Scratch out of the box from AD

[Khans14]

I hesitate to even post this but I am curious other people's thoughts. First and foremost, I admit some fault in this. What I am about to explain could have been prevented by me.
I was looking at a new watch at the local AD. In short, the watch was beautiful and I saw no damage to it. I looked it over very carefully. I agreed to purchase it. They took it in the back to remove a few stickers and box it up. They brought it out and I paid and left. When I got home I took the watch out of the box and photographed it for insurance and placed it back in the box. A couple days later I started wearing it and I noticed a slight scratch on the bezel. At first, I was angry at myself. I thought I must have done it. Then after a day or two I went back and looked at the insurance photo I took. When I zoomed in I could see the scratch was there.
How angry would you be about this? I can say with roughly 80% certainty that the scratch was not there when I examined the watch but I can not say that for sure. My options are limited on this. There is no way they exchange or take back the watch. In get that. I am sure they will simply not admit fault but offer to polish it, which I do not want to do.
If this were you, would you say somehting or just consider this your lesson learned for not opening the box again to look at it after it was in the back? Again, there is a chance I missed the scratch when I first picked it up, but I doubt it. The only thing I can say for 100% certain is the scratch was on the watch at the AD. Absolutely no question about it based on the photo. It was on my iphone so it clearly shows the date, time and place of the photo.
And before anyone gets too judgmental I would ask that you consider how many times you open the box one last time before you walk out of the AD and check every mm of the watch after you have already examined it. I assume most people assume that when the watch goes into the back for a few minutes for boxing that it will come out the same condition.....or maybe I am too naive.
Your thoughts? And as an aside, to make matters worse this is my first new watch that runs a bit slow. It is still within -2.0 second per day but every watch I have ever owned ran slightly fast in the beginning so that is playing with my mind. And I also want add the girl at the AD was a sweetheart and I doubt she would have seen a scratch and not told me.

[Al1969]

Originally Posted by Khans14

I hesitate to even post this but I am curious other people's thoughts. First and foremost, I admit some fault in this. What I am about to explain could have been prevented by me.
I was looking at a new watch at the local AD. In short, the watch was beautiful and I saw no damage to it. I looked it over very carefully. I agreed to purchase it. They took it in the back to remove a few stickers and box it up. They brought it out and I paid and left. When I got home I took the watch out of the box and photographed it for insurance and placed it back in the box. A couple days later I started wearing it and I noticed a slight scratch on the bezel. At first, I was angry at myself. I thought I must have done it. Then after a day or two I went back and looked at the insurance photo I took. When I zoomed in I could see the scratch was there.
How angry would you be about this? I can say with roughly 80% certainty that the scratch was not there when I examined the watch but I can not say that for sure. My options are limited on this. There is no way they exchange or take back the watch. In get that. I am sure they will simply not admit fault but offer to polish it, which I do not want to do.
If this were you, would you say somehting or just consider this your lesson learned for not opening the box again to look at it after it was in the back? Again, there is a chance I missed the scratch when I first picked it up, but I doubt it. The only thing I can say for 100% certain is the scratch was on the watch at the AD. Absolutely no question about it based on the photo. It was on my iphone so it clearly shows the date, time and place of the photo.
And before anyone gets too judgmental I would ask that you consider how many times you open the box one last time before you walk out of the AD and check every mm of the watch after you have already examined it. I assume most people assume that when the watch goes into the back for a few minutes for boxing that it will come out the same condition.....or maybe I am too naive.
Your thoughts? And as an aside, to make matters worse this is my first new watch that runs a bit slow. It is still within -2.0 second per day but every watch I have ever owned ran slightly fast in the beginning so that is playing with my mind. And I also want add the girl at the AD was a sweetheart and I doubt she would have seen a scratch and not told me.

Have you asked the AD, if they know how it happened?
Let’s see some pics of the bezel damage and congrats on your new watch.

[Khans14]

I posted these before for people's opinion on the damage but I did not detail how it happened. It is MINOR damage. I have no idea why it bothers me so much. It is probably because i am so angry with myself for not seeing it. Had I dinged it myself, I think I would be okay with it.

[DLRIDES]

i think the AD could take care of that easily

[superstarmar]

This is going to be s huge problem for AD’s and Rolex eventually!!!
Rolex requiring removal of stickers is going to cause
scratches and very unhappy customers.
When I purchased my SD4K, it was shipped to me .
Sight unseen I purchased it . Upon inspection when i
received it I noticed on the case back a few very light
swirls and was miffed cause I had to pay msrp and the
watch was compromised... not really but enough to get
me upset . I almost wanted a refund but since the watch
was discontinued I ate it and dealt with the light swirls
even though I didn’t produce them . I understand...
It Sucks !!! Rolex will eventually pay for their arrogance against
customers... One way or another...
Congrats on great watch !!!
A little cape cod as stated and your golden or silver ...

[Khans14]

Again, I cannot stress this enough...... The damage could possibly have been there when I first picked it up in the case. It is such a small scratch it is possible I missed it. I am not claiming the AD absolutely damaged it and knowingly sold it to me.
Put it this way..... if someone held a gun to your head and asked you to tell them how many paint chips are in the rear bumper of your car could you answer with 100% certainty? Sure you drive it daily and know your car but you could easily miss something minor day in and day out. You could probably answer that with near certainty of 90% but you could not answer 100%. In short, I cannot say for 100% so I am not going to trash the AD by saying they damaged it in the back or knew it was damaged before it left the store. I will say with 100% certainty that is was damaged before I left the AD.

[Fabrice M]

This is super easy to remove, you could even do it yourself. Hairline scratches like this happens very easily. Easy fix, no “deep” polish necessary.

[MUSTAQT]

This is such a tough subject... I get your frustration totally. It's always been my opinion that the watches in the showcase are essentially used, NOT new--some of them sit there for months, being handled daily by numerous salespeople and customers, etc... Quite honestly, they should be considered demos. Nonetheless, these pieces are sold as new.

Look, that scratch isn't even noticed unless you point it out. I'd let it go because, let's be frank: You don't even know with 100% certainty where it came from or when it got there.

Just make the AD order your watch from now on. That's what I do. There's no question that at least 95% of the Rolex line can be ordered by your AD, provided you offer a good-faith deposit. Who cares what they think or if they like it or not? It brings a tear to my glass eye when my salesman thinks I'm being difficult. Oh well... It's my money.

[bigfatpauli]

If it was the AD, I am willing to be that it was unintentional. It could have also happened at the factory... I'm sorry but that's not entirely impossible. My DJ has a buggered rehaute when I bought it and I didn't notice until months later. Rolex QC is still run by people and people make mistakes and miss stuff.

I don't think it is impossible that the scratch was underneath the plastic (hiding it) from the start.

[DLRIDES]

Cape Cod cloth .................. wear.

[Khans14]

Thanks all for the positive advice. I think I am going to just leave it as lesson learned. I simply refuse to believe the salesgirl saw the scratch. Far too nice and far too sincere. And hey, I missed it too so why should I hold her to standard I did not meet. And the above comment is correct, lots of people have handled this watch while it sat in the case.
I think it will be an easy fix down the road when I get it serviced and no one is going to notice it except me. The hard part is I keep thinking that I screwed up by not seeing it and every time I see the scratch I think it is screaming at me to not screw ups like that again. My buddy at work keeps telling me I will forget about it as soon as I scratch it once myself too and he is probably right.
Thanks again for the quick responses.

[No SUBctitute]

Originally Posted by Khans14

Thanks all for the positive advice. I think I am going to just leave it as lesson learned. I simply refuse to believe the salesgirl saw the scratch. Far too nice and far too sincere. And hey, I missed it too so why should I hold her to standard I did not meet. And the above comment is correct, lots of people have handled this watch while it sat in the case.
I think it will be an easy fix down the road when I get it serviced and no one is going to notice it except me. The hard part is I keep thinking that I screwed up by not seeing it and every time I see the scratch I think it is screaming at me to not screw ups like that again. My buddy at work keeps telling me I will forget about it as soon as I scratch it once myself too and he is probably right.
Thanks again for the quick responses.

Why did you never go chat with the AD about it as soon as it happened. We can only guess here about their response. If you go talk to them, then you have their response. Even if they won't do anything about it, at least they can be aware it happened.

And, I would probably try to take it out myself rather than let the AD do it. Hence, more scratches.

[bradyb]

Why are you posting this again? Has something changed since your first post on this or what? I don't get it. Either return the watch, get it polished out, or keep wearing it, right?

[Khans14]

bradyb.... this post is different with a different topic. It is the same two photos though. Last week I was fretting about the damage but did not want to point the finger in the post about the circumstances about it. Above I discussed how the scratch may have occurred to get people's input on how they would react. In short, I let it fester for a week and decided to post the full back story.

[bradyb]

OK, I get it. I smashed my GMT into the metal corner of my workbench the other day and then closed the garage door on my car 20 minutes later - and both of these drove me crazy that night as I'm such an idiot..... but I decided the next day that this is life and the best thing to do was to let it all go.

It's tough but you gotta do it otherwise you'll drive yourself nuts!

[Mystro]

Let it go. You can erase that minor scratch with a cape Cod cloth but you will get more soon enough. I would get more scratches before I broke out the CC cloth if it were my watch. I get that it is new and your hypersensitive about scratches. Your standards will ease up living with a polished clasp every day.

[OmegaManOnTheMoon]

Move on with your life man

[robotkiller]

I wouldn't bother polishing it. Over time, the scratches will build up and form a patina and you won't hardly notice anymore.

[Seaswirl]

Regardless of what you decide, that is one good looking watch. If I add another Rolex, it will likely be a white dialed DJ41 like yours.

[oldman2005]

That's the 1st of many scratches you're getting on that watch.

[mvera339]

Sounds like you’ve had it for over a week now. I would have taken it right back. I had a situation once; I bought a YG sub one night. Got back to the hotel and removed all the stickers. I then noticed a large dent on the case. My biggest problem then was jumping on a 12 hour plane ride back to the US. The next morning. I called the AD where I purchased it and told them about the large hit I found. (3 days after purchase) they told me to send it back to them. And they refunded all the money. It was the worst 8 months I had to deal with to get my money back but Rolex and the AD came thru and took care of the situation. It’s a much larger story but the point is they should have helped you.
The scratch being so little, I personally wouldn’t worry about it. Wear it and enjoy it!

[polaris72]

Far too many people have similar experiences as yours. Not all ADs are created equal and the overall shortage of inventory is making the sales force sloppy knowing how quickly they move their watches. Many times they have limited basic knowledge and when it comes to bracelet adjustments they are not careful enough. Sloppiness is the name of the game.

Edit: I would get it fixed by them, quick polish. Because it is brand new and it was not you who made the scratch. After that, do not worry about it, scratches are part of life. Depending how you handle your watch, generally speaking, you should see less scratches on fluted bezel and jubilee bracelet than say oyster bracelet with polished links.

[sensui]

I think you're definitely overreacting. Doesn't matter if it existed before or you did it when it brushed against your jacket the wrong way...that light of a scratch on gold is just a matter of time unless you don't wear the watch. Enjoy it and forget about even trying to polish that. Don't dull the fluted bezel for no reason.

[polaris72]

Originally Posted by mvera339

Sounds like you’ve had it for over a week now. I would have taken it right back. I had a situation once; I bought a YG sub one night. Got back to the hotel and removed all the stickers. I then noticed a large dent on the case. My biggest problem then was jumping on a 12 hour plane ride back to the US. The next morning. I called the AD where I purchased it and told them about the large hit I found. (3 days after purchase) they told me to send it back to them. And they refunded all the money. It was the worst 8 months I had to deal with to get my money back but Rolex and the AD came thru and took care of the situation. It’s a much larger story but the point is they should have helped you.
The scratch being so little, I personally wouldn’t worry about it. Wear it and enjoy it!

Sorry to hear about your challenge for 8 months, but I would not call it that they came through, especially as it took so long.

[HogwldFLTR]

I read the title of the thread as Scotch Out of Box from the AD and was thinking what a nice gesture. Regarding scratches, the only way to avoid them is to leave the watch in the box.

[RollieRoll]

Look, no matter what ppl say, this is going to bother you. You have to realize that over a couple of years, no matter how careful you are, it's inevitable for scratches to occur. You have every right to be disappointed, however.

If you do not want to take a wet cape cod cloth to it, then we understand. You can get Sunshine cloths from Amazon. It will work fine for something like that. You will not over work it and destroy the Rolex luster that can only be achieved by factory or Rolex wheels and paste/wax.

RSC cannot do much with deep scratches on a fluted bezel, but that right there is negligible. They would put it on the wheel for a quick second with polish finish step three and proper paste and it will be gone.

So you decide:
1. Forget about it and do not post about it again. And move on and ENJOY THE WATCH, knowing that there will be many more scatches to come - the first scratch stings the most by far.
2. ORDER the sunshine cloths and clear yourself of the neurotic obsession with very light strokes (don't be offended because I can personally identify).
3. Have a certified indep watchmaker do it, and risk softening the sharp edges, which you will NEVER get back.
4. Go to the AD and request some sort of resolution. Not a fair option, especially when you cannot say in good faith with reasonable certainty that it was their fault .

Wishing you some resolve on this. You have to pick one of those options or something comparable soon, because it's not fair for you to stress about this anymore, man. Trust me.

Good luck

[Fleetlord]

Unfortunately, I think you have purchased the wrong watch.

A white gold bezel will scratch like crazy since it is so soft and polished.

You are fretting over this scratch now, just wait until there are others....even if you think you will be ok with it since "you" did it..you will be ruminating over how you could have avoided it and what you should do about it.

It's too bad the watch cannot be returned, but I would seriously consider selling it and moving on.

I mean think about it, you have written 2 posts about a very minor scratch on a fluted DJ. It is just too anguish inducing...

[Polarbears]

That’s a shame man. Good luck!!

[HK Islandboy]

Life goes on. My advice - accept the minor scratches (and the others that will follow as you wear and enjoy it) or trade out of the watch

[GreatScott]

Someone already mentioned this, but it it’s worth mentioning again, cape cod cloth. I bet you can polish it out. Also, given your hatred for scratches and choice of a polished watch which are in direct conflict, the CC will become your best friend.