Rolex are one of the top watch brands in the world. Rolex make high-quality, luxury timepieces, and if their watches are maintained they will continue to last for years and years. As a result, Rolex is a brand we see regularly in our workshop.
This particular Rolex is one of the Cellini range. These watches take their name from famed Italian goldsmith and sculptor, Benvenuto Cellini. The Cellini range are luxury dress watches and mark a bit of a departure from the rest of the Rolex range, which are more closely aligned with luxury tool watches.
On arrival in the workshop, this watch was not working. Inspection of the calibre 1602 mechanical movement immediately highlighted the main fault – one of the balance jewels was loose and the shock spring found open. This watch had clearly taken a huge shock – hard enough to go well above and beyond the limits of the shock resistance system. Our client confirmed it had indeed received a large shock.
To repair this watch it needed to have a full service and a new mainspring, as it hadn’t been looked at for some time. During the service, we completely disassemble the movement and run it through our specialist watch movement cleaning machine. After cleaning, the movement is carefully reassembled and oiled, before being adjusted and tested.
Part of the service involves checking the movement during the stage-by-stage disassembly/reassembly process. This is especially important knowing the movement being worked on has received a shock, as it is possible that jewels may have moved. This would alter the end shake of the wheels – in other words, it would affect the required clearance for the movement to work just as it should.
For the vast majority of watches we recommend servicing every 4-5 years. This is to ensure optimal performance of the movement (as the oils and greases needed to keep the movement running properly need to be kept fresh) and to allow the movement to be checked for signs of wear and tear.
After a full service and new mainspring, plus a clean and polish of the case, this beautiful Rolex Cellini is running very nicely again. It is ready for testing before return to our client.
Yours sincerely
David Clark PJDip PJGemDip CertGA
Managing Director