Servicing a "Vintage" Sub

[bchuang]

Hi all. Apologies if this is a repeat question, but I couldn't find anything similar in a search of the forums. I'll try to keep it brief.

I've owned a 16610 (1989) for almost a decade now, and am looking to get it serviced for the first time. I know that the Rolex Service Centers are the obvious standard — I would be sending mine to Dallas — but I've also heard that any replacements made during servicing would be with new parts.

My question: Would sending my watch into Dallas to be serviced with new parts in any way negatively impact the overall value of my watch, or is it not really "vintage" enough yet for that to matter? If it does matter, are there recommendations this forum could offer to help me get it serviced?

Appreciate the consideration and patience.

[alwayshere]

what style dial is it? I'm assuming its a WG gloss tritium dial? it probably matters less if it was replaced with a service dial given the era / style, IMO.

[Dan S]

Replacing the highly visible cosmetic parts (e.g. tritium dial and/or hands) with new parts would affect the value IMO. There are many, many threads recommending independent watchmakers to service your Sub.

[Tools]

There is no 16610 that is "vintage"

Dallas is a fine place to send it.

They do not do any work without approval, and a list of costs. If the AD sends it in on your behalf, they become the customer and frequently simply tell the RSC to make it look like new, perhaps against your final desire.

The value of your watch would be in the dial and hands, so as long as Rolex is not changing them out, expendable parts are expected to be replaced. Even if they changed out your tritium dial and hands for Luminova, the lost in value would not be significant as they made the Sub Date both ways.

Proper refinishing almost never devalues a watch, with only a few exceptions of extremely rare examples.

[BDII]

I personally wouldn’t want to buy a 80’s Rolex with a replacement dial unless it was a steep discount.

That seems to be the pretty standard feeling among most these days

I would not replace the dial or hands for sure.

[bchuang]

Thanks to all the responders. A follow-up, if you don't mind: I'll be sending mine in directly and not through my AD, so I have no concerns with them acting as the client. That being said, do I have the ability to request that the RSC service the watch according to SOP, but not replace the dial, hands and don't polish?

[Eric88]

As mentioned, this isn't a "vintage" watch - it is "neo vintage" at best, and wouldn't lose value if fully restored by an RSC. A fully restored 16610 will be worth similar money regardless, if selling is your desire.

If you are really particular about keeping the original dial and hands with a more sympathetic service, then you should contact a shop like LAWW, Ridley, Rolliworks, etc.

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by bchuang

Thanks to all the responders. A follow-up, if you don't mind: I'll be sending mine in directly and not through my AD, so I have no concerns with them acting as the client. That being said, do I have the ability to request that the RSC service the watch according to SOP, but not replace the dial, hands and don't polish?

In principle, yes. They should send you a quote with required and optional services. However, if they decide that replacing the hands is required, then your only options will be to replace the hands, or to decline the entire service and send it elsewhere. I mentioned the hands, because that appears to be a common issue. Apparently, they often notice subtle issues with lume in the hands, and require replacement. And obviously we see a lot of 1990s Subs with original dials and service hands. I'm not saying that will be the case for your watch obviously, since I haven't even seen it. Just explaining the process.

[Eric88]

How about sharing some photos of your watch, to help us to help you?

[pk552502]

If your sub has the original tritium dial and hands, I would for sure keep those. Subs are more desirable with the original tritium dial and hands for that year. So either have RSC keep those or send it to an independent. Who's to say in 30 years it will matter even more to have the original dial and hands.

If your sub already has a service dial and hands then RSC would be fine. That's my opinion and if I was buying a 89 sub I would limit my search to original dial and hands personally FWIW.

[swish77]

Please do not let the RSC replace the original dial, hands or insert with tritium pearl, nor polish the case. It will absolutely affect value. Just have them service the movement. They most likely will insist on replacing the crystal and crown for water resistance, and that would be OK, although try to keep the original crown on the watch if possible.

Anyone who thinks because an ‘89 Sub is not technically vintage that it doesn’t matter if the entire watch is overhauled is mistaken. It does matter and it will affect vale. These watches are becoming more and more valuable and the all-original ones are becoming more rare.

This watch is more than 30 years old. Imagine discussing a 1980 1680 Sub back in 2012, not that long ago in my mind. That’s the equivalent in terms of time. Would anyone have said it doesn’t matter if the dial and hands were replaced? These “neo-classics” will soon enough take on a similar vintage appeal.

[bchuang]

Thank you all for the amazing responses over the past few days. I've started the process by reaching out to both Rolliworks + Sutter's (I'm going to be in Chicago over the holidays), and feel like I'm on a good path.

While I understand that my watch isn't "vintage," I do like its weathered look — dial and hands, I believe, are the original tritium — so my plan is to simply service the movement with no polish (I'm also a subscriber to the swish77 school of thought, but I'm obviously biased).

Again, thank you to this group for your impressive knowledge and willingness to share. And to follow through on Eric88's request, I'm including a photo of said watch.

[Jimmy 1665]

I've been through the same process recently with my '89 L serial 16610. Sent to Rolex via my AD, they inspected & insisted they would not service the watch unless I replace the hands with Luminova equivalent.
It would have looked crap.
Pulled it back & am reassessing where it's going to be sent for servicing. The hour hand has some minor cracking in the lume, but nothing that makes me want to change out the hands at this point. I'm sure a replacement Tritium hand set can be sourced or the lume can be stabilised.
This seems to be a hard faced approach at the UK Service center that's frustrating more and more people.

[Eric88]

Looks great! As many of us suggested, I think sending it to one of the well-known independent shops to preserve the original dial and hands with a movement service would be a good move.

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by bchuang

Thank you all for the amazing responses over the past few days. I've started the process by reaching out to both Rolliworks + Sutter's (I'm going to be in Chicago over the holidays), and feel like I'm on a good path.

While I understand that my watch isn't "vintage," I do like its weathered look — dial and hands, I believe, are the original tritium — so my plan is to simply service the movement with no polish (I'm also a subscriber to the swish77 school of thought, but I'm obviously biased).

Again, thank you to this group for your impressive knowledge and willingness to share. And to follow through on Eric88's request, I'm including a photo of said watch.

Personally, I think that's a good choice. I recently picked up a tritium 14060 to have a relatively "modern" watch for the rare rainy days we experience. As a fan of vintage watches, the 1990s tritium models are probably the last Rolexes that will ever interest me, so I wanted to preserve it for my own appreciation. I had my watchmaker service it, since he is really understanding about my desire to preserve things. In fact, he even sent a photo of the case tube to show some corrosion and asked what I wanted to do. Of course, I told him that I wanted it replaced.