by John Keil
Rolex has always been proud of the durability and longevity of its timepieces. And in an increasingly competitive market, the brand with the crown in its logo made a big move in 2015 to confirm its leading position with the new Rolex five-year guarantee.
The novel guarantee period will be extended from two to five years on all watches purchased from an authorized Rolex retailer on and after July 1, 2015. This is two-and-a-half times longer than the two-year guarantee that was previously offered, and miles ahead of most other watch brands.
However, as there is no official communication on this, it might be a tad difficult to understand how to take advantage. So here is some help with the most frequently asked questions I’ve encountered.
Rolex Day-Date 40 in platinum
What happens if you purchased a Rolex prior to July 1, 2015? Can you still take advantage?
The short answer is no. That said, if you have purchased a Rolex between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2015, you will be granted one additional year on top of your current two-year guarantee for a total of three years.
How does this compare to the rest of the industry’s guarantees?
Like the original Rolex guarantee, most Swiss and German watch brands currently offer a two-year plan. There are exceptions, however.
Omega watches have a few different guarantee periods depending on the type of movement in the watch. Omega offers a two-year guarantee on quartz movements, three years on ETA-based calibers, and four years on the in-house co-axial movement.
Ulysse Nardin, for instance, has a two-year guarantee but offers an additional year if you register your watch on the Ulysse Nardin website.
Bremont, though not Swiss, has always offered a generous three-year guarantee right out of the gate with online registration as well.
Rolex is the first quality watch brand to offer a five-year guarantee. Bedat and Casio both offer five-year guarantees, but on inexpensive quartz movements. Fossil has an eleven-year guarantee, but again on quartz, and at those prices the client can simply be shipped a new watch without much pecuniary damage to the company.
Compared to these examples, Rolex’s move is far more significant.
Addendum: We have just been informed that Breitling also offers a five-year guarantee on its in-house movements. This exclusive guarantee has been in place since 2012.
Rolex Oyster GMT Master II
What does this mean for the industry?
It’s no secret that every brand would love to have the brand-name strength and power that Rolex does. I’ve never spoken to a retailer who wouldn’t drop everything they have to become an authorized retailer of Rolex timepieces.
What most people perhaps don’t know is that Rolex also offers an extended two-year guarantee on watches where it has performed a complete and official service maintenance. Naturally, this is voided if a third, non-Rolex-authorized party has meddled with the parts or accessories.
My bet is that we will see a lot of brands lengthen their guarantee periods in the near future as a result of this move.
For more information, please visit www.rolex.com/rolex-dealers/servicing-your-rolex.
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Do not Christopher Ward offer a 5 year movement guarantee as part of their 60:60 programme? 60 days to change your mind, 60 months guarantee.
Honestly I have never seen a Rolex require warranty service, not within the service period nor even after 10 years of use without an overhaul. I don’t think Rolex will incure any significant cost increase but stand to gain a lot of publicity. Probably cheaper than a marketing campaign for the same effect….smart!
The newest Breitling movements like the B01 have had a 5 year warranty since their inception.
Garrett, go to the Rolex repair center in NYC at 53rd and Fifth and spend an hour watching. There is a lot of warranty work coming in. I always marveled at people who throw a fit if the dry cleaning isn’t done overnight nod their heads and smile when told that it’s gonna be 8-10 weeks to figure out why a 9k watch is losing 30 minutes a day.
Hmmmm. Maybe Rolex quality isn’t what they want you to believe it is…
Rolex complete service is 4-5 weeks if the Client agrees to an estimated price at drop off.
Vulcain offers 2+2 warranty plan which includes an inspection in the end of the second year.
My Zenith chronomaster triple date moon phase came with a 5 year Zenith guarantee and that was back iro 1997
I had a Cartier Santos that came with a Lifetime guarantee.
Just sent my Explorer purchased Jan. 2012 in for a repair/replacement to the clasp.
I dropped the watch on some concrete stairs and the clasp went flying. The watch was out of warranty and clearly this was not a warranty type issue. Rolex replaced the clasp and polished the watch for no charge. So kudos to Rolex for great customer service.
That said they suggested it needed the $600. maintenance service. I declined that as the watch runs just fine.
Oris offers a standard 2 year warranty. Register watch on My Oris and receive a 3rd year.
Thanks for that info, Steven!