Does polishing a Rolex decrease its value?

It depends.

A professional light polish on a modern Rolex doesn’t necessarily create a major value problem. However, over-polishing can absolutely hurt the value, particularly on collectible and vintage watches.

Collectors pay attention to the original case shape, edges, lugs and finishing.

For certain vintage Rolex watches, an untouched original case can be significantly more desirable than a heavily refinished one.