The news has not been publicly announced yet but Rolex warranty policy seems to have been updated and this will impact a lot of existing and future Rolex customers. Let’s find out everything there is to know in this article.
UPDATE (11.30.2016):
There has been a lot of discussion on this topic already and while we had initial confirmation from different ADs (and readers) across USA and as the saying says, “there is no smoke without fire”, we have been alerted by our friend and industry expert Robert-Jan from FratelloWatches that, after confirmation from another internal source at Rolex, warranty will not be changed. We suggest you remain cautious and stay tuned for an official statement by Rolex.
A lot changes in the Rolex warranty policy
A few months ago, Rolex came with some great news. The Rolex warranty policy for all new watches and including watches bought in the last two years would have a total warranty of 5 years starting from the purchase date. And as if this wasn’t an exciting announcement already, Rolex announced a new standard for accuracy tolerance : all their watches should run between -2 and +2 seconds per day (while still being COSC certified)! For us watch enthusiasts and accuracy freaks this was both an extraordinary news and a shock. This was also interesting to witness while considering the competition Rolex versus Omega.
Now the big news is that Rolex warranties are now totally untransferable. You are probably now wondering what are the impact of this announcement. Here’s the thing : when you buy a watch from an authorized dealer, you also get a little green card with your information and the Authorized Dealer’s stamp. This warranty card is just not transferable anymore since the Rolex warranty policy update.
That little card is now 100% non transferable
As a consequence, when you buy a Rolex from the grey market, you do not have any more a warranty coming with your watch. Even if you have that Rolex warranty green card, even if this card wasn’t filled out and that you can enter your name. But that’s not it yet, if you buy a Rolex preowned, the warranty is void as well and even if it is still theoretically under warranty as you weren’t the original owner in the first place.
Rolex knows everything!
Rolex checks it this way : when you buy a Rolex watch at an AD, they photocopy the filled in green warranty card and send it to Rolex. Whenever a watch is sent under warranty, Rolex checks for that photocopy and it has to match your name. If they don’t have your card in their records and you can’t provide the original bill of sale from the AD, then you bill charged for a service (see here our ultimate watch servicing guide). As a matter of fact, Rolex warranties are now totally untransferable and Rolex is willing to check.
This doesn’t concern Tudor yet, but we do not see any reason why this shouldn’t be the case in the near future. This is a way for Rolex to control gray market sales and their overall distribution, and even if this hurts many genuine Rolex customers, how can they be blamed for that? Our recommandation would be for you to carefully consider where you purchase your Rolex watch knowing the consequences it might have on your warranty. Find out now if your Rolex should be serviced by measuring the accuracy of your watch!
See you soon for a next article to share our love for mechanical watches !