If he is not confident to remove the hands without risking damage, again as I've said before it's probably better that he left it in this specific case, so in that regard I agree with him too. What I don't agree with in this specific case, is saying that the watch will be fine for decades. If you now know that's not likely the case, and choose to wear the watch as if it's all good, again that's your choice.
But I am really trying to get to the heart of the matter, and that is that there is always risk, but there are ways to reduce risk to the point where it is negligible if you know what you are doing, and avoid damage completely. I often work on Speedmasters and other watches that are very valuable, some with single hands that sell for many thousands of dollars (just for one hand) and using the techniques I've outlined here, the issue is simply not significant.
Trust me there are watches that cross my bench (including some of my own) where the dial and hands are just as pristine as those on your watch, and they are no less pristine after the service is done...
Cheers, Al
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