Damage from wearing Rolex that obviously needs service?

[the dark knight]

So I got in a vintage early 80s Datejust 16000, 3035 movement. The thing is absurdly clean for its age, literally looks like a watch that's a couple of months old.

However, it's running horribly. I put it on the timegrapher and it's losing anywhere from 30-60 s/d and amp is 150-200 range.

Am I right that lubricants are probably dried up to have the watch running this badly?

I'm guessing the original owner didn't wear it much and then just put it away for decades, or the watch had a more recent service (maybe within last 10 years?) and then was put away.

It's so nice and clean that I want to wear it ASAP. Any harm from me wearing it a couple of months and then sending it in for service, or am I risking serious damage to the movement if I don't service it now?

[SearChart]

Depends on how long you'll wear it, a couple of months can definitely do damage.
Aside from everything running dry and thus the pivots of the gears get scratched, but also the rotor axle is dry so will wear so much faster now.
When the axle is worn enough it starts to scrape the bridges and damage those (expensive parts).

[the dark knight]

Originally Posted by SearChart

Depends on how long you'll wear it, a couple of months can definitely do damage.
Aside from everything running dry and thus the pivots of the gears get scratched, but also the rotor axle is dry so will wear so much faster now.
When the axle is worn enough it starts to scrape the bridges and damage those (expensive parts).

Ooof, thanks Bas. I will look to get it serviced ASAP.

[MERMOZ]

i own about 25 watches the likes of rolex (actually 10 rolex). i barely wear them. concerning maintenance, my motto is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". i had a 60 year old omega forgotten in a box in the house. put it on the timegrapher and was showing like a baby. the only thing that can happen to a watch is to loose its accuracy if oil gets old. so, very simple: ANY watch, time it. if it keeps good time testing a few occasions throughout weeks, then, the watch is very ok. if it does not keep time (say within 10 sec/day for a higher brand like rolex), then make sure and eventually service it. other than that, it is a waste (huge) of money. just my 2c...

[Dirt]

Originally Posted by MERMOZ

i own about 25 watches the likes of rolex (actually 10 rolex). i barely wear them. concerning maintenance, my motto is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". i had a 60 year old omega forgotten in a box in the house. put it on the timegrapher and was showing like a baby. the only thing that can happen to a watch is to loose its accuracy if oil gets old. so, very simple: ANY watch, time it. if it keeps good time testing a few occasions throughout weeks, then, the watch is very ok. if it does not keep time (say within 10 sec/day for a higher brand like rolex), then make sure and eventually service it. other than that, it is a waste (huge) of money. just my 2c...

It's not as simple as you think.
Bas has a recent thread on the forum which is a good show and tell of what can be going on inside and how the bill can mount up.

I recently had a daily worn watch serviced that required some extra remedial work and the only indication it wasn't quite right was when giving it a little manual wind and it wasn't quite as buttery smooth as it had been since its last service about 5.5 years prior.
Otherwise it always ran with precision and was accurate to within a couple of seconds per day when I sent it in.
As Peter has pointed out on a number of occassions on the forum, the most pronounced flaw of the previous generation movements is the Rotor axle and it's design. I can confirm that it has been a small issue for me on a number of occassions and turned out to be a bigger more costly issue for me once(most recently).
Fortunately it was caught by chance this time and in a timely manner otherwise I would have done more damage to the movement over time that is all very chargeable.

I Imagine your experience will be different given your wearing habits