe for a watch with the durability and materials used in a Rolex is being overly neurotic and making up stories to back up pure ignorance and the lack of basic knowledge of the fundementals of metals.
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Old 18 November 2008, 02:26 AM   #22
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I place mine in some soda water and give it a bubble bath.

BTW, Is this moh?
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Old 18 November 2008, 03:00 AM   #23
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Originally Posted by CanuckRolex View Post
Guys, stop with the toothbrush scratching gold or any metal nonsense.

The plastic fibers in the toothbrush are softer on the moh's scale of hardness than any metal and you cannot scratch something with an item that is softer than the metal being rubbed.

Saying it scratches even when you are using it while it is wet with a mild detergent which will act as an additional lubricant is BS.

Sorry, but I had to call you out on this one, its nonsense.
AGREED!! I've been using soft toothbrushes for over 28 years on all the Rolex watches I've ever owned, SS as well as TT. NEVER had a problem!!
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Old 18 November 2008, 03:25 AM   #24
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I use a toothbrush and ivory liquid hand soap with no ill effects.
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Old 18 November 2008, 05:56 AM   #25
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Warm water and washing-up liquid!
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Old 18 November 2008, 07:11 AM   #26
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I just wear it in the shower. When I'm done, I remove it from my wrist and wipe it over with the same towel I dry off with. So far so good. Keeps it really looking shiny and new. I don't use bar soap, so I think that helps with not getting soap build up as some might retort.
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Old 18 November 2008, 07:20 AM   #27
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Sorry, but you are wrong here. As I am a practicing geologist, having a good knowledge of the moh's scale of hardness is key for mineral identification.

There is in no way a possibility that a soft plastic toothbrush bristle will scratch a gold or any metal surface. Now somthing that gets dislodged during the cleaning (a grain of sand) may get lodged in the bristles and therefore cause the scratches but even then only if you use excessive force, but saying the bristles scratch is nothing less than pure ignorant nonsense and the spreading of uninformed baseless opinion.

If that was the case, some of our synthetic sweaters that are essentially made from a thin form of threaded plastic should scratch the heck out of our watches in no time which again, is nonsense.

Using a soft tothbrush is perfectly safe, using a mild detergent is safe and using water and detergent and a soft toothbrush used very lightly is perfectly safe. You are 100 times as likely to scrath a watch dry buffing it with a polishing cloth than even using water, soap and a TB.

Anyone waving the red flag saying that this is unsafe for a watch with the durability and materials used in a Rolex is being overly neurotic and making up stories to back up pure ignorance and the lack of basic knowledge of the fundementals of metals.
Excellent; a practicing geologist! Then please answer me this with your wisdom: how can glass (5.5 Mohs) scratch sapphire (9 Mohs)? How can we cut (or even scratch) diamonds if two pieces of diamond both have hardness 10 Mohs? The answer is that it is all relative. Mohs scale is relative in that a harder material will experience less wear than a softer one. Remember, there is NO material that is 'scratchproof'.

Also, if you are confident about your knowledge of Mohs scale, let's see a picture of a sapphire crystal being rubbed with garnet paper (pyrope, for e.g., that has a hardness 7.5 Mohs). By your assertion, there should be no scratching whatsoever. However, I bet you will see scratches.

I would also suggest not making allegations that I have bolded in your quote.

SNB
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Old 18 November 2008, 07:48 AM   #28
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Scrubbing Bubbles works great on the bracelet, the watch head gets a work over with a toothbrush and whatever soap is in the dispenser.
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Old 18 November 2008, 07:53 AM   #29
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Originally Posted by Rolex_07 View Post
Hey everyone. My bracelet is starting to get a little bit dirty. What is the best way to safely clean it?

Would cleaning it 1x per week be conidered too much?
Is your bracelet S/S or does it have polished center links made of Gold or S/S.

Any gritty substance such as a sand particle embedded on a toothbrush can cause swirl marks on the polished portion. I use Johnsons head to toe baby wash with an extra soft toothbrush once a week, then I dry it using a Googalie cloth, and when superficial scratches appear I have my AD polish the center links yearly.

On the satin or brushed finish Stainless steel I use a green Scotchbrite pad, works great on keeping the brushed finish looking new.
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Old 18 November 2008, 07:54 AM   #30
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Scrubbing Bubbles works great on the bracelet, the watch head gets a work over with a toothbrush and whatever soap is in the dispenser.
~Scott
Those bubbles would look great with your rubber ducky in the bath-tub, Scott!!
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