To Polish or Not Polish? …. That Is the Question

Polished Oyster Bracelet of a Rolex Daytona

If you take proper care of your Rolex, you get it serviced every five years or so. That includes cleaning, lubrication, and maintenance to get the watch working according to factory specifications. An authorized service center will do all of that for you.

But they’ll also polish the case to get your Rolex to a point where it not only runs like brand new but also looks relatively new (minus the deep scratches).

Some of you probably just got a horrified look on your face.

When a watch is polished, it eliminates many of the scrapes and dings. It can occasionally reduce the faded bezel, the warm patina… Well, it gets rid of some evidence of the watches wear and use. This can dramatically impact the value of some vintage watches.

But wait a minute… Watches are meant to be enjoyed, right? How can I say time and time again in various posts and comments that the point of a watch is to enjoy it and then complain because something that makes it look shiny and new on your wrist is a bad thing because of how it impacts the value?

There’s an answer in the middle probably. As for me, I love the signs of age. I love the patina on a vintage watch and I love that there is a history behind every single watch and there is evidence of that history when you look at the timepiece.

That’s my two cents. What do you think? Should you polish your Rolex watch or not?