The Best Thing about this Rolex GMT? It's Unpolished! (Or is It?)

[@ThriftyCHNR]

you should do a collection update

[@ALEXANDER_MARIO_S.]

I love your passion about those GMT's!

[@jolly_watches]

Amazing content - thank you for not being afraid to speak about polishing and how to tell!

[@dannyg6592]

I love the tropical bezel insert!

[@watchsymposium]

Me too! Love those serifs!

[@philipmccracken697]

Any 5 digit Rolex I acquire gets sent to have the case laser welded and recut. Then it looks as good as the day it left the Rolex factory.

[@ShambaBasher]

I’m with you Austin, too many red flags

[@sumitino]

great review, learned a lot.

[@watchsymposium]

Thanks - glad it was helpful!

[@gyulapanszky7805]

Polished it is. You can see it from the crown on the clasp.

[@kls1912]

That crown looks totally unpolished

[@kahuhipajae4088]

Sleuth Austin is on it, great job.

[@Karstu]

Love this! True watchnerd content

[@watchsymposium]

Thank you! And, oh ya, it doesn't get much more nerdy and pedantic than this!

[@albertsylvester2981]

IT'S A ROLEX WATCH BUT THE WATCH NEED PULISHING ME MY SELF I DON'T THINK EVERYBODY SHOULD GO FOR A WATCH LIKE THAT BACUSE IT IS IN BAD SHAPE THANKS FOR THE WONDERFUL VIDEO

[@garretthu2466]

Laser spot welding can restore all dings, chamfers, deep scratches and you won’t be able to tell unless you have a high powered digital microscope.

[@watchsymposium]

You are right about that. I don't know whether to appreciate laser welding, or call it the devil!

[@DonYang73]

For a stainless steel watch, it really doesnt matter too much if it was polished or not. The question is how well has it been polished. Some are badly done and some are over polished. Others are perfectly done and kept to Rolex standards. No issue at all.

[@eelco3112]

Very insightfull Austin, thanks!😊

[@BumblebumBear]

I recently had a 16750 from 1994 which was unpolished.

[@billchan6180]

The riskiest thing is if it really came with the pepsi bezel or black. Before the craze, 80% of pepsis on the marker had black bezels. The only way to know is if its been serviced by rolex service

[@philipmccracken697]

In words of Bert Cooper: who cares? If the bezel is authentic in my opinion it doesn't matter what it originally came with. Most people aren't buying Pepsi GMT's as museum pieces. They want them to look good and be authentic Rolex.

[@billchan6180]

@ if it wasnt born with the bezel then rolex wont service it . Nobody would sell an authentic bezel anyway, unless its stolen.

[@RAJohnson713]

Pls do collection update

[@greatchalla3799]

You know, it probably has been polished 🤔……however the more preferred choice is to purchase as you indicated the “last of the last” for serviceability and better lume…..upgraded movement.

[@ItsTimePictures]

How Mi miss my unpolished Polar Explorer II, 16570. Man oh man, it was amazing. But I ain't rich so it had to go to afford the Batman. Unpolished pieces will be harder and harder to locate.

[@Kogemate]

Went to my AD recently, Bucherer in Geneva, a breakup is on the way because they have been deceptive for a while but now they are getting ridiculous. They dared to tell me that the CPO watches are not polished but "revived" (ravivées in French). This is now how they try to sell them. Shame on this sale team.

[@watchsymposium]

Thanks for sharing! That kind of wordplay pisses my off, because it's specifically designed to mislead the customer. I would press them on the techniques used to "revive" a watch, and how they differ from polishing. Socratic method them into submission!

[@Kogemate]

@@watchsymposium 100% agree with you. When I objected, I was told that it was less aggressive. I understood quickly it was useless to debate. Same as real estate ads in Europe, you have to understand what the word used really mean (renovated only means a few paint fixes and minor repair, etc). Very disappointed by these people. Take care.

[@-Medici]

​@@Kogemate renovated.. with a lot of charme to it. Made for you to realize your dreams!

[@Kogemate]

@@-Medici They should have gone to simply say "rejuvenated". ahaahh

[@-Medici]

@@Kogemate 🤣👍

[@janbondoc]

Always learn a good amount especially with being vigilant about the case conditions. Thanks Austin. One question, where in nakano can I buy rolex accessories like pouch and passport holder, or even instruction manual?

[@watchsymposium]

Thanks! Check out Good Watch on the 3rd floor of Nakano Broadway.

[@greensnag6625]

Be careful with polishing even at Rolex, Rolex gave my 16710 the Bexley bevel, which killed the watch for me and had to sell it

[@CincoSip]

The more discussions I read regarding whether or not a watch is polished - mostly on other sites - the more I’m convinced that good intentioned people can genuinely disagree over whether a particular piece has been polished. Some pieces are clearly over polished, but many are impossible to tell one way or the other.

[@watchsymposium]

Yes! You can (sometimes) tell for certain when a piece has been polished. But you can never be certain when one hasn't. (Unless you are the first owner, of course!)

[@cedarcanoe]

That date is suspect SMALL. Looks like it’s not a 2,5 x magnification?!

[@watchsymposium]

Kind of funny, Rolex doesn't state that on their website anymore. I think they got a little lax with some of their Cyclops!

[@isaacm3861]

Do you still have the Timex Q?

[@watchsymposium]

I do, but the battery has died. I need to get it running again!

[@kls1912]

It looks unpolished from the case pictures and crown on the clasp

[@bedhead_k]

i have a modern 41 green op and looking to trade for a 36, any recs on areas in japan that would humor this trade?

[@watchsymposium]

Use Rakuten to try and track down a shop that has a 36mm OP you want, and take it there.

[@bedhead_k]

@@watchsymposium landed a trade in nakano broadway. for any foreigners out there, some shops need you to be a japanese resident to make such trades.

[@Mark-ph5nh]

oh boy it is end of the world. They polished my watch...oh noooooooooo🤣🤣🤣🤣 get a life Francis

[@watchsymposium]

Says the guy with a badly polished watch he overpaid for.

[@theyhateme8763]

laser weld he doesnt know laser weld?

[@watchsymposium]

Yes, that's a topic in itself worth talking about.

[@theyhateme8763]

@@watchsymposium Casios are watches Rolex are jewlery

[@watchsymposium]

Depending on who you ask, Rolex are watches, achievements, status symbols, tools, investments, assets, heirlooms, engineering marvels, historically significant artifacts...and, yes, jewelry.

[@theyhateme8763]

10 k they better be sure, its a thirty year old watch it was worn