Is polishing a bad thing?

[brettpaul]

I don't polish my watches, but only because I like them to look "lived in". Polishing will only impact the value IF the watch is wanted by a collector - polishing by Rolex or a qualified technician is fine IMHO - polishing is really only frowned upon for the older watches as it softens the chamfers on the case.

[Mystro]

If you know what you are doing, no one will even know you did a light polish other than your watch looks beautiful all the time. Same goes with waxing/detailing a fine automobile.

[Sweetswisssteel]

Polishing by an inexperienced nitwit is a bad thing.

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[SearChart]

Originally Posted by padi56

Have to agree Bas your a expert on Rolex servicing, myself quite knowledgeable about the history and the Rolex brand over the past 40 odd years of being around Rolex watches.But on the internet it's been deemed bad punishable by death to polish any Rolex watch.You know it, I know it, this is complete and utter boswellocks, but today whatever is on the net is always right.What ruins a watch is those wanting to polish every time they see the slightest scratch.But normal routine RSC service every 5-8 years on today's mainly pampered watches will have little effect on lugs case bracelet for at least 5 full services 40 years of wearing.

Agreed, a Rolex watch is meant/designed to be refinished during service. If done correctly it will still look great after decades of wearing.

But people either hate polishing or do it too often...

[marcotagudelo]

Is the topic polishing in general bracelet and head or bracelet?

[Bigblu10]

Originally Posted by SearChart

Agreed, a Rolex watch is meant/designed to be refinished during service. If done correctly it will still look great after decades of wearing.

But people either hate polishing or do it too often...

There have been examples here on the forum of some having the RSC in Dallas and NY having a heavy hand on the buffing wheel and messing up the crisp edges on a modern 6 digit case. Unfortunately it comes down to the person refinishing your case and bracelet and their proficiency. With refinishing, less is best. Getting heavy handed because one is not properly trained can ruin a customer's watch.

[SearChart]

Originally Posted by Bigblu10

There have been examples here on the forum of some having the RSC in Dallas and NY having a heavy hand on the buffing wheel and messing up the crisp edges on a modern 6 digit case. Unfortunately it comes down to the person refinishing your case and bracelet and their proficiency. With refinishing, less is best. Getting heavy handed because one is not properly trained can ruin a customer's watch.

Of course, but that is with any technician. Some are bad and some are good.

I've definitely had some not so nice refinishes, not too bad but certainly not as crisp as I would have liked. But one has to learn and I certainly learned from some of my mistakes.
Machinery is also a big factor in the result, good tools is the base you need to get a good result.

[116710er]

Originally Posted by marcotagudelo

Is the topic polishing in general bracelet and head or bracelet?

I think both but most people are concerned with the case/head being polished because the bracelet is can always be swapped and therefore "corrected". An over polished head, not so much.

[marcotagudelo]

Originally Posted by 116710er

I think both but most people are concerned with the case/head being polished because the bracelet is can always be swapped and therefore "corrected". An over polished head, not so much.

Exactly “never polished” should be just that.
Looking for preowned personally i worry more about the head than the bracelet. The watches i have had polished is in the bracelet NEVER touching the head.


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[doodledoc]

Regarding a platinum day date, can you just make a request that they polish it in a way to maintain the sharpness of the case? From what I hear, when you polish platinum, you don't lose any, you just displace it. Technically, they can just resharpen it then right?

[DoctorA]

Originally Posted by brickbroker

I see the words "never polished" quite a bit on watches as if it is a positive thing for buyers. Are there reasons behind why people don't like to have their bracelets polished? Wont the RSC always polish/refinish a bracelet when a watch goes in for a service unless otherwise specified? Just curious...

A lot of people treat watches the way they treat antiques!!
Yes for a 1770 coin it loses value when polished! Retouching a Van Gogh painting makes it lose value but removing scratches from a watch!!! Come on!

[Chadridv]

It's not a bad thing if the tech is qualified and experienced. It CAN be a very bad thing if the person refinishing the watch doesn't know what they're doing. Because of that there will always be a risk.

Generally speaking, (unless the watch has deep scratches or damage) a watch in decent shape with clear indictions of wear will have a higher resale value and/or desirebility than a watch that's been polished.

I'm not personally hung up on it, but to state it makes no difference completely ignores this aspect of collecting which is obviously a significant part of the business. If it wasn't, it wouldn't be so prevalent in the description of a sale listing.

You can say it's info you don't always see in sales threads, but my guess/bet is that 9/10 if it doesn't say "unpolished" the watch has been polished or touched up, and vice versa. If the watch is unpolished it's almost always listed as a selling point.

[The Libertine]

I prefer to keep original lines of the watch (factory finish) as long as possible so my preference is to avoid polishing.

Rolex will honor a request “to not polish” at time of service.

[ArtNouveau]

I don’t freak out every time I get a hairline scratch but I do know my way around a Cape Cod cloth. And funny thing about used watch buyers, they will almost all say they want unpolished, but expect their purchase to look like new.

[ronricks]

Originally Posted by brickbroker

I see the words "never polished" quite a bit on watches as if it is a positive thing for buyers. Are there reasons behind why people don't like to have their bracelets polished? Wont the RSC always polish/refinish a bracelet when a watch goes in for a service unless otherwise specified? Just curious...

A watch that has been correctly polished you can’t even tell it has been polished.

Which leads to my second point there are watches advertised on here all the time saying they haven’t been polished when they have.

[173rdabn]

For a lunatic collector, polishing is verboten. Value reduction, loss of originality, on and on ad nauseum. WHY?? When done by RSC, the watch looks like it's been reborn. I have hand polished all my Rolex over the last 49 years to remove the small "scritches" that are part of daily wear. Generally, every 4 to 6 months depending on activity. I use a soft cloth, Brasso and about an hour of my time. When finished, wash with hand soap and water, you're done. Results are most gratifying.

[77T]

Originally Posted by ronricks

A watch that has been correctly polished you can’t even tell it has been polished.



Which leads to my second point there are watches advertised on here all the time saying they haven’t been polished when they have.

True enough.

And when you think about it, all Rolex models leave the factory polished.


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[sensui]

Although I don't polish my watches....it's not a bad thing as long as it's done right without butchering the case. I've come to a point where I know watches I wear can't be 100% picture perfect no matter how careful I usually am (and I am very careful in general). So I don't let tiny scratches bother me anymore.

[jvacc]

personally - if i'm planning to keep a watch that i have from new - i would never polish it - ever. if i want to sell a watch then i would polish it - as most buyers want that.

in terms of why i would never polish a piece - even if you choose a great tech - things go wrong. and if they dont polish the case to a good standard - what are you going to do? you have no recourse. too much stress and hassle and i like the character of a well worn piece. there are even examples in this forum of people taking their watch to an AD for service, specifiying - "no polish" - and the watch comes back polished. to me - this would be a nightmare that not even the offer of a free service would make up for. i would have to consider buying a new rolex of that model and starting from 0.

i want to buy a used 114270 - unfortunately most ones that come up are from circa 2002 and have likely been polished, possible many times over. i'll have to take a risk and buy from a TS but if i could - i would buy a well worn one that has never been touched from the original owner (but seems like an impossible feat now).

there are reasons collectors want "unpolished" - and its a shame for a professional (or a cowboy) to alter a casing. after a "polish" - a watch is never the same, i would even go as far as saying - its no longer a pure rolex - but a modified version. and you cant replace a casing.

to answer your question - "is polishing a bad thing". put it this way - if polishing was a good thing - wouldn't collectors want theirs polished? (considering the pains they go to find the perfect piece). unpolished = perfection.