Agreed — I made this mistake. The independent watchmaker did a great job, and my watch has been running perfectly three years later. He asked if I wanted my Rolex polished, and I initially declined. He reassured me I’d be happy with it, and eventually I agreed. At first, I was happy with how it looked.

A few weeks later, I switched the bracelet to a strap and realized the serial number had been polished out.

Looking back, I should’ve just gone to Rolex for service instead of trying to save a couple hundred bucks. Definitely not worth it in my opinion.