possible sand grinding noise as i turn bezel in 2 month old gmt

[hymanjt]

I have had this gmt 2 for about 2 months and just got back from my first beach trip and now when I turn the bezel(which I never do nor need to do) its making a small grinding noise, assuming there is small sand in there not the smooth turn I had before, I always wore my milgauss to the beach and obviously had no problems bc the bezel did not turn, has anyone experienced this or have any pointers, ive tried toothbrush around the edges. I know my watch is under full warranty and can send it off but I don't want to wait 4-8 weeks when ive only had it 2 months, im not turning the bezel at all but just thinking about it is driving me crazy, please help

[mjclark32]

put it under the running faucet while turning the bezel, see if that'll do it.

[Tools]

Your watch may be under warranty, but getting sand under the bezel is not a warranty item... A warranty is for manufacturing defects, not wear and tear, or sand...

However, get a garden hose and blast the stuff out... or use the kitchen sink faucet, hot water, and liquid dish soap and run it while turning the bezel back and forth until the grit comes out... (as above)

or pop the bezel off, clean everything, and put it back together.. it isn't rocket science and any of the DIY for changing the insert will show you how..

[hymanjt]

thanks, I was under the impression that taking the bezel off voided my warranty??

[TimeOnMyHands]

Sorry to hear about that. Was in Negril for two months on the beach every day. I never had that issue with my EXPII.....(of course I know the diff between the bezels). I hope that you sort this out.

I wonder if ROLEX engineered the design of the bezel on all of their 'dive' watches to be impervious to sand/debris ingress to avoid this problem. Considering the cost of these timepieces one would have to think....

[jay1988]

Wore my Sub to the beach everyday for 3 weeks.

Left it laying the sand a few times. Was buried in sand while wearing it. Not a single problem.

Maybe I was just lucky but I believe this is not supposed to happen right? Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I thought bezels were designed preventing this?

I can't believe this is not a warranty issue. I know yours is a gmt but I would be pissed if an AD told me that getting sand under the bezel of my diving watch was not a manufacturing defect.

[samsmart]

Originally Posted by Tools

Your watch may be under warranty, but getting sand under the bezel is not a warranty item... A warranty is for manufacturing defects, not wear and tear, or sand...

However, get a garden hose and blast the stuff out... or use the kitchen sink faucet, hot water, and liquid dish soap and run it while turning the bezel back and forth until the grit comes out... (as above)

or pop the bezel off, clean everything, and put it back together.. it isn't rocket science and any of the DIY for changing the insert will show you how..

This sounds like the best option. Your entire bezel should pop off pretty easily.

Sent from my GT-P5113 using Tapatalk 2

[77T]

Originally Posted by hymanjt

thanks, I was under the impression that taking the bezel off voided my warranty??

If you bungle the job it may be intuitively obvious to the AD and, yes you could be SOL if they saw the unauthorized work.

If you try the non-invasive techniques to spray the sand out, then you still have the option of dropping into the AD and asking if they would do you a courtesy check and cleaning.

BTW, a grain of sand may not be the cause, so having it checked is good idea.

[jdk123]

Next time leave the Rolex at home. You'll want to enjoy the beaches and diving and stuff. Not worth the hassle of the beach or sand in the kinks.

[improviz]

Is this a GMT IIC, as in Ceramic bezel? If so I'm not sure those are quite as easy to pop off as the old ones were, no?

[zeuloa]

I wouldn't pop off bezel. If something goes wrong (bezel flys off and ceramic cracks when it lands, etc) you can be in it for much more. If you send to RSC or AD I'm sure they'll do the right thing and not charge you.

[Billywiz]

bite the bullit and et the pros fix it. If you are asking then I suggest you shouldnt.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by improviz

Is this a GMT IIC, as in Ceramic bezel? If so I'm not sure those are quite as easy to pop off as the old ones were, no?

Yes agree the ceramic inserts are not a DIY job perhaps the ceramic could have a weakness.The bezel design is on 3 spring-loaded ball-bearings and there is a tiny gap so its possible small grains of sand can get under.Although the older inserts used to gunk up if not cleaned, myself spent well over 600 hours underwater,and dived from beaches and watches seen plenty of sand but never ever had any problems with the bezel.

[azguy]

There must be a Rolex AD in your area with a watch tech that can help you out