NO WAY, Rolex is bullet proof and near indestructible though!

 

It does look like the design of the Rolex rotor leaves a weak spot that should have been addressed by the company long ago.
While the repair to the rotor shown was masterfully done ,why not simply replace it altogether?
They say a welded repair is stronger than the original part, could that have been the reason?

 

Yes, it's a poor design in my view. Why repair it? Simple - money. The first one I posted I did replace, and it wasn't cheap. The second one the owner of the watch wasn't willing to pay for a new one, so repair was the only option. It has already been repaired, so cleaning out the gobs of solder and laser welding it made for a much better repair.

 

One reason I believe they never return the replaced movement parts is that they don't want people to see the worn parts as it would damage the image of a bulletproof watch...

 

Ever here the story about the Rolls Royce transmission that broke down in Arabia?
The owner called the RR representative and was told to wait by the car.
In a short time a pair of helicopters landed and the crew set up a palatial tent and served a fine gourmet meal as a small army of mechanics shielded from view by barriers worked on the car replacing the transmission. In a short time he was on his way again.
A few weeks later the owner contacted the RR representative and inquired why he had not received a bill. The rep told him "you must be mistaken the Rolls Royce never breaks down".

 

If you don't have it already, buy this book. It has that wonderful story plus 598 more!

 

In my case it was stopped and looked like the first picture Al posted, all bunched up to one side. The balance was also pushed up against a rebank, where the impulse jewel goes around to strike the outside of the pallet fork.

That was from about a three-foot fall to a hardwood floor.

 

That's hat stopped the watch, not the balance spring being tangled.

Cheers, Al

 

I have a similar story. My father had a British friend whose dad bought a used RR when he retired from the military and drove it from England to India. While in India he somehow broke an axle, he contacted RR, and two days later a mechanic showed up with a new axle. The mechanic repaired the car, made sure it was running well and told the old gentleman to have a good trip. The gentleman asked the mechanic how much the repair cost and the mechanic said "Nothing sir, Rolls Royce autos do not break axles." I'm not sure that they still have that level of customer service or pride in their product but I could see how RR earned many a loyal customer back in the day.

 

I am not so fortunate to own a Rolls-Royce but a good friend has had many in his family and I can assure you this is not the level of service they provide today. Still far and above many others, but money today is made either in financing or servicing, and a large portion of Rolls-Royces are still paid for in cash so no financing, thus the money has to come from the service department. Bear in mind these are no longer British wholly owned and operated, but German companies building novelties in the UK but still subject to their corporate masters. Also considering that the underpinnings and electronics, drivetrains, are based on the parent company's other higher volume offering (Rolls-Royce is owned by BMW, Bentley is owned by Volkswagen), those shared parts are no more better built than what you find on the more common vehicles.