To polish or not

[PulsarSteff]

I am thinking of selling my Sub Date to finance the watch that has been haunting me for the last year, the BLNR...
I take good care of my watches but the bracelet shows of course some desk diving scratches especially on the clasp.

no dent do ding no deep scratches just the usual swirls...

Should I take the bracelet to the RSC and have them to do a little polish?
will they polish the bracelet without doing a complete service? (the watch is only 2 years old)?
is it worth it?

I myself alway buy BNIB or LNIB so I don't really know the expectation of second hands buyers..

Thanks.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by PulsarSteff

I am thinking of selling my Sub Date to finance the watch that has been haunting me for the last year, the BLNR...
I take good care of my watches but the bracelet shows of course some desk diving scratches especially on the clasp.

no dent do ding no deep scratches just the usual swirls...

Should I take the bracelet to the RSC and have them to do a little polish?
will they polish the bracelet without doing a complete service? (the watch is only 2 years old)?
is it worth it?

I myself alway buy BNIB or LNIB so I don't really know the expectation of second hands buyers..

Thanks.

Rolex will not polish only find a independent that will do a light polish myself would sell it as it is .

[LAFLARE]

If there are no dents and dings and just the usual swirl marks, I would leave it unpolished. From pure speculation I believe polishing would lower the value of your watch more than leaving it unpolished given the certain circumstances.

[hulkalicious]

Originally Posted by PulsarSteff

I am thinking of selling my Sub Date to finance the watch that has been haunting me for the last year, the BLNR...
I take good care of my watches but the bracelet shows of course some desk diving scratches especially on the clasp.

no dent do ding no deep scratches just the usual swirls...

Should I take the bracelet to the RSC and have them to do a little polish?
will they polish the bracelet without doing a complete service? (the watch is only 2 years old)?
is it worth it?

I myself alway buy BNIB or LNIB so I don't really know the expectation of second hands buyers..

Thanks.

In UK they will only do it as part of a service

[tifosi]

I would personally not polish it. Let the new buyer deal with it if they'd like. I don't think you will get the money back out of it if you pay to have it polished.

Besides there is always a risk of it not being perfect when it comes back. That's what I'd be most worried about. Sell/trade it in the condition it is in.

[herts9]

don't polish it. chances are the person that will buy it will not put it in a glass display case.

[rolex75216]

Any buyer should understand that daily wear and tear is normal and that it is next to impossible to avoid scratches. You could offer a small discount that would cover the cost of them taking it to an independent of their choice to make it look like new again. That would provide you the opportunity to sell it and move on to the watch you want and give the buyer more flexibility to take it were they would like to.

[minute_man]

Don't

[ckaynyc]

It’s only original once!

[PulsarSteff]

Thanks guys for your input, I'll leave it unpolished.

[asiparks]

As a buyer of used watches, I'd go unpolished with desk diving swirls any day over polished. I'd like as much original metal there as possible.

[joli160]

Without a polish it will be much more difficult to sell and you may need to lower your price.
Nobody buys a scratched watch, this is the reason why all dealers touch up their watches before offering them on the market.

[kilyung]

I prefer unpolished used watches

[The Libertine]

Originally Posted by PulsarSteff

Thanks guys for your input, I'll leave it unpolished.

Good decision. Leave it unpolished, and let the new owner decide how to proceed.

[Devildog]

Originally Posted by PulsarSteff

I am thinking of selling my Sub Date to finance the watch that has been haunting me for the last year, the BLNR...
I take good care of my watches but the bracelet shows of course some desk diving scratches especially on the clasp.

no dent do ding no deep scratches just the usual swirls...

Should I take the bracelet to the RSC and have them to do a little polish?
will they polish the bracelet without doing a complete service? (the watch is only 2 years old)?
is it worth it?

I myself alway buy BNIB or LNIB so I don't really know the expectation of second hands buyers..

Thanks.

How are you intending to sell it?

If its to the trade, a few light marks on the clasp and bracelet will make no difference in price.

If you are looking at a provate sale, most purchasers will be more concerned with perceived condition than they will be about the missing microns of material a light bracelet and clasp polish will remove (if that)

Most desk swirls and marks are where the grain has been flattened and thefore appears more shiny. A light hand buff with say a scotchbrite pad will simply create grain over those areas and restore the brushed finish. The horror stories on here are where the refinishing is done heavy handedly by an inexperienced operator with a machine.

And as has been posted above, I'd bet every singe TS on here will give used bracelets a light refinishing before sale without any concerns whatsoever.

[springer]

Originally Posted by ckaynyc

It’s only original once!

I've never purchased a new, original watch with scratches or swirl marks.

Polish the swirls, it won't hurt the value one dime. Most buyers of preowned watches are not forum oriented nor swayed by all the "unpolished" talk seen on the forums.

[tng11]

I'd get the swirls taken out. I've found watches I maintain as-is much harder to move. Many TS on here give their watches for sale a polish - sometimes it's quite easy to tell. People tend to overblow this issue especially on 6 digit Rolexes. Just make sure you don't give it to somebody hamhanded like that guy with his Hulk that got butchered.

And RSC policy differs around the world. HK RSC did a polish only for me a few years back. The RSC in Toronto also offers light polishing for watches under warranty, at no cost.

[MacanS]

Originally Posted by tng11

I'd get the swirls taken out. I've found watches I maintain as-is much harder to move. Many TS on here give their watches for sale a polish - sometimes it's quite easy to tell. People tend to overblow this issue especially on 6 digit Rolexes. Just make sure you don't give it to somebody hamhanded like that guy with his Hulk that got butchered.

And RSC policy differs around the world. HK RSC did a polish only for me a few years back. The RSC in Toronto also offers light polishing for watches under warranty, at no cost.

That mine! Wasn’t the end of the world. Even Rikki said the guy didn’t do a horrid job, just used the wrong wheel. Easily fixed and you can’t even tell now

[Tony64]

Agree with those advocating a light polish. Done properly it will attract more potential buyers and realize a better sale price.

As stated, most trusted sellers give theirs a light polish as part of the sale prep and I haven't seen many complaints. I'd trust the professionals over the "never polish" mantra read on forums.

[1William]

Leave it alone. Find a Trusted Seller and work a deal. The trouble of getting a professional polish and the risk of it not being right would outweigh any benefit, in my opinion.

[brandrea]

Polished = new
Unpolished = used

[HONDABBQ]

Run a cape cod cloth over it for a few minutes. Makes a world of difference.

[cop414]

Originally Posted by PulsarSteff

Thanks guys for your input, I'll leave it unpolished.

Good decision, the new owner can have it polished if they want but once polished you can’t undo the deed. Also if you have it done and it goes bad then you’ll end up having it done a second time.

[peterpl]

A light polish will NOT reduce the price value of the watch. Most dealers of second hand watches will lightly polish used pieces to make them presentable. No-one wants to buy a scratched up watch.

The only polishing that messes with the values are those hack jobs when taken to the wrong person where they cant brush correctly or take so much of the metal off things like the clasp logo are all worn down.

Just take it to the right person for a light touchup and it will not lose value and sell 100x faster.

[mtgjr]

Originally Posted by joli160

Without a polish it will be much more difficult to sell and you may need to lower your price.
Nobody buys a scratched watch, this is the reason why all dealers touch up their watches before offering them on the market.

^This for sure. The average watch buyer would much rather buy a pre-owned watch that looks new than one with visible scratches, which is achieved through some light touching up (i.e. polishing). DavidSW and other frequent sellers here polish all their watches before listing them for sale. Just make sure it's done by someone trained in Rolex finishing so that it's done right.

[m j b]

Originally Posted by HONDABBQ

Run a cape cod cloth over it for a few minutes. Makes a world of difference.

ooooooo, I don't think that's such a good idea for the brushed finish... for the polished bits, sure. But not the bracelet.

[tng11]

I personally have only ever had a Rolex polished by an RSC and they always do it right. Their prices are also reasonable (I remember paying less than US$100 to polish a pretty beat up 116713LN at the HK RSC), or in the case of Toronto RSC, even free if it's under warranty. I realize however, that some RSCs don't permit refinishing without a service.

The hard truth is most pieces for sale by TS have been touched up in some respects (maybe outside of pieces like AP or PP where the refinish should be done by the factory.) It seems there's a relatively small, but very vocal group against any type of polishing, but in my experience, many buyers don't see it the same way.

[PulsarSteff]

Thanks Tom, I will go to the RSC on St. Clair ave next week and see if they can do a light polishing.

I understand the pros and cons about polishing and I really appreciate everyone's advice.

[lecorsaire]

I would polish it or better yet if the potential buyer is down to earth, I would show him the watch and ask him if he would like you to get it polished for him before the transaction. Usually when the watch has few marks even GM shops will leave them unpolished and up to the buyer. If it's never been done only a tiny bit of material will be removed and the watch will look brand new which will fetch you top dollar. Since the Sub bracelet is brushed scratches aren't very visible. They are much more annoying on PCLs but even then only really up close. If the watch is washed and clean, no one will notice scratches at normal distances. All of this polishing ruins the watch and its value business has gotten out of hand. Yes, unpolished, original vintage Pateks and Rolex are worth a lot of money but that's not going to be the case with every watch and Subs are really a dime a dozen. Due to so many high profile auctions many people aren't even fully enjoying their watches worrying about scratches and other things.

They will always go up in value whenever Rolex increases prices but aside from the vintage ones with creamy markers, the 16610 and 116610 have been really mass produced and due to Superluminova and Chromalite there is really no aging potential. Much less on the ceramic models. They will probably look almost the same in 50 years.The new ones are also much more substantial. For example it is very easy to flatten the crown on the vintage clasps from over polishing which makes the watches look really worn.

I would be much more concerned about a replaced crystal or crown than a simple polish. I haven't seen a replacement crystal with a lupe, but it would bother me is there was an S on the LEC or if the crystal didn't have it on a model that is supposed to.

[RichardF]

Bottom line unless it is really a collectable Rolex and a collector is buying you are better off having it polished. The percent of actual buyers who prefer it to remain in its current state are very small. It is a lot like selling a car physical appearance is everything.