RSC Dial Replacement Issue

[RJSull2]

Hi Folks -

A newbie question for you...

I have a Datejust 162344 I bought new in 1993 that I wear every day. The first time I ever serviced it, I went with a watchmaker in Connecticut who has quite a loyal Rolex following and he did a great job. There was a uniform discoloration on the dial that was thought to be from a break in the watch case seal and could not be cleaned off. Long story short, years later I took my baby to my AD and went for the full service with crystal, hands and dial replacement. I specified that I wanted EXACTLY the same dial as before. Over $1000 later I race down to pickup my watch and the dial is not the same! My simple plain silver dial now has a racetrack around the dial edge with roman numerals at each hour marker. Nice, but not what I wanted. The AD said this is common that older dials cannot always be replaced with exact duplicates and you kind of have to take what you they give you.

My questions are...

Do I have to accept a dial I don't truly love? My model is about as popular a model of the fluted bezel SS Datejust ever made; shouldn't the RSC still have the simple silver dial? Can I send it back and get it done the way I want? OR Do I have to suck it up and stop whining?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated

Thanks...R.J.

[Tools]

I'm not sure exactly what happened...but the RSC usually always gives the customer a complete, written detail of the work to be done, and gets approval before commencing the work..

Have you talked to the RSC about this............

[RJSull2]

I never talked to the RSC. My AD called and read me the estimate and I authorized the work over the phone. Will my AD have the estimate and receipt of work performed from RSC? I guess if I had that I could contact the RSC directly. Is my first step to go back to the AD?

Thanks for your help...R.J.

[Tools]

I'm not a big fan of the AD being the middle man... unless necessary.

Certainly, the first step will be to go to the AD and view the RSC work estimate and final invoice if you do not have it in hand.... For the RSC to just pull a dial out of the air when there are so many to choose from seems odd... If you were given the paperwork for the work, then contact the RSC directly and tell them the problem as you will likely have to reference the invoice...

If you did not get the final paperwork and the AD doesn't rectify this issue, then you will need to contact the RSC yourself...

[RJSull2]

Thanks so much for the help! I'll let you know how I make out.

Have a great weekend...R.J.

[jnmarshall]

I have never heard of anything like this unless your AD made the decisions for you and/or they did not send it to the RSC. My past experience with the RSCs (and I usually deal with them direct) is that it maybe true that an exact match may not be available like roman or Arabic numbers or hack marks. But I've always been contacted with my options of styles and colors.

Also I have never experienced any forced requirement for such. If I didn't like any of the options and wanted to keep my current dial that was ALWAYS an option. I even have one today that was identified as cracked or torn during my last service and was able to keep it.

You should have also received the RSC estimates and receipts from the AD when you picked up your watch.

You definitely have issues you need to address and get corrected with your AD.

[RJSull2]

Latest Update...

I went back to the AD this morning and asked to see copies of the estimate and bill from the RSC. After much waiting, the head repair guy comes out to see me and we discuss my issues. I brought along a picture of my model from a Rolex sales brochure from 1993 to show the look of the original dial. The head repair guy apologized for not noticing the difference and told me he would call Rolex in Lititz, PA first thing Monday and try and solve the problem. He would call me later on Tuesday after he heard back.

I'm in Connecticut, I just assumed the watch went to the New York RSC. Who and what is Lititz, PA? I guess I'll know more on Tuesday, but again, why no copy of estimate and copy of bill from Rolex? Weird stuff, but I'm hoping for a good end result.

I'll just have to suffer along with my Explorer on my wrist for now! Thanks again for all the help and I'll let you know more as it happens.

Take care...R.J.

[chennney]

There is a non-public RSC there:

One Wynfield Dr
Lititz, PA 17543

You can also google "Lititz Watch Technicum".

[RJSull2]

Final Chapter (?)...

After a couple of more trips to the AD and a call to the NY RSC, I have learned that Rolex (a) no longer makes my original dial, and (b) will not offer any help in finding a new one like it. I will try and get some skills with the camera over the next few days and post some pictures of my refurbished DJ. I've been wearing it for four or five days now and I'm starting to get used to the dial. I'm satisfied in that my baby looks new again and the dial I chose was available in 1993, so the watch still looks true to its time period. I still want it to look like it did before, but I'm guessing I'm at the end of that quest.

Thank you all for your help as I went through my virgin AD/RSC experience and as I said, I'll try and post some pictures this weekend.

Thanks...R.J.

[Rikki]

Lititz Watch Technicum is the Rolex School for watchmakers akin to the American Watch and Clock Institute. Rik

[ed54]

I loved the dial with the small roman numerals and went out of my way to get a used watch with that dial. Give it a bit of time...you may grow to like it.
The other choice is to see if you can find a replacement dial on the used market. I had black and wanted blue, so I eventually found one on eBay. I had first asked Steve Mulholland to find a blue one, but he was unsuccessful. He was kind enough to verify that the eBay listing looked OK. The watch looks great now, but my watchmaker grumbled a bit about the condition of the used dial. My whole dial exercise cost about half of what Rolex would have charged, and I get to keep the original dial in case I ever want to sell the watch.
Since you have no Rolex option, you can either contact Steve, or search eBay. There's also a couple of jewelers who deal in dials, but they seemed to be very expensive. Obviously, you need to find a seller you can trust to furnish the real deal.
Good luck