So bit of a scare with Wifey's 50th Birthday Rolex!!

[dickymint]

You may remember Wifey's delight at receiving this back in April. She's not taken it off even in the shower and she adores it. Well 2 days ago She went to the Gym (another pressie for the two of us) for the first time. I couldn't go but she asked me would it be ok to wear it in the jacuzzi and pool. For me It's a no-brainer to keep it on as in the distant past I took mine off in work (very busy factory) to wash my hands and left it on the sink. I got lucky and it was still there 15 minutes later pheww! and never again. She took my advice, came home knackered and happy until she saw rhis.................






The optimist in me was thinking could just be that the trapped air inside the last time it was opened was humid and the sudden temp changes between hot jacuzzi and cold pool had caused condensation that would clear. The pessimist in me said O fk it's leaking! A couple of hours on youtube and I new it needed sorting and quick to minimise 'proper' damage. Checked the 12 month warranty and wasn't surprised to see that water damage isn't covered.

I ordered this yesterday that arrived this afternoon....................




Wifey came home and it was still foggy so whipped the back of and thankfully the movement looked dry so 5 minutes under the hair drier with the crown unscrewed. Now the strange thing was it took no force at all to remove the back case - it felt finger tight at most!! So here's the state of play..........





What a relief

She's off to the gym again tomorrow with the case properly tightened down (yes I know ideally it should have a new O ring) to test it out again. I'll be ready with the hair dryer

Question for you guys: I've used "TheWatchGuy" to have mine serviced at a very reasonable price and was very impressed with the daily updates of it's progress with photos on his website but it can take up to 4 weeks in his queue to get an answer if he'll take on the work. Who do you use?

[dickymint]

Thanks for the input all, some interesting comments.

For me the bottom line is that both our watches (vintage) should be more than capable of coping with the differing environments of a hot-tub and a cold pool. Yes the risk is that seals can break down over time and for that reason would need changing subject to a waterproof testing with the correct equipment etc. As regards 'heat changes' I know a fair bit about coefficients of linear expansion of different materials but I think it's safe to think so do Rolex and take this into account with their choice of 'mating' materials?

Wifey already has a Apple Watch but never wears it (she can't keep a phone charged let alone a watch ) we've only just joined the gym and she's definitely not into monitoring heart rate etc. and for me it will sauna, jacuzzi pool then straight to the bar and wait for Wifey

So in the interests of science (my curiosity to be honest) after clearing the fog and ensuring the rear case was properly tightened down Wifey went to the gym again yesterday armed with the knowledge that I can fix anything Did the same routine and came home........fogged up again

It'll be booked in for a service including both dry (vacuum) and wet waterproof tests Meanwhile it's on light duties only

I'ts not going to Rolex that's for certain! So who do you guys use? Mine was last serviced by Christian at 'TheWatchGuy" and I was very impressed with his work so will probable use them. It had been serviced once before but that was a disaster and a story in its own right

[dickymint]

Evanivitch said:

gregs656 said:

Of course it is.

It's not the temperature, it's the rate of change (and back). Even most military equipment can't beat the issues of going from a cool environment and immediately into a extreme hot/cold environment, and needs some dwell time in-between.

We're not looking at extremes though are we? A quick search comes up as Jacuzzi around 38c (40c considered highest safe temp for people) Indoor pool 26-30c so hardly extreme. Obviously enough to show 'fogging' but that could happen even without a leak if there is too much humidity in the trapped air when last closed up. Rolex would surely have taken into account at the design stage this sort of activity? My own watch has dealt with going from an immediate change from -10c on the ski slopes to, at a guess, +23c having a Gluhwein and bowl of Goulash without fogging up.

I may take the plunge myself Sunday and have absolutely no doubt mine will be fine..........it's already passed the "ice cube" test with flying colours

[dickymint]

Freakuk said:

Maybe a daft question, but why would you wear a Rolex at the gym in the first place?

For me gym = Garmin, job done.

Well for me (and now it seems Wifey) I want to keep it on my wrist at all times. A fitness watch/gadget has no place in my life

[dickymint]

Freakuk said:

popeyewhite said:

dickymint said:

Freakuk said:

Maybe a daft question, but why would you wear a Rolex at the gym in the first place?

For me gym = Garmin, job done.

Well for me (and now it seems Wifey) I want to keep it on my wrist at all times. A fitness watch/gadget has no place in my life

Risky policy wearing an expensive watch to a gym.

Agreed for many reasons, I've got a screen protector on my Garmin and I've cracked that on a kettle bell, so I wouldn't think to wear anything of real value at a gym.

Blimey guys we're talking about a 5K second hand watch and mines not worth much more. She's spending at most 90 mins on a running machine and some other stuff followed by a swim and a soak in the tub! There's more chance of her pranging her newish VW T-Roc Maybe she should take the bus

Kettle Bell? I'll trump that with a little anecdotal story about mine later................

[dickymint]

Well She's off to the Spa again but has point blank refused to try it again in a vacuum sealed bag

Meanwhile I'm looking to find the correct size case back and crown seals. I'm not comfortable/confident enough to do the glass seal though

Anybody know where to find the seals for a 2135 movement?

[dickymint]

Happy days............



That's from James the owner of Chase Hatton who I dealt with and had some great banter with when buying the watch. Fair play considering my purchase is small fish in the scheme of things and their warranty excludes water damage

And tomorrow we're both going to the Spa (my first time) and I'm 99.99% positive my "status symbol!" will survive

[dickymint]

RSTurboPaul said:

dickymint said:

Well She's off to the Spa again but has point blank refused to try it again in a vacuum sealed bag

Meanwhile I'm looking to find the correct size case back and crown seals. I'm not comfortable/confident enough to do the glass seal though

Anybody know where to find the seals for a 2135 movement?

CousinsUK is a go-to for watch parts, but original Rolex stuff can be hard to find.

Ebay maybe?

book marked if needed.

[dickymint]

Geertsen said:

There’s still the possibility that the moisture was already in there. I did some work on one of my father in law’s cheap travel watches in a hurry and it fogged up one day. I resealed it and never had a problem again.

My top tip for resealing them now is to have a hair dryer laying on its side on the desk blowing medium to cool air across the watch as you seal it. Works every time. You trap bone dry air in there.

that was exactly my hope (existing moist air) and did similar to your tip. But sadly it still fogged up the second time.

[dickymint]

Well we just got back from the Spa (first time for me) no gym for me There were no padlocks available for the lockers! So Wifey decided to keep it on again and again it fogged up so it gets the hairdryer treatment again which will be the very last time. Mine as expected survived the hot tub pool and sauna as it should...........it's a Rolex.

Very grateful for James at Chase Hatton Watches for agreeing to sort it and pressure and water test it

[dickymint]

sandman77 said:

dickymint said:

Very grateful for James at Chase Hatton Watches for agreeing to sort it and pressure and water test it

I hope James doesn’t read this thread and learn that your wife has been back in the hot tub a further twice to watch it fogging up.

I've been totally honest and open with him He is well within his rights under the warranty to do nothing - maybe he's just a good guy?

[dickymint]

Sporky said:

Just curious - once it's been through the workshop will she be taking it into the hot tub again?

Only there's a saying about repeating the same action and expecting a different outcome.

Absolutely - once the problem is found and it's passed a dry and wet water test. Why not? If your brakes failed then got them fixed would you not take your car on the road

[dickymint]

Buster73 said:

NDA said:

It's a good idea to avoid detergents with any waterproof watch to be honest. All of my watches are waterproof (including a PO as it happens) I never wear them in the shower.

Never heard that one before, my Submariner gets a decent scrub with shampoo and a nail brush about once a month when I’m in the shower and has done for the last 24 years.

Dry it with a bath towel and the jobs a good un.

From the horses mouth - soapy water and soft brush is absolutely fine. And so is wearing it in the gym ....................


https://www.rolex.com/watch-care-and-service/carin...

[dickymint]

Tabs said:

This has now morphed into the burst bubble thread.....

Sure has bubbles......................

Edited by dickymint on Tuesday 25th June 08:09

Edited by dickymint on Tuesday 25th June 08:12

[dickymint]

It's the word 'detergent' and it's definition that has a bearing here. We're talking about shampoo, shower gel and Imperial Leather soap (if you're posh and flying to Bermuda ) you wouldn't take a box of Daz or a bottle of Surf into the shower with you

I doubt very much if Jacques Cousteau took his Sub off to take a shower after a dive

[dickymint]

Tracking says watch received at 11:30 so he's got 2 full days to fix and post it back before his hols....fingers crossed!