Question about 3035 axle rotor

[tripreed]

I got married in December and my wife gave me a 1983 16030 Datejust as my wedding gift. It was purchased from Capetown Diamond out of Atlanta, who I took to be a reputable Rolex dealer. I wear the watch daily.

I wear my watch on a metal bracelet, which can be kind of jangly sometimes, but noticed the other day that it sounded like there was a different noise coming from the watch. I took it off the bracelet last night and confirmed the noise, and after doing some Googling, it seems to me that it is likely a worn axle rotor. The watch has still been keeping good time, though.

My question is whether this part has worn out since I started wearing the watch in December, or whether this is likely a part that was not replaced in a prior service. My watch did come with a 12 month warranty from Capetown and I plan to send it back to them for assessment/repair, but I am trying to determine beforehand whether they will cover it, or whether they will chalk it up to "normal wear and tear" and therefore not be covered. For what it's worth, the watch has not been dropped, nor has it had any significant impacts while on my wrist.

Assuming it is, indeed, the axle rotor, and it is repaired, is there any way to anticipate how long it will be until this becomes an issue again? I know that my wife is not going to be thrilled if we have to come out of pocket for a full servicing (as I have read can be the case with a worn axle rotor due to metal shavings in the case) after nine months on my wrist, especially if this happens every year or two.

Thank you.

[Tools]

The rotor axle is a shaft and jewel bushing, it wears out. The axle should last 5 or 10 years, but you never know as it relies on proper oiling.

Here is an article we did a few years back. I apologize for the photobucket images..

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthre...or+axle+repair

[77T]

Larry describes it well if the rotor axle or the jewel has failed. But we are presuming a lot.

Call them in advance of shipping it back. The conversation should be focused on a strange sound emanating from inside the case when it is rotated.

You may have correctly self-diagnosed the problem but saying more than what I mentioned above may give them the idea you’ve opened it up.

Keep us updated


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[offrdmania]

Originally Posted by tripreed

I got married in December and my wife gave me a 1983 16030 Datejust as my wedding gift. It was purchased from Capetown Diamond out of Atlanta, who I took to be a reputable Rolex dealer. I wear the watch daily.

I wear my watch on a metal bracelet, which can be kind of jangly sometimes, but noticed the other day that it sounded like there was a different noise coming from the watch. I took it off the bracelet last night and confirmed the noise, and after doing some Googling, it seems to me that it is likely a worn axle rotor. The watch has still been keeping good time, though.

My question is whether this part has worn out since I started wearing the watch in December, or whether this is likely a part that was not replaced in a prior service. My watch did come with a 12 month warranty from Capetown and I plan to send it back to them for assessment/repair, but I am trying to determine beforehand whether they will cover it, or whether they will chalk it up to "normal wear and tear" and therefore not be covered. For what it's worth, the watch has not been dropped, nor has it had any significant impacts while on my wrist.

Assuming it is, indeed, the axle rotor, and it is repaired, is there any way to anticipate how long it will be until this becomes an issue again? I know that my wife is not going to be thrilled if we have to come out of pocket for a full servicing (as I have read can be the case with a worn axle rotor due to metal shavings in the case) after nine months on my wrist, especially if this happens every year or two.

Thank you.

Was there any mention of the watch being serviced before it was offered for sale, or was it just inspected? A lot of retailers just scope watches that they get in and dont service all of them unless they are out of spec or have an obvious underlying issue that effects the timing. It may just be that it needs a service.

[tripreed]

Originally Posted by Tools

The rotor axle is a shaft and jewel bushing, it wears out. The axle should last 5 or 10 years, but you never know as it relies on proper oiling.

Here is an article we did a few years back. I apologize for the photobucket images..

Thank you for this. I did actually come across this thread last night and found it very informative.

[tripreed]

Originally Posted by 77T

Larry describes it well if the rotor axle or the jewel has failed. But we are presuming a lot.

Call them in advance of shipping it back. The conversation should be focused on a strange sound emanating from inside the case when it is rotated.

You may have correctly self-diagnosed the problem but saying more than what I mentioned above may give them the idea you’ve opened it up.

Keep us updated


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I do plan on calling them to discuss it, but wanted to wait for feedback here before doing so (and I'm glad that I did). That is a good tip about not mentioning what I think that it might be. And, you're right, it is still a guess at this point without opening up the case.

[tripreed]

Originally Posted by offrdmania

Was there any mention of the watch being serviced before it was offered for sale, or was it just inspected? A lot of retailers just scope watches that they get in and dont service all of them unless they are out of spec or have an obvious underlying issue that effects the timing. It may just be that it needs a service.

This is a good question about being serviced prior to being sold. I did a lot of reading on their website before purchase and felt that they were vague about this (as seem to be a lot of other retailers, including Crown & Caliber). As a result, I do not believe that it was serviced, more likely just inspected, and did understand that prior to purchase.