Rolex pulling most indy parts accounts

[crownprince]

Originally Posted by kegan

No need to give it a thought at all, if this is true I’ll toss my watches in the trash
Before i give Rolex another dime

Don't worry there are many indies with lots of parts to last for at least 20 years.

We all have choices and there are many substitutes.

[REDiesel]

Originally Posted by Rikki

Well I guess the cats out of the bag yes there’s been a fundamental paradigm shift at Rolex and most Swiss watch companies about how they retail and repair their products. This is a decision made by Geneva about the direction Rolex will go for the next 10 to 20 years and most likely the industry as a whole. I had a great run with the crown the last review I got was exemplary so this has nothing to do with the quality of your work. My door hasn’t been completely shut and I have thousands of parts and acquiring more all the time so for now no worries life goes on and I thank you all for your support over the years it’s been a true pleasure. I’m still here you all have a great day.

Sorry to hear Rik. You've always taken excellent care of my older pieces.

[ashbaug2]

Originally Posted by crownprince

Don't worry there are many indies with lots of parts to last for at least 20 years.

We all have choices and there are many substitutes.

But probably not for newer movements. The problem is that yes, older movements have lots of spare parts available, but Rolex has been restricting parts for newer movements for several years, making the independent watchmaker order each part individually, instead of in batches. Restricted market = less supply (sounds like another Rolex strategy).

[ashbaug2]

Originally Posted by exador

Omega started doing this a few years ago.

I wonder if California's Right to Repair bill would prevent this?

I believe Omega's move was more in maintaining the consumer protections because few watchmakers had the skills or knowledge to work on Co-Axial movements.

Omega actually offers free training to independent watchmakers to become certified in working on the Co-Axial escapements.

[trebor]

My entire career was as a repair person and parts distributor for a large company.
After my retirement they changed their policy, no more parts sold to anyone, and repairs only at the 'factory'
Several years went by, and now NO MORE 'FACTORY SERVICE' and no parts sold.
They have obsoleted the entire market of anything not in current production. 'Factory service' for one year after first purchaser "registers" their warranty.
If car companies did this, we would all need bicycles, or great shoes.

[Floorguy]

Originally Posted by Rikki

Well I guess the cats out of the bag yes there’s been a fundamental paradigm shift at Rolex and most Swiss watch companies about how they retail and repair their products. This is a decision made by Geneva about the direction Rolex will go for the next 10 to 20 years and most likely the industry as a whole. I had a great run with the crown the last review I got was exemplary so this has nothing to do with the quality of your work. My door hasn’t been completely shut and I have thousands of parts and acquiring more all the time so for now no worries life goes on and I thank you all for your support over the years it’s been a true pleasure. I’m still here you all have a great day.

I’ll still be visiting you pal!! You can’t get rid of me that easy!!

[Boothroyd]

I wonder what the price would fall to for Rolex models advertised as "unserviceable after 30 years from original purchase date"?

[hitman23]

sounds like terrible news. Rikki did A+ work.

[Brew]

Originally Posted by Lt Virgil Hilts

Ahhh........the 2019, Rolex buyer perspective.
Watches flipped and stored in safes, probably don't need too much servicing.


Selfish stick, anyone?

Nope, just a fact. My watches are all recent acquisitions and will only be serviced by Rolex. I think this is true of most Rolex owners.

I'm sorry if I didn't start my post with some empathetic statement, as I am sorry other people's business concerns will apparently be impacted. My statement is true, nonetheless.

I am not a flipper and my watches only see a safe when I'm traveling and they're not.

[SeaAndSky]

Originally Posted by Rikki

Well I guess the cats out of the bag yes there’s been a fundamental paradigm shift at Rolex and most Swiss watch companies about how they retail and repair their products. This is a decision made by Geneva about the direction Rolex will go for the next 10 to 20 years and most likely the industry as a whole. I had a great run with the crown the last review I got was exemplary so this has nothing to do with the quality of your work. My door hasn’t been completely shut and I have thousands of parts and acquiring more all the time so for now no worries life goes on and I thank you all for your support over the years it’s been a true pleasure. I’m still here you all have a great day.

I'm really sorry to learn about this, Rikki. I've enjoyed your insights and shared knowledge on this forum. As someone who is just starting to dabble in vintage I'll look you up in the future to see if you can work on whatever I might have. Best of luck going forward.

[Chute]

This makes me rethink ever buying a vintage Rolex.

[JeanGenie]

Originally Posted by Chute

This makes me rethink ever buying a vintage Rolex.

I'm seriously considering selling the watch Rik is servicing for me now! I REALLY don't want to but this has me feeling like I should just go Omega or something. Problem is I've been there before and don't truly love any single design, plus all their watches are way too thick for my liking. Sigh.

[Ashton_Horologist]

I don’t know Rik, but I can guarantee everybody it has nothing to do with the quality of his work. I used to work for Rolex Canada before going out on my own. Up here in the great white north you can only have a parts account do you are an AD. They are also trying to shift it so that the AD charges the same as Rolex, with all in pricing.

The current CEO of Rolex USA was the CEO of Rolex in Canada when I worked there. He is implementing Switzerland’s requirements. The UK is slightly different, as they have a grandfathered in system. It will change though.

Now, with regards the future. Even though I don’t have a Rolex parts account, I always use genuine parts. Rolex movement parts are freely available. I can order all genuine wheels, etc no problem. That’s for vintage and modern. As stated though, with the very modern calibers such as the 32 family, it will be nearly impossible. But vintage watches will also be able to be serviced.

Most of the time now that I do work for vintage collectors, I repair rather than replace anyway. Keeping original is always preferred.

[Ashton_Horologist]

I would also like to add that Rikki will continue to do A++ work if that is what he has always done. He will simply find a new supplier of Rolex parts.

[MikeyV]

This all goes along with what I was told (round-aboutly) when I took my watch in to my local large AD.
When I balked at them opening the watch (under warranty) and not sending it to Dallas RSC, they said they'd recently been up upgraded to a more substantial service center and that they take care of that kind of thing.

I'm still waiting to hear back, but I'm going to ask them if they're now an official Authorized Service Center.

This all fits in with the OP's post.

[Calatrava r]

Isn't it still the case Rolex will not service their watches over 40 or maybe 50 years of age? Who will service those pieces if Rolex will not supply parts to the independents approved by them?

[g_luck]

Originally Posted by Brew

Nope, just a fact. My watches are all recent acquisitions and will only be serviced by Rolex. I think this is true of most Rolex owners.

I'm sorry if I didn't start my post with some empathetic statement, as I am sorry other people's business concerns will apparently be impacted. My statement is true, nonetheless.

I am not a flipper and my watches only see a safe when I'm traveling and they're not.

You are missing the point or foolish with money. Even a current watch at 10K price point is silly if it has an expiration date of say 15 years because Rolex decided not to service it and continue to make parts for it. From your signature you have a nice collection and for your sake.....and many others.....I hope Rolex reverses course. I doubt they will. Bur rest assured....I won't.....and most other Rolex owners won't....be purchasing $10k-$40K+ watches with an expiration date.

Like I said before....I'm hoping that Rolex will continue to service vintage pieces even if they don't let independents do it. If they don't your expensive watch collections just acquired a drop dead date!

[singe89]

I feel bad for all the independents like Rikki. Rolex is just going the way of AP, Patek and other high end luxury brands to control every aspect of their product. Less or no ADs eventually and all service done through their service centers. Will allow them to better control pricing, inventory and customer experience (good or bad) while boosting margin.

There may be some trust attorneys out there that might know...but are there any laws saying Rolex has to sell their parts to independents? I could see independents using non-rolex parts but I don't legally see why Rolex couldn't just stop supplying parts like they appear to be doing.

[Ashton_Horologist]

Guys, this has been legally debated and spoken about for DECADES in other markets. This is nothing new. Rolex can do what they want.

[Rikki]

Wouldn’t that be considered price fixing just a thought

[kohe321]

Originally Posted by g_luck

You are missing the point or foolish with money. Even a current watch at 10K price point is silly if it has an expiration date of say 15 years because Rolex decided not to service it and continue to make parts for it. From your signature you have a nice collection and for your sake.....and many others.....I hope Rolex reverses course. I doubt they will. Bur rest assured....I won't.....and most other Rolex owners won't....be purchasing $10k-$40K+ watches with an expiration date.

Like I said before....I'm hoping that Rolex will continue to service vintage pieces even if they don't let independents do it. If they don't your expensive watch collections just acquired a drop dead date!

Nah, these mechanical watches can always be brought back to life and kept tickin'. That's not the issue. Also, Rolex never produced parts for watches past a certain age, so that's not a new problem either. Most really old vintage watches are kept going by cleaning and fixing the existing parts anyway. And parts will remain in circulation for a long time, and when supply dries up, they can be made by an artisan. It's not a circuit board, after all. Even if what Greekbum says is correct about Rolex putting the cutoff point for servicing on the 1570, it's not like that would be some huge change of course for them. It's a 1960's era movement, and we're now in 2019. This is now nearly as old as a late 40's era movement was in the early 2000s.

The issue is that Rolex supposedly is going to limit part supplies to official RSC channels, slowly choking off independent watchmakers.

If I had it my way, I'd keep supplying parts to independents like before and also implement a service for making parts for very old references on a one-off basis, at a premium cost of course. And strictly speaking, you rarely need to replace parts. Cleaning and lubricating is enough to keep the watch running for a long time, so paying for the premium of a new part isn't something you'd have to do every 5 years on your vintage piece. The real disappointment is that Rolex for whatever reason doesn't feel the need to provide this service. And it becomes even stranger as they keep moving up into more exclusive price brackets, where this type of service is pretty much standard practice.

[jimcameron]

About 10 years ago I wanted to have a Tag Heuer serviced after owning it for about 20 yrs. I contacted TH and was informed that they will not service that old a watch, and their best advice was to buy a new one.

I did buy a new one. A new Citizens.

[77T]

Originally Posted by trebor

My entire career was as a repair person and parts distributor for a large company.
After my retirement they changed their policy, no more parts sold to anyone, and repairs only at the 'factory'
Several years went by, and now NO MORE 'FACTORY SERVICE' and no parts sold.
They have obsoleted the entire market of anything not in current production. 'Factory service' for one year after first purchaser "registers" their warranty.
If car companies did this, we would all need bicycles, or great shoes.

Not to worry about the cars at least.

Auto manufacturers are required by US Federal Law to have parts available for any models they sold for a period of 10 years after its production date.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[MercedesHand]

Rolex has plans to buy Burger King to avoid royalty infringement for intended change to the copy right slogan "Have your burger your way" which will now become "Have your watch our way"

How is this good for the customer?

Increased cost, increased service times, watches that can be refused service by the mothership, watches today that effectively have an expiration date, vintage watches that one day will need service, if you want to pass them down.

I see how this is good for the Crown ($) but anti-choice is not a good look long term.

And lets be clear. Some independents watchmakers on this board I trust more than RSC because their service is BETTER than RSC. So just restrict access to the parts and starve them out. Makes sense!

Imagine being told 20 years from now RSC doesnt want to service your WG Smurf... for any reason. Now what? 35k paperweight?

Now if the in house AD service center adds 5 years to the mothership 5 year warranty, thats something else

Ah well, where there's a will there's a way.

Strange times getting stranger.

[77T]

Originally Posted by Ashton_Horologist

Guys, this has been legally debated and spoken about for DECADES in other markets. This is nothing new. Rolex can do what they want.

True enough. To vertically integrate the service channel (at least in the US) is not an illegal act.

It may be stupid in our eyes, but there’s no law against stupidity.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[kohe321]

Originally Posted by MercedesHand

Rolex has plans to buy Burger King to avoid royalty infringement for intended change to the copy right slogan "Have your burger your way" which will now become "Have your watch our way"

How is this good for the customer?

Increased cost, increased service times, watches that can be refused service by the mothership, watches today that effectively have an expiration date, vintage watches that one day will need service, if you want to pass them down.

I see how this is good for the Crown ($) but anti-choice is not a good look long term.

And lets be clear. Some independents watchmakers on this board I trust more than RSC because their service is BETTER than RSC. So just restrict access to the parts and starve them out. Makes sense!

Imagine being told 20 years from now RSC doesnt want to service your WG Smurf... for any reason. Now what? 35k paperweight?

Now if the in house AD service center adds 5 years to the mothership 5 year warranty, thats something else

Ah well, where there's a will there's a way.

Strange times getting stranger.

Yeah, that's not going to happen. I'd wager Rolex will continue to service all movements currently in production for several decades following the last sample leaving the factory after discontinuation.

And who knows what their strategy will be in the future. Many things can change in half a century, which is when this will become an issue. They might do a complete reversal along the way and start offering to make parts and repair all their old references again, for all we know.

When/if the day eventually comes where an official RSC turns down your current generation Submariner for being too old, it still won't be a paperweight. I mean, right now there are several watchmakers that have the tools and knowhow to make parts and keep your watch running, even if Rolex themselves won't. And with the way production technology is advancing (3d-printing and whatnot), the capacity to produce parts will only become more accessible for new independents as time goes on.

So if Rolex refuses to make vintage parts for their own watches, they create a demand and subsequently a market for it that third parties will inevitably tap into. And they will have no one else to blame but themselves.

These things always work themselves out somehow. The ideal would of course be for Rolex to start acting as a truly premium watchmaker and offer parts and service for any watch they've ever made, no matter how old. But hey, what can you do with these boomers that are in charge at the moment.

[Boothroyd]

Originally Posted by kohe321

But hey, what can you do with these f!"#ing boomers that are in charge at the moment.

Yes, I am sure Mark Zuckerberg would be less restrictive if he ran Rolex.

[jlovda]

I will now have to run around and find someone to overhaul my 1967 5513. I haven't worn it for years but I know that when I hand it down to my grandson, he will love it but have no intention of spending $900 on it.

[Bigblu10]

For those folks with mint collectible vintage pieces, this is certainly bad news. Owners of these pieces know the only logical service center is the independent CW21.
RSC can't/won't touch many older models as they don't have the parts. They also want to restore the watch to as new condition. Total 180 degrees from an experienced indy who knows their vintage pieces.

[JeanGenie]

For the 3035 and 3135 -despite all the bad news we are discussing- it sounds like worst case scenario Rolex will be servicing those movements for the foreseeable future? Not to mention the indies out there should have some pets for years to come?