How to Safely Open a Rolex Watch: A Practical Guide

Watching making is just as much about how a watch looks as how it performs inside out of sight for the most part to us. Rolex is well-known for their desirable watches and incredibly iconic designs, but equally, their movements inside their watches is what keeps them so desirable. Having a watch built to last the generation is something special and oftentimes watchmakers include a display case back so you can see and appreciate the movement ticking inside your beloved watch. However, Rolex seldom uses a display case back making it very hard to see the movement unless you open it up. That’s why today we are going over how to open up a Rolex watch so you can see the movement inside your Rolex.

rolex watch back with visible mechanism - How to open a rolex watch

The first thing you need to do is make sure wherever it is you will open your Rolex up, ideally in a watch lab, as it’s as close to dust free as it gets. You definitely do not want any dust or dirt getting inside your movement as it could cause damage and/or affect the performance and accuracy of the movement. That’s why it is best to make sure the watch has been recently cleaned and the desk as well.

The other thing you need to be comfortable with is once you’ve opened up your Rolex, it may void any warranty you have with Rolex so you need to be careful. Make sure you have soft padded areas on the desk and space to put the case back once you have removed it.

To open up your Rolex, you will now need to unscrew one of the screws holding in a link or the clasp so you can gain access to the case back. Of course, you can remove the entire bracelet if you wish but either way, you need to make sure you can access the case back without anything in the way.

Once you have done this you can now choose your method of opening the case back on your Rolex. You can either: use the Rolex case-back opener machine, a rubber ball, tape and pen or take it to a watchmaker to have them open it up.

watch opening tool - How to open a Rolex watch

Starting out with the first option, using the tool Rolex designed to opine the case back will ensure that no damage is caused in the process and will help keep everything nice and stable during the process. You will see that on the back of everything Rolex has teeth going around the bottom part, almost like the teeth on the bezel of a Submariner.

This is what allows the case-back opener to grip the case back of your Rolex and gently unscrew it using gentle force. The watch is held in place securely so you don’t need to worry about the watch suddenly flying across the room or dropping it!

The second option is to use the famous rubber ball technique that many watchmakers use, simply take a small rubber ball and deflate it a little bit to allow more surface area to grip the case back. Then push firmly down on the ball onto the case back of your Rolex and then slowly turn it, the case back should start to open up and then you can repeat the process until it is completely unscrewed.

This is a very cheap and quick way to do it and makes the process very simple. However, you do need to take extra care since you have to hold your Rolex in your hand whilst you firmly press down on it and if not properly done, you could accidentally drop your watch so make sure you do this over a desk with something soft on top like a leather mat.

Rolex Date Just watch mecanism - How to open a Rolex watch

Rolex watch mecanism - How to open a Rolex watch

If opening up your Rolex is an urgent requirement for one reason or another and you don’t have any proper watch tools around to use, there is another method. Take a piece of tape and fold it over itself so it is sticky on both sides and place it on the case back. Then take a pen, lighter or highlighter and stick it onto the tape before firmly pressing down and slowly rotating it.

Using very sticky tape or duct tape is recommended as normal tape might not be sticky enough. But be very careful with this method as you could end up leaving a bit of tape stuck onto the case back and this method is really only if it is an emergency.

Finally, you can always take it to a professional watchmaker to open it up for you. This is by far the best way to do it as they will have the perfect tools and condition to open up your Rolex without causing any damage or voiding the warranty. Having such an incredible watch like a Rolex with a work-horse of a movement may tempt you to want to open up your Rolex.

However, there is always a risk you could damage the movement accidently if you don’t know what you are doing so always be extremely careful before doing so.

Rolex Submariner with date watch with black rubber strap - How to open a Rolex watch

Rolex Batman watch witch black rubber strap - How to open a Rolex watch

And there you have it, the several different ways you can go about opening up your Rolex so you can access the movement. Whether it is to try and fix something or simply admire the incredible watch engineering, being able to open up the Rolex case back to see inside is fantastic.

Of course, opening up a Rolex is made that bit easier if you were to be wearing it on a beautiful ZEALANDE rubber strap designed perfectly for your Rolex as all you need to do is un-do the tang buckle and you have direct access to the case back of your Rolex.

With the colder months approaching, a cold watch bracelet is a harsh shock for your worst in the morning, so to avoid that, wear one of ZEALANDE’s excellent rubber straps so wearing your Rolex could not be more comfortable.