After a nice break back home in Detroit, it was time to start immersion. This was the process of working on actual customer pieces provided by the ORJs that us students have signed contracts to work with. Lux, Bond and Green (my selected ORJ) provided me with ample work of a very wide variety to give me as many different learning opportunities as possible. The work was thorough but satisfying, not easy but doable. I found all manner of damage, from simple services with maybe one damaged part to fully non-functional watches with hundreds of dollars’ worth of parts needing to be replaced. We also furthered our refinishing training during this portion, which was very daunting considering we were using customer watches as training pieces. Again, our instructors made sure to provide us with the lessons we needed to perform quality work as well as double-checked any polishing we did to ensure quality. Movement service became almost second nature for me. I knew the workflow in and out and learned to keep good track of the 3-4 watches I would be working on at any given moment. This practice of juggling watches was imperative to learn as this was likely how things would be in the workplace with the real possibility of parts not always being immediately available.
A damaged barrel bridge. A worn axle caused the oscillating weight to rub along the outside edge of the bridge, causing the finish to rub off. 
A damaged upper automatic bridge. A loose screw caused cosmetic damage in the bridge. 
A counterfeit bezel found during inspection. The store was promptly notified and the customer approved a replacement with a genuine Rolex bezel. 
An oscillating weight with red debris from the jewel it sits on. Lack of lubrication causes increased friction and wear, leading to the jewel breaking down into dust and scattering all around the movement due to the motion of the weight.
I was sent 15 watches, and I was able to finish all 15 watches despite running into our Geneva exam prep time. I was able to quickly make up for it and fall right back in with my classmates to make sure I didn’t miss anything or fall behind.
Our final exam would consist of 3 exams over 3 days: a complete watch service in 8 hours on one day, a theory exam in 1 hour the next day, and a polishing and waterproofness exam in 5 hours on the last day. This seemed difficult but became easier to fathom as we practiced and trained with Johnny, Brock and Tim to succeed in each exam. We performed 3 practice exams in total, with our last practice being the most in-depth and similar to the real final we took in Geneva. My scores were good enough for me to feel mostly confident in Geneva: a 5.5 on the movement, a 97% on theory and a 4.5 on polishing. My polishing score gave me a bit of pause, but I knew if I stayed focused I would do just fine.
After a quick week of wrapping up and packing our tools, we were on our way to Geneva for our exams. I was given the order of tests I wanted: movement first, then theory and finally polishing. I wanted to get the service out of the way and also do my best to communicate my findings with Brock to find patterns in the maladjustments to hopefully help the groups that would follow. I felt very confident after my movement service and theory was a breeze, but polishing was definitely my worst showing. I still believe I passed, but I lost track of time for a bit and was getting in my own head seeing others finish their polishing before me which caused my anxiety to shoot through the roof for a bit. However, one of the proctors spoke Spanish and reminded me to relax and updated me on how much time I really had left which helped calm my nerves significantly. I ended up finishing with more time than I thought after cruising through the case assembly and waterproofing portions with no errors or failures (2.5 years of doing Rolex case work and waterproofness tests really comes in handy, doesn’t it?). After that, I was truly able to enjoy Geneva and all it had to offer. The scenery was beautiful, the food was amazing, and the experience was unlike anything I’ve ever done. It was my first time out of North America, and it did not disappoint.
We were greeted to a very fancy dinner Thursday night where I was served the best food I’ve ever had up to that point, only to be followed by a lunch the next day which served even more amazing food. We also briefly met Jean-Frederic Dufour, the current CEO of Rolex after our post-exam ceremony! It’s hard to fathom that I actually did all of these things and met all of these people or that I was even in Geneva at all. But I think that’s just a testament to how amazing the trip really was. I look forward to hopefully returning soon with my girlfriend or, if possible, my mom and family so they can see how much the country has to offer!
Rolex Watchmaking Training Program, Class of 2026 
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