How to clean your Rolex watch step-by-step
Rolex watches are expensive luxury objects. They are built to last for generations, but in order to keep them looking good, and increase their longevity, you also need to take care of them.
Just like with a car, a Rolex watch needs to be taken care of on a regular basis in order to show itself from its best side. We have come across countless Rolex watches that have not been taken care of properly throughout the years, and the issue is that this eventually shows.
In this guide, we teach you how to clean your Rolex watch – an important step for maintaining its luster and keeping it looking beautiful for generations to come.
Rolex writes this about cleaning your watch:
”You can help preserve your watch’s luster by cleaning it occasionally with a cloth. You can also wash the case and metal bracelet from time to time using soapy water and a soft brush (not for leather straps). Water is the natural element for a Rolex with a metal bracelet, including the salt-water of the sea and ocean”.
How to clean your Rolex watch
Cleaning is the most basic, but still very important, part of taking care of your Rolex watch. When you wear your watch, it will be exposed to many different substances such as sweat, dirt, perfume, etc. Not only does all of this get stuck on your watch, but it may also have a corroding and damaging effect over time. Things like screws or clasp hinges may not function properly, and not to mention that the watch loses its luster when it is dirty.
1. If you use your Rolex watch regularly, or even daily, it is advised that you clean it at least once a week. If you don’t want to go over too much trouble to do so, it will be fine if you just rinse it under lukewarm water. This is still better than nothing, plus, you can do it whilst washing your hands. Rinsing your watch is an easy way to look after it, but every now and then, it will also need proper cleaning.
2. If you do want to take care of your Rolex watch correctly and give it a proper clean, you want to use soap as well in order to really get the dirt off the watch.
3. Before you begin, make sure your watch is water-resistant. If you have a Rolex Oyster (most Rolex watches are Oysters), it will be waterproof according to the specifications. Note that if your watch is old, the gaskets may have dried, and this can cause the watch to lose its water resistance, and thus may start leaking when in contact with water.
4. Ensure that you have screwed down the crown.
5. Fill a bowl with lukewarm water and add a few drops of non-toxic soap. If you prefer, you can keep the watch near a pouring tap instead.
6. Take a soft brush, for example, a toothbrush. This will be used to give the watch a scrub and to access areas that may be difficult to clean, and where dirt is often accumulated, such as the inside of the clasp.
7. Submerge the watch into the water and then start scrubbing the watch carefully, with a particular focus on the bracelet and the inside of the clasp. Dirt can often also be accumulated on the case back.
8. Apart from the fact that it is disgusting when dirt and grime are accumulated on the bracelet, it also makes the bracelet loses its luster, as well as can cause premature wear. When you have dirt between the links and in the moving parts such as the clasp and hinge, these parts tend to be worn out quicker, thus resulting in stretch in the bracelet, and loss of the original rigidity.
9. Rinse the watch in lukewarm water. After you have cleaned it, there may be soap residue on the watch, and you want to get this off the watch by rinsing it.
10. Dry the watch after cleaning with a soft microfiber cloth. Using a cloth afterward will allow you to rub off any fat or dirt that you may have missed.
Ultrasonic cleaner
It can be difficult to access every single creak and corner of your bracelet, even with a soft brush. This is where an ultrasonic cleaner can come in handy. An ultrasonic cleaner cleans objects using ultrasound (usually from 20–40 kHz) to agitate a fluid. The ultrasound is able to access and remove dirt in a completely different way than regular cleaning does.
Since you cannot wash the whole watch, you can only use the ultrasonic cleaner for your bracelet. To clean this, you need to remove it from the watch. There are spring bar tools that you can use, but be careful, as otherwise, you risk scratching your watch. When you have removed your bracelet, open it up, remove the spring bars, and add a few drops of soap into the water. Then, clean your bracelet for a few minutes depending on how dirty it is.
Note that you can only clean the bracelet with an ultrasonic cleaner and not the entire watch. If you submerge the whole watch, it will damage it and it can even break.
How often should you clean your Rolex?
There is no fixed answer to this. The real answer is ”as often as you want”. But it also depends on how you wear your watch. If you wear your watch in conditions where it accumulates a lot of dirt, then it makes sense to have it cleaned more frequently.
Furthermore, it depends on how you clean it. If you regularly rinse your Rolex watch, for example when you wash your hands, then there won’t be a lot of dirt that is able to build up. However, if you never rinse your watch, dirt will build up, and thus requires a more thorough cleaning. The most important part is that you look after it on a regular basis, whether through a thorough cleaning or just a rinse.
