Friend of mine asked me if I could take a link out his Dads Rolex as his local Dealer wanted...…..£300 !!
Yep £300 to remove a link.
It was Surry I guess and I bet people pay but wtf.
Anyone got any other good quotes for simple stuff.
I was quoted £110 by an AD to have a battery, (and presumably a new seal), fitted to my wife's Cartier (small Tank) - I decided not to bother!! - her eyes arn't that good these day for the Tank anyway so a £20 watch was all she wantedOriginally Posted by Mrdemon
I'll do it for £250
If you are in London you can go to Mappin & Webb as RSJ are closed for a refurb.
More fool anyone who pays a jeweller or dealer to do it for them. Takes a couple of mins with a small screwdriver and Rolex are one of the easiest to work on. Try those double screw heads that require two screwdrivers for example - now that's real fun 😂
Disagree, you're making the assumption that everyone has the same skill/dexterity level to work on small items without causing a damage. Just been having the same discussion with wifey about her son, he's well-paid and well regarded in his profession but he's a numpty when it comes to practical stuff.....we're all different.
Last week I sized the bracelet on the Rolex Oyster 36 I`ve just bought. A couple of the screws were very tight, it was obvious to me that the threads had Loctite on and I wasn`t prepared to apply any more force without heating first, so out came the micro-burner. That did the trick, but without heat the risk of breakage was far too great.....and that would've spoiled my day. There's a trick to using the screwdriver (correct size!) in such a way that it won't mark anything if it slips, and having the bracelet held in a block helps a lot. Good lighting and magnifiers are essential too.
For some folks, it's worth paying a few £££ to get it done by someone else, we all have different skills and abilities. Practice makes perfect, but Rolex are a bit expensive to learn on!
How does anyone know the £300 job would be done by a competent person? Out back it could be the salesperson on his first day with a cheap pair of screwdrivers.I was once told I had to send my watch to London to get the strap changed - I only enquired on the price to buy one.
Sent from my E6653 using TZ-UK mobile app
All good points but nothing justifies £300 for a five minute job, and as mentioned Rolex are particularly easy, it’s about as hard as wiring a plug. GS takes a bit more skill as the screws are tiny but even that’s manageable with the right tools. I taught myself after watching someone from Timpson’s do it and thinking that if he could do it, so could I. He didn’t look like he had special powers, or was being as careful as I would be with my treasured watch. As above a plastic block to hold it is essential though, you can get them on amazon, of course the correct screw driver, and some form of magnification - I just wear two pairs of glasses, works fine!
Have they got a letterbox?
I got quoted £80.00 to change a battery in a TSAR.Prompted me to start changing batteries myself.
If this is a Dutch auction, I'll do it for £200....
Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk
Dunno about a letterbox but they’ll have big windaes to the see the mugs approaching. £300.!
I charge 30x as much, but you usually get a free Rolex chucked in
£300 does sound crazy, the sceptic in me suspects there’s a bit more to the story than a simple link change!
I’m sure I’m in the minority but I prefer press- fit pins, there’s always the risk that screws have been cross- threaded or threads have been stripped by a previous owner, and screw heads are often chewed up.
Slightly off topic, but what really annoys me is bracelets that lack fine adjustment, they should be designed to be adjusted in increments of 2mm, 3mm max, the old style adjustable clasps had this feature. I’ve sold watches because I couldn’t get a comfortable fit with the bracelet, it’s infuriating............and it ain’t rocket science!
Somehow, I find this hard to believe.
One has to come across as very gullible or annoying to be quoted this much for a link removal.
I had a tag kirien and a dunhill watch both of which I had to sell 1 less link too small 1 more too big I remember watches my grandad and granny had and the flip clasp had a simple ratchet in them to adjust the size why can't they make them like that now ?
There is no information as to the age of the watch or type of bracelet. I have a few folded link bracelets which do not need much force to permanently mark. Ditto vintage bracelets with rivets!
Hmm £300.Got to be more to this story or complete BS.
Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk
When I had a Seadweller - and thus the correct sized screwdriver - I took out the divers extension myself and realised how simple it is to remove the screws in a Rolex bracelet. I always ran the link under a hot tap for a few seconds (no danger to the watch as the ones I was removing were always at the clasp end) to weaken any loctite that might be present, and they were so easy it was ridiculous. The threads are large and you’d have to be seriously lacking in the dexterity department to mess it up! I think the secret is the right sized screwdriver and remember not to over tighten. If you can change a plug, you can remove a Rolex link tbh
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I took my DSSD into Rolex in London a year or so ago to get a new pip fitted. Cannot remember the cost but it was not much. Anyway, the technician guy there took a link out while I waited and did it FOC. £300 sounds nuts for such a job !
Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk
Did they want to see the warranty card and/or keep the link?
its not the cost of the battery they overcharge you all . When they do a pressure test after a battery change the machine they use for WR tests ( witschi alc xxx ) series requires a service every other year and this costs 800 eur
Sounds like they just didn't want the job so rather than saying so just priced it high.
Perhaps they had messed up in the past and it cost them a complete new bracelet and Tetanus for their 'technician'.
Agree with this. I’ve bought so many watches over the last 20 years from WIS collectors on here that are ‘mint’, yet when you look at the screw heads to bracelets, you see blatantly where its been adjusted with a poor quality screwdriver that was obviously not the right size for the job. In addition to this, I’ve bought expensive quartz watches where the previous owner has DIY’ed the battery change only for it to be instantly recognisable as a poor 3rd party job when I’ve subsequently sent the watch back to manufacturer for routine service.
£300 is ridiculous for a bracelet adjustment when RSJ will happily do it free, give you free screws if you need them and a free carry pouch (which people then seem to flog on SC for £20+ each!).
£100 for a battery change seems reasonable to me if it’s approved by the manufacturer and includes warranty against subsequent water ingress.
Last edited by Christian; 4th December 2019 at 17:09.
no just a straight up true Story, I have the watch now and will try it later, must be quite old as the bracket is stretched, hence I guess why he wants a link out as it's now too big.
They didn't quote for fitting a new PM link did they?!
Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote