How Often Should a Rolex Be Serviced? Intervals and Signs

A Rolex is built to run for decades, but it is a machine with moving parts and oils that age. Servicing at the right time keeps it accurate and protects its value. Here is how often, how to tell, and what happens during a service.

Rolex's recommended interval

For its current watches, Rolex recommends a complete service about every ten years. The interval used to be shorter; it changed in 2015, when Rolex also extended its guarantee on new watches to five years.

Older watches, and watches that are worn hard or often exposed to water, may need attention sooner. Treat ten years as a guide, not a deadline.

Signs a Rolex is due

It gains or loses noticeably more than it used to.
The power reserve is shorter, so the watch stops sooner when you take it off.
The crown is hard to wind or screw down, or the date changes unevenly.
Moisture or condensation under the crystal: have it seen to straight away.
It has taken a hard knock.

What a full service involves

A full service takes the movement apart, cleans it, replaces worn parts and lubricates it, then regulates it. The case is checked for water resistance, gaskets are replaced, and the case and bracelet are usually refinished. Ask for refinishing to be light, or skipped, if you value the original edges of the case.

After a service at a Rolex service center, the work comes with a two-year service guarantee and documentation.

Buying a pre-owned Rolex: ask about service

When you buy pre-owned, ask when the watch was last serviced and by whom. A recent service, with paperwork, is worth something. If there is no history, budget for a service as part of the cost. Our guide to buying a Rolex without box and papers covers what the paperwork does and doesn't prove.

We arrange servicing too: see watch servicing.

Frequently asked questions