Oh he complained... In Rolex's mind they had done him a huge favor by taking a near worthless Military Submariner and making it a brand new spec watch. You have to understand that worth is in the eye of the beholder. To a collector, a vintage military Submariner is worth $10,000. To Rolex it's just another watch and they can make it perform to specification by replacing worn parts.
You have to remember that at one time, Military Submariners were sold at surplus auctions for a fraction of the price of a civilian Submariner. Many people bought them and had them converted to civilian specification. Only later did collectors start to realize this was a modification that was best left alone and preserved. They became rare, and today a genuine military Sub will fetch $10,000.
In the case of my friend, his was actually issued, so it held a sentimental value to him as well. Rolex said they might be able to reconvert it, but the damage had been done. You cannot put parts back on to a Military Sub and claim it is in original condition. In the end Rolex claimed they no longer had the parts anyways to retrofit his Sub. His claim was not about money anyways, so what could he do? As far as Rolex was concerned, his watch was better than ever after being serviced.
