First Rolex experience , Was i wrong expecting perfection to be perfect ?

[agentsmith350]

Having lusted after one of these watches for as long as I remember , i finally had the money to be able to buy one and started searching for a two tone sub around Christmas.

Forward two months of wait list and I had several AD's call me with stock , great !

Went to view the first one and found the rehaut misalignment issue pictured here ( bad lighting but look at how the indcie is near enough under the backbone of the E ) :



So left in favor of taking a look at some others , if this was going to be the "norm" i would think about living with it, the AD said Rolex told them this was within their specifications but most pictures i looked at online didn't have this issue.

I had pictures sent from the AD's of 4 more watches most similar , some worse some marginally better , One looked great ! , So off I went on a few hours trip to view this watch with high hopes. Alignment was spot on but straight away when looking in hand I noticed a small mark on the 12 triangle border. Now this mark was only visible in certain lights but under the showroom spotlights I could see it, the staff said they couldn't..

They told me that these borders are hand polished so there is always the chance of small discrepancies, So i figured this was better than taking the chance that i would go through another 5 watches with bad alignment and bought my first Rolex watch at last !

I get home and notice now that the date mag window looks slightly crooked only by a hair , but crooked. And im left with a bad taste from the perfection I thought Rolex was. I have watches that where a few hundred compared to 10K that dont have stuff like this , So i dont know if I was expecting to much or just getting the shitty end of the stick with my experience.

At the moment Im trying to convince myself to live with it , or whether I should be going back to the AD or RSC next time im in the area later in the year and trying to get them to line the crystal up better , I guess i would probably have to go to RSC to argue the case for a new dial for the 12 marker since AD said they couldn't see anything wrong.

Just wondered what you "vets" thought on this.

Couple pictures of my watch :

Mark at top of the gold border around the triangle , towards the left





Cyclops :

[agentsmith350]

Sorry for the large photos , struggled enough getting them to upload no idea how to re-size !

[Naples09]

It's a mass produced watch. It will not be perfect if you look at it under a loupe or camera zoom.

[Gaijin]

You have a stunning watch there. I can't tell you how to feel. How you feel on this is your decision. And it is a decision.

Do you love how great it looks overall or tunnel in on the few imperfections?

I love all of my Rolex and I don't over inspect them and I don't get stressed if I put a ding on them. I just feel blessed to be able to afford them.

[AK797]

Rolex is not perfection, not even close, no watch is, mass produced or hand made bespoke. Once you get over that it's a question of what you can live with.

[nicky77]

I think the watch looks good, under these pictures.
Rolex does not advertise themselves as a perfect watch, nor do I have that expectation of them. If you are looking for the “perfect” watch then you would be better suited by going into the small brands like the Dufour simplicity and other similar small brands.
All watches (all man(woman) made objects) they all have certain tolerances. Nothing is perfect.

[pickettt]

My expectations were higher also, but none of the shortcomings are deal breakers for me.

[Devildog]

It’s not rehaut missalignrment (as it’s part of the case).

More often than not it’s the dial being slightly off (there is a degree of play in the pins which locate it to the movement)

The flaw in the 12 marker is probably not something that would bother me as I doubt you can see it with the naked eye but your misaligned cyclops would probably annoy me as it’s more visible.

Ps. The moral here is not to over stress the rehaut/dial alignment as it’s a simple fix should you ever chose to do so.

[Coop13]

https://youtu.be/OFYiKfDYWBo

I imagine the % of Rolex watches that aren't "perfect" is higher than most expect.
Rolex is just a watch, but compare it to any other watch out there.

[Alcan]

Do yourself a favour and put away your loupe.

[green_dial]

If you're really unhappy, then definitely ask a rep to get it sorted sooner rather than later. There is nothing worse than letting something like this fester in your mind. It's your money, so you must be happy with it. Great looking watch regardless.

It is especially annoying seeing defects that you haven't caused, but in my opinion (especially when you're looking at this level of magnification) you'll always find some imperfection no matter what.

[Devildog]

Originally Posted by nicky77

I think the watch looks good, under these pictures.
Rolex does not advertise themselves as a perfect watch, nor do I have that expectation of them. If you are looking for the “perfect” watch then you would be better suited by going into the small brands like the Dufour simplicity and other similar small brands.
All watches (all man(woman) made objects) they all have certain tolerances. Nothing is perfect.

Actually. Rolex does. The word perfection is used on the website.

“To ensure perfection”

The op has a right to expect a perfect dial

[SearChart]

What exactly is the problem?

[Coop13]

BTW. I my new Daytona has either a rotated dial or the seconds chrono hand doesn't reset properly. It's funny, before getting into Rolex we can't imagine paying this kind of money for a watch, then we do, then we notice issues with quality. Seriously though, Rolex shouldn't be having this issues if you ask my opinion.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Alcan

Do yourself a favour and put away your loupe.

[yannis]

Congrats on the acquisition. The 116613 LB is a great watch.

[Coop13]

Yes they sure do advertise perfection!

[BadBlue]

looks ok to me... maybe try Patek next time

[Coop13]

Originally Posted by BadBlue

looks ok to me... maybe try Patek next time

What do you expect for $10,000 right!?

[nicky77]

I never paid that much attention to their advertising, I stand corrected.

Regardless when I think of Rolex I do not think of perfection, nor do I have that expectation of perfection from them.

One of my favorite sayings is: Perfection is the enemy of good.

[tyler1980]

the only thing perfect in this world is your wife. Say it out loud and then you get to buy another watch, albeit one with a flaw or two.... works every time

[DLRIDES]

Originally Posted by Alcan

Do yourself a favour and put away your loupe.

x2

[Coop13]

So then it’s official as far as this forum is concerned. Brand new Rolex watches have flaws. Time to recalibrate expectations.

[landroverking]

Been said here and many times before. Rolex is mass produced.
That should say it all.

[Justinmg]

Originally Posted by Naples09

It's a mass produced watch. It will not be perfect if you look at it under a loupe or camera zoom.

This!

[Heartlandblaster]

Request to Moderators:

Ban the use of all loupes. Make it a sticky!!

OP--enjoy your new watch. The vast majority of people walking the earth will never appreciate nor own what we are blessed to have. Its a watch.

Wear it in great health!

[adg31]

Originally Posted by Devildog

Actually. Rolex does. The word perfection is used on the website.

“To ensure perfection”

The op has a right to expect a perfect dial

Wow, that is one BIG claim to back up in any product! I'm surprised that their legal team were comfortable with that wording.


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[Muzz]

Mine is perfect, zero issues.

Haven’t seen too many with the problems pictured here to be fair.

[CDNWatchNut]

The term perfection is subjective, so some level of reason has to be applied. At the level of magnification in the OP's photos, it will be quite difficult to fond perfection in any watch...and IMO its not a reasonable interpretation.

[amh]

Note to self: Don't buy a loupe or an electron microscope!