Unwelcome findings

[bigkahuna]

Hi all,

I wish to share some interesting discovery/imperfections of my latest acquisition. About a month ago, I bought a brand new Rolex GMT ii blue black (Batman) from a local boutique and I've been truly enjoying the watch and it is perhaps one of the best looking watch I've owned so far especially with the dual tone blue/black bezel. Anyway, as most of you may know, there has been a lot of hype with regards to the high tech method that Rolex take so much pride in by using a patented process to create the dual tone cherachrom bezel. Being the OCD person that I am, I regularly use my super bright Surefire LED flashlight to inspect all my 'precious items'. I recently took a closer look at the famed bezel and was surprised to see that under the intense bright light of the surefire flashlight, you are able to actually see the overlapping shadow color of the blue and black on the bezel. I must admit that this discovery came as a bit of a surprise to me because many reviews have credited Rolex with the seamless merging of two colors in a single piece of ceramic. I'd like to stress that I've looked at the bezel under many different high intensity lighting and the overlapping only becomes visible with my surefire torch.  I've taken a couple of photos with the surefire flashlight to show you what I mean below:

See the shadow on the 6th and 18th hour marker?





Because of this, it made me scrutinize it even more to see what other imperfections there are and I found two more minor imperfections but imperfections non the less. First I spotted a single speck of dust under the sapphire glass nearer to the 9pm marker.

See the speck just above the 9th hour marker?


Secondly, at certain angle, I can actually see a thin scratch like line beneath the sapphire glass it self.

See the very thin line coming from the 2nd hour marker?


Does this bother me? Sure but I'll learn to live with it and I'm just venting because this is a Rolex purchased at a premium price therefore my expectations of 'perfection' from Rolex should be justified no? or am I just being anal about this? I've also taken a closer look at my Sub C and I must say I can't find a single flaw in it. This just irks me even more since the GMT cost more than my SubC. 

[timenut]

To be entirely frank, all luxury watches would have some kind of imperfection if you look close enough. The more human intervention is involved in the making of the watch, chances are there would be more imperfections. Specks of dust / lint, scratch on the crystal / AR coating, scratch on the case / movement / screws, a slight misalignment of the bezel / hands, etc.. I have seen them on even higher end luxury watches, e.g. Patek, AP.

Which is why I bring a loupe to the store when I first buy the watch. Inspect the watch to my heart's desire and make sure that whatever imperfections I see are those I can live with. Once I have purchased the watch, best not to view under magnification, as chances are, I will find more surprises.

And yeah, I am OCD as well. 

[sidestreaker]

It is natural to be OCD after spending crap-load of money on a watch.

I too have my share of issues such as this, minor things like dirt, slight misalignment of hands, wiping print under the front crystal, etc. If it is not too critical, I can just ignore it and wait till more problem arises or collect more scratches through normal use and send it is as a warranty service. That way, I'll get a free polish and cleaning while they address the warranty issue.

In the meantime, just enjoy your new watch! Congratulations btw.

[davidtth]

you can bring back to service center anything to have them check and clean up for you

as for the overlay black blue, i've not try yet let me see if happen on it 

[fifty5]

Shucks wish i had read this thread earlier. Just got 114060 from AD yesterday. Now i better close one eye.

[bigkahuna]

To be entirely frank, all luxury watches would have some kind of imperfection if you look close enough. The more human intervention is involved in the making of the watch, chances are there would be more imperfections. Specks of dust / lint, scratch on the crystal / AR coating, scratch on the case / movement / screws, a slight misalignment of the bezel / hands, etc.. I have seen them on even higher end luxury watches, e.g. Patek, AP.

Which is why I bring a loupe to the store when I first buy the watch. Inspect the watch to my heart's desire and make sure that whatever imperfections I see are those I can live with. Once I have purchased the watch, best not to view under magnification, as chances are, I will find more surprises.

And yeah, I am OCD as well. 

Believe me, I spent hours at the boutique inspecting it before pulling the trigger. I guess different flaws shows up under different lightings. So you can't quite be 100% certain until you have it in hand. With all that said, I guess it's so minute that I'll learn to look pass it eventually. Furthermore, this is the only Rolex I have so far that the crown actually aligns perfectly when screwed down and that is a big plus for me 

It is natural to be OCD after spending crap-load of money on a watch.

I too have my share of issues such as this, minor things like dirt, slight misalignment of hands, wiping print under the front crystal, etc. If it is not too critical, I can just ignore it and wait till more problem arises or collect more scratches through normal use and send it is as a warranty service. That way, I'll get a free polish and cleaning while they address the warranty issue.

In the meantime, just enjoy your new watch! Congratulations btw.

Thanks

you can bring back to service center anything to have them check and clean up for you

as for the overlay black blue, i've not try yet let me see if happen on it 

Although the little flaws I pointed out irks me, I can't bring myself to send an essentially brand new watch to service center and have them fiddle around with it. I had a bad experience once with another brand where I sent my watch in for one problem and it came out with another. Anyway, I look forward to hear from you about the overlay when you do try it 

[CKL1213]

1) get it fix by sending to RSC or whatever source you think can reticfy the flaws
2) live with it

What else can you do?

[Yikkie]

Now I know I am not alone in being anal.    I found micro scratches on my Sub C second hand when I bought it new.   It was only visible via a loupe but at that price, I really do expect it to be perfect.  I could not live with it, so I brought it to RSC for repair.   They changed the set of hands but the new set have imperfections on the lume at the hour hand. Went in again and this time, they presented a set of hands for me to inspect with my loupe b4 installation. That is what I call service! Overall, I must say that I was extremely impressed with the level of service at RSC.  If I were you, I would send in the watch to get the problems rectified as changing the bezel or removing the dust is a fairly simple job.   

That is also another reason why I love my Grand Seikos.  They look even better when scrutinized under a loupe! Truly a wonderful watch for OCD people like us.   

[gunsnroses]

I thought I was the only one! After all the experiences of buying pre-owned, I have come to the conclusion that in order to fully satisfy myself, I have to buy new, BRAND NEW. However, I haven't got down to doing it yet due to the $$ involved.

I currently wear a pre-owned JLC as a daily beater, it's crazy accurate but there are micro scratches from the previous owner. I've been telling myself I should live with it as I got a great deal outta it but it still bothers me. Come a point, I might just do the crazy thing and sell it off to buy a brand new piece. The JLC I have also doesn't come with box/cert, which adds even more to the OCD/anal/I don't know what you call it itch.

[bigkahuna]

Now I know I am not alone in being anal.    I found micro scratches on my Sub C second hand when I bought it new.   It was only visible via a loupe but at that price, I really do expect it to be perfect.  I could not live with it, so I brought it to RSC for repair.   They changed the set of hands but the new set have imperfections on the lume at the hour hand. Went in again and this time, they presented a set of hands for me to inspect with my loupe b4 installation. That is what I call service! Overall, I must say that I was extremely impressed with the level of service at RSC.  If I were you, I would send in the watch to get the problems rectified as changing the bezel or removing the dust is a fairly simple job.   

That is also another reason why I love my Grand Seikos.  They look even better when scrutinized under a loupe! Truly a wonderful watch for OCD people like us.   

I don't think the bezel is a problem, it's probably just how it's made. Hence I posted this in hopes that someone with a similar piece is aware and can confirm that's just how it is under high powered torch. The tiny speck I can live with so no need to send it in yet 

[mike]

Bro, itz leddet bro. Haha, watches all have flaws as it is all hand made, if you use a loupe to investigate, you can see many scratches on ur bracelet (very famous thing for GMT Master), and also the luminous markings are poorly done. But theres nothing you can do with it, even sending to service centre u will receive ur watch back with no changes. My advice here is.. live with it

[hanz079]

A close friend of mine encountered the same problem with the crystal.
A scratch underneath.
Funny thing is, the watch has been inspected using a loupe before buying and it didn't show that time.
Like you said, different things are visible under different lightings.
He sent it back to RSC to get a new crystal installed. It's still under warranty.

As for the dust inside the dial, I myself have encountered it twice.
Brought the watch back to the AD and they got it rectified. It's still under warranty.
The "spect of dust" problem seems to be quite common as per my conversation with my AD.
I have no idea why.

As for the bezel, I don't really see where the problem is.
Did you expect the blue to gradually turn black?

[timenut]

bigkahuna, for the crystal scratch, you may want to inspect it again under a different lighting / angle to make sure it's really a scratch. It may actually be a reflection from the hand or the dial marker. At one point, I was convinced one of my watches had scratches on the crystal, but to my relief, discovered later that there were just reflections.

If it is a scratch on the crystal, I may bring it back to RSC and have them notate the issue, so that they would get it fixed under warranty come the first maintenance service. Personally, I would avoid having them open up the watch if it's not really critical. Like you, I'm jittery when it comes to people opening up my watches. They may fix one issue but end up introducing new ones.

[Everdying]

As for the bezel, I don't really see where the problem is.
Did you expect the blue to gradually turn black?

i think he expected the blue to end where the black starts and vice versa, and rolex says its supposed to be seamless merging, not overlapping.

[Gigi]

Hmm try to post your issue to international forum like Watchuseek or rolexforum and see what their reaction.

Most of the luxury watch have their fair share of flaw and lemon unit in their watches. Most probably it matter of unlucky as they chrun out so many of these watches and there are chances that one or two unit managed to evade inspection and end up on the unlucky owner.

[Clicko]

I too noticed imperfection in my Omega AT master co-axial after bringing back from AD. The minute hand has some discolouration probably due to uneven polishing. You can only see at certain angle and I did not notice during an hour long session at AD. I probably wear 1-2yrs before sending back for polish as I reluctant to have the case opened so soon.

[davidtth]

Although the little flaws I pointed out irks me, I can't bring myself to send an essentially brand new watch to service center and have them fiddle around with it. I had a bad experience once with another brand where I sent my watch in for one problem and it came out with another. Anyway, I look forward to hear from you about the overlay when you do try it 

just checked, looks ok no overlay issue... might wanna check with RSC 

[bigkahuna]

Thanks for the feedback all. I honestly do not know what to expect of the bezel. But it would seem David has no issue on his then I will perhaps bring mine over to RSC to get it looked at 

[bigkahuna]

bigkahuna, for the crystal scratch, you may want to inspect it again under a different lighting / angle to make sure it's really a scratch. It may actually be a reflection from the hand or the dial marker. At one point, I was convinced one of my watches had scratches on the crystal, but to my relief, discovered later that there were just reflections.

If it is a scratch on the crystal, I may bring it back to RSC and have them notate the issue, so that they would get it fixed under warranty come the first maintenance service. Personally, I would avoid having them open up the watch if it's not really critical. Like you, I'm jittery when it comes to people opening up my watches. They may fix one issue but end up introducing new ones.

Thanks for highlighting it timenut. I had a closer look at it again this time and it does look more like a reflection from the dial, markers and hands combined instead of a scratch. Darn thing is just so shiny. I'm much more relief now. 

Oh and I'm gonna stop looking at the watch under such intense light from now on. Seems to be doing more bad than good for me. Bezel is actually fine until in went under the light.

[hanz079]

The bezel still looks fine to me to be honest.

[timenut]

Thanks for highlighting it timenut. I had a closer look at it again this time and it does look more like a reflection from the dial, markers and hands combined instead of a scratch. Darn thing is just so shiny. I'm much more relief now. 

Oh and I'm gonna stop looking at the watch under such intense light from now on. Seems to be doing more bad than good for me. Bezel is actually fine until in went under the light.

Glad to be of help.  One less thing to be worried about. I sure know how that feels. That means the only issue is the speck of dust. Minor issue and easily rectifiable, thus, you can rest easy now and enjoy your beautiful timepiece. 

[Timeless]

I'd imagine RSC will open up the glass and clean it with some soft of chemical, however just ensure RSC will run a water resistant test due to pressure concern. As for bezel defect, trust RSC will replace for u without charge. Just my 2 cents, wish it makes sense

[davidtth]

bigkahuna, for the crystal scratch, you may want to inspect it again under a different lighting / angle to make sure it's really a scratch. It may actually be a reflection from the hand or the dial marker. At one point, I was convinced one of my watches had scratches on the crystal, but to my relief, discovered later that there were just reflections.

If it is a scratch on the crystal, I may bring it back to RSC and have them notate the issue, so that they would get it fixed under warranty come the first maintenance service. Personally, I would avoid having them open up the watch if it's not really critical. Like you, I'm jittery when it comes to people opening up my watches. They may fix one issue but end up introducing new ones.

Thanks for highlighting it timenut. I had a closer look at it again this time and it does look more like a reflection from the dial, markers and hands combined instead of a scratch. Darn thing is just so shiny. I'm much more relief now. 

Oh and I'm gonna stop looking at the watch under such intense light from now on. Seems to be doing more bad than good for me. Bezel is actually fine until in went under the light.

one of the reason i dun keep newer model of Rolex due to its reflection, not sure if the sapphire is not two side anti-reflect or its just too shine

and so i jump ship to IWC recently 

[JeepWH]

I beleive the bezel overlap is normal as heat and pressure treatment to bake in the colours is carried out. In order to achieve seamless transition, a certain amount of overlap is definitely there. Its like a colour chart where grey transits to black from L-R. There is bound to be an overlap area.

However, the dust problem and the scratch, you better bring it back to RSC as these are covered under warranty.

[nasa]

Can any moderator kick this bugger out of this group? Posting about 20 times of the same message is not a funny stuffs!! What are u trying to do? Get enough post to sell knock off stuffs to MWF members after u reach 25 postings?? 

Mod: Done.