Dial-swap on 36mm DD - your thoughts?

[Guybrush]

My new-to-me 118209 (white gold, 18k oyster, domed bezel) 36mm Day-Date is in for RSC service; I don't expect to see it for 2-3 months, which kinda sucks, but it's going to give me peace of mind (after a somewhat fraught buying experience) and a 2-year guarantee.

When I dropped it off at the AD, the SA asked me if I was interested in being presented with options for a dial-swap. I hadn't been thinking about this because the dial I have is (imo) the best of the options for the 118209 c. 2000/2001, which is the approx date for my P-serial watch.

But I did mention that my favorite dial for the 118209 bar none is the light blue wave dial with outboard Arabics. I just couldn't find one close to my price-point. My understanding was that this dial wasn't offered until years after my watch was produced, so I figured it wouldn't be an option.

She said it was her belief that as long as the dial was made for the same reference, it didn't matter if it was meant for a different year; RSC would be able to make the switch, for the standard $470 fee.

Does that square with other people's experiences? I'd be pretty stoked to make this switch---and, not that I have any plans to sell the watch--I think it'd add quite a bit more than $470 of value to the watch. The only ones I found for sale bearing that dial were $7-8k more than mine---albeit, they were also newer watches by half a decade. But same reference.

At the moment I have the dark blue sunburst stick dial, which I do find really attractive. The first picture is mine; the second---with the dial I'd consider switching to---is an old pic from C24.

Anyone have that dial?---do you get tired of it? It's definitely more of a statement than the one I have. But still, I think, very tasteful, and it looks beautiful in photos. And in Tim Mosso's video review.

Any and all opinions welcome.

[Wahlberg]

I just read your previous topic. I assumed they serviced the watch when it stopped working? So now you're getting it serviced again plus a new dial/handset?

I would go with the dial/hands that you prefer even if it's a later year version. The waves look amazing.

[Guybrush]

Originally Posted by Wahlberg

I just read your previous topic. I assumed they serviced the watch when it stopped working? So now you're getting it serviced again plus a new dial/handset?

I would go with the dial/hands that you prefer even if it's a later year version. The waves look amazing.

This is the topic mentioned, for anyone else interested. Even more details here.

Well, they got it working again, and it's keeping great time. But I didn't feel completely at-ease with it after all the rigmarole, even with their stellar reputation. I was never planning to stick with their in-house warranty--would have sent it to RSC eventually. So I decided just to do it now, for the confirmation that all their work was legit, using proper OEM parts, and to 'reset' the clock' on the watch, as it were, giving me a decade or so of uninterrupted enjoyment. Figured better to do it now: if RSC opens it up and finds serious shenanigans, I should know in the next week or two and could still have recourse to get my money back. I don't expect that to happen. And though it's a bummer not to get to bond with the watch right away, as my wife said: it's not going to be easier to send it in once you've gotten used to having it." As usual, she's right. And the next several weeks are so busy for me anyway, I won't have much time to miss it.

Thanks for the input!

[Wahlberg]

Were there other dials that you were interested in?

[Guybrush]

No other ones that I’d choose over the one I have.

Anyone able to confirm from experience what the SA said?—that they’ll replace with a dial that wasn’t available when the particular watch was produced as long as it’s the same reference? (I was surprised by this, given how fussy Rolex can be.)

[fskywalker]

My understanding is that you can indeed get that wave dial from RSC as it was available on the 118209. That is actually one of the dials I like / would consider on my 118239; my only complaint about it is the lack of lume on the dial and the hands it goes with (as like to have lume on watches).


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[Guybrush]

Yeah that’s on my mind. Right now I’ve got a pretty “sporty” set up with lumed hands and dial.