Hello from Australia

[MJC73]

Hello from down under.

I'm the proud owner of a 1998 16600 Sea Dweller bought new from Watches of Switzerland on Bond St in London as a 25th birthday present to myself.

Unfortunately I'm in the process of downsizing my life and it looks like I'll be parting ways with my perfect little SD soon so I've headed here for some advice. Not sure if this is the right area for questions so feel free to direct me elsewhere if that is the case.

Well I've been awfully unkind to my SD and she's been worn daily everywhere since 1998 without a service (ah the naivety of youth). My then 3 year old son also decided to throw a tantrum one day and launch my SD full force into the kitchen tiles leaving the crystal with a nice crack - amazingly it remained waterproof and keeping good time - they really are tough as nails. Eventually though it gave up the ghost (not bad for 20 years without a service) but not before throwing a springbar and nearly falling off my wrist - thankfully this happened coming out of the train station on the way to work on Monday morning and not in the 10ft of water I had been in when bodysurfing at the beach the preceding weekend.

I've got a few questions relating to the sale process. Perhaps you can help?

- Should I get a full service done or sell as is?
- Would I get my money back on a Rolex Dealer service or would I be better off finding a trusted non-Rolex specialist at half the price?
- Should I get it polished (it's never had any polishing).
- Should I get the bezel replaced or leave as is (there's a small nick on the bezel)
- Does anyone know of any good non-Rolex specialist service people in Australia that you trust with a good overhaul?

Thanks for reading this extremely long introduction and I hope to be back as a regular member of the forum once I'm done paying private school fees in 6 or so years.

[Urosfan]

Welcome

[Gilly M]

Hi MJC73

I would definitely NOT polish the watch if it has never been polished before, and I would leave the bezel as is. Obviously the cracked crystal dial cover will need replacing.

A Rolex service might give a buyer additional confidence, and may help your final sale price if you intend to sell the watch privately.

Alternatively, you may consider speaking with Vintage Watch Co, who are great to deal with and very transparent when buying watches. A sale to a dealer will not be as profitable as selling privately, however it alleviates the need for servicing prior to sale.

Cheers,

[Tritto]

If I were you, I'd join Australian watch buy,sell, swap group on Facebook (and the associated Australian Watch Forum).
There will be a lot of people there with local knowledge to advise you and there are also a lot of members in Sydney that will allow you to do a face to face transaction in the CBD. Buyers may prefer to have the watch repaired/serviced themselves and you might find you're better off than having the work done before selling.
Good luck.


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[Allanmodel]

Welcome~~

[MJC73]

Thanks to all for the warm welcome and to those that provided advice it is greatly appreciated.

[ILuvSubs]

Welcome MCJ73! Plenty of Aussies here on TRF so you may be able to sell it locally through the classifieds here.

Great to hear your SD has not been molly coddled and it has lived a full life!

Responses to your questions in bold below.

Should I get a full service done or sell as is?
Sell as is.

- Would I get my money back on a Rolex Dealer service or would I be better off finding a trusted non-Rolex specialist at half the price?
The benefit of a RSC service is that it will also help authenticate the SD for potential buyers if you don't have the box and papers. Don't think you would get the money back on an RSC service, but it will make it more saleable.

- Should I get it polished (it's never had any polishing).
Recommend no polishing. Just get a movement-only service.

- Should I get the bezel replaced or leave as is (there's a small nick on the bezel)
Leave as is. For the same reason as the no polishing. Vintage collectors prefer originality.

- Does anyone know of any good non-Rolex specialist service people in Australia that you trust with a good overhaul?
I hear Max Schweizer is recommended in Sydney. I personally have used the RSC in Sydney who are reasonable.

[HL65]

Welcome

[MJC73]

Hi and thanks HL65 - long time follower of yours on Insta here

[MJC73]

Thanks ILuvSubs for your detailed reply.

My SD has certainly seen some things as a 20 year daily beater. :)

To my mind it's the ultimate watch - go anywhere, take any punishment, dress it up, dress it down, from the boardroom to boardshorts - I'm going to miss it terribly when it's gone.

[uniqueMR]

.. W e l c o m e ..

[Hairdude1]

Welcome to TRF

[Audemars Piguet]

Welcome

[samsonive]

Welcome!