Before we get started, let me confess that besides being a watch freak, I'm somewhat of a perfectionist. This means that while I love looking at the watch that I'm wearing, I hate seeing even the slightest scratch or scuff on it.
As you know, if you actually wear the watches in your collection, there's really no way to avoid the occasional brush with something that's harder than the case of the watch. The result of these encounters can range from something not much more obvious than a swirl mark to a scratch that seems to overwhelm the rest of the watch.
There's a lot to be said for learning how to refinish your own watches. Jewelers and commercial refinishing services - even the manufacturers themselves - on the whole do a miserable job of removing watch scratches and restoring the factory finish. It's the exception rather than the rule when a watch comes back from a date with the buffing wheel and doesn't have newly rounded edges or a poorly applied directional finish - chips and missing chunks of metal can't be ruled out entirely either. There's also the matter of the bill - usually $100 or so for each visit.
It stands to reason that you, yes you - the guy or gal who paid $2,000, $5,000 or $50,000 for the watch with the scratch will do the best job of fixing it if you know how to do it and find the right tools. The refinisher or bench jeweler who's getting $10 or $12 an hour to get covered in rouge and inhale precious metal particles all day isn't apt to pay too much attention to the finer points of removing scratches and re-creating a perfect finish.
Can you remove scratches from your own watches even if you don't have any experience at all in watch refinishing and you're scared to death of damaging your favorite watch? Yes. Even an absolute novice can easily remove the most horrific scuffs and scratches and re-create a finish that is indistinguishable from showroom new.
What do you need to refinish your own watches? If the area where the scratch or scuff is is high-polish (mirrored), and the scuff or scratch isn't very deep; a Cape Cod Polishing Cloth and a little bit of patience will do the job. If the scratch is deeper (and on a high-polish area), a Dremel or roto-tool along with a Deep Scratch Kit will make it go away quickly. If the scratch is on a brushed area (satin finish) like the clasp or outer links of a Rolex bracelet, then a Satin Refinishing Pad is all that's required. If the blemish is on a brushed area that's close to the crown or a pusher or on the bezel or lugs of your watch, then a Satin/Titanium Refinishing Pen is the best bet since it allows you to get into much smaller areas. To remove scratches from a titanium watch, use a Titanium Refinishing Pad or the Satin/Titanium Refinishing Pen. If you own more than one watch or prefer kits to a la carte refinishing supplies, you might want to check out the Ultimate Watch Refinishing Kit that gives you absolutely everything you need to refinish any stainless steel, yellow gold, rose gold, platinum, or titanium watch. All of these products include detailed easy-to-follow instructions that will give you exceptional results even if you don't have any previous experience refinishing watches. All of these things cost significantly less than one commercial refinishing job.
How about a watch polishing cloth? The worst thing that you can use to polish a watch is a jewelry polishing cloth that's coated with red rouge. I cringe when I see stores or online vendors selling these things as watch polishing cloths. When you use one of these cloths, the micro-particles of red rouge wind up getting trapped next to the crown, beneath the bezel, and around the caseback of your watch. When you wind the watch, activate a pusher, or open the caseback; these particles wind up in the movement where they certainly won't do anything good. To keep your watch free of fingerprints, smudges, and dust; use a Horosafe Watch Polishing Cloth. This is a Nanofibre (100x finer than microfiber) cloth designed especially for watches that's completely safe for all watch surfaces - even delicate anti-reflective coated crystals. These cloths are also machine washable many times (500+) so they're very economical too!
When you know that you have the tools and the ability to remove scratches from your watches yourself, you'll enjoy wearing your watches much more since you won't be worried about the occasional mishap. Many watch collectors who have started to do their own watch scratch removal and watch refinishing tell me that they're wearing watches now that they had previously been afraid to wear.
