How Do You Know the Watch Face Is Crystal

I am not a pro sentinel repairer so obviously repairing my cleaved crystal makes no sense at all and I really should pay the money and get it done by professionals……..Still hither? Well then I guess you may every bit well read on 🙂 (yous can click on any paradigm to see a close up).

A broken crystal, the story so far…

Busted crystal and missing cyclops

Getting set for bed ane night saw me bollix with my sentry and……..bang! Face down onto hard, difficult ceramic tiles. The event was not pretty.

The watch glass or crystal to give it the proper name, was completely smashed. The engagement bubble or cyclops disintegrated; leaving merely tiny fragments and a shadow where information technology used to be.

I cried, but a little flake, I loved this scout.

OK, toughen upwardly man, fourth dimension for Google! Later a footling research I found that replacing a cleaved crystal on a Rolex is not exactly a straightforward job. Considering these watches are mechanical and non digital, evidently you wouldn't want anything to go in amongst the workings, y'all know, something similar bits of broken crystal!

It'southward not about only replacing the broken crystal…

Because of this cleaved 'drinking glass' issue, whatsoever decent watch repairer and certainly any official Rolex dealer, volition not bear on whatever broken crystal/ replacement job without wanting to exercise a full service too. This is of course the official line and indeed it makes perfect sense……unless you can't afford the service cost when added to the replacement crystal cost (effectually £600 or $900). Someone like me.

So my poor sometime Rolex watch laid in a drawer for a year before I realised that to attempt to fix it myself would either piece of work or not. Worst case scenario is that I finish up with a busted picket and I've already got i of those!!

Back to Google and then. Aftermarket crystals were easily found on ebay (thanks wholesaleoutlet990) in substitution for a tiny sum. Three days later, I am in business, gear up to repair my beloved Rolex. I even got an aftermarket clasp to repair the bracelet that had previously broken, (this watch has had a tough life… rolexforums.com/Africa wore out my Rolex)

Removing the retaining ring or bezel that holds the crystal in identify. Apologies for the really muddy sentinel, it's a working i for sure!

Removing a cleaved crystal…

The get-go job to do is to remove the onetime broken crystal. I used a very sparse blade and rocked information technology dorsum and along over the gap between the bezel and the sentinel case. First over one of the strap lugs.

Once pushed into the gap a fiddling I worked and wiggled it all the way around the bezel, lifting it slightly with each move.

This lifted up the bezel by enough to bandy the thin blade for a thicker knife blade, again working, wiggling and slightly levering the bezel all the style around. Later on a few trips effectually, the bezel popped off and I had a bunch of broken crystal in my manus.

Looking at the Rolex watch face I realised that it was a very good fit in the case and that realistically whatsoever 'glass' would only find its way into the workings of the watch through the date window. And so I advisedly rotated the winder to plow the date bike through a full month. Boy was I lucky, on the 16th, I spotted (with my trusty magnifying glass!), a sliver of broken crystal! I used a rolled up piece of tissue paper, dampened slightly at the tip to gently lift the tiny fragment away.

Then I gently tipped the remaining broken bits of crystal off the watch confront, away from the date hole. To be sure, I used a pocket-sized compressor to blow some (oil complimentary), low force per unit area air across the watch face (at a distance I might add together!) At no time did I ever bear upon the scout face or hands which is probably a very 'adept thing'…

Plumbing equipment the new crystal…

Right, lets accept a look at the new crystal and little plastic gasket that came with it. At starting time I thought that the new gasket was a little deeper than the original one, but it fitted perfectly so my fears were unjustified.

The gasket fits onto the bottom of the crystal, cyclops facing up. And then you can line upwards the crystal on the watch instance with the cyclops centred over the date (if applicable) or the winder. A gentle push volition click the gasket over the lookout case raised edge.

Then the metallic bezel sits on top of the crystal, yous can button it on gently with your fingers. Make certain information technology's level, i.e. not at an angle to the case. At that place will be a gap.

Rolex, crystal and retaining bezel prepare for fitting.

Slightly bigger than the crystal itself.

Now I but needed the crystal printing that I didn't accept! A quick root through my 'bits and bobs' drawer soon plant a hard plastic ring from a lamp plumbing fixtures that was a tiny bit bigger than the crystal face. It is very important not to press the crystal in whatsoever manner, only the metallic bezel.

I didn't fancy working in the workshop vice and figured that not too much pressure would be needed. So I made a temporary crystal press using a sash clench, a hard condom bung and the aforementioned plastic lamp plumbing fixtures.

Homemade crystal press using sash clench, safety hurl and a lamp fitting.

Gently winding the sash clamp up until it pinched the bezel. Deep breath and a little more pressure saw the bezel slide down the crystal and snap into place. Success!

Now, I'll let yous into a little secret here (but don't tell anyone!) I figured that equally the bezel was going to be so tight, a niggling lubrication wouldn't hurt, so I wiped a petty saliva around the casing……

Big fault. The bezel snapped on lovely, simply seconds later the within of the crystal fogged upwards completely. Duh! Off it came again. I  dried everything with a hair dryer on low and 2d time effectually, perfectly dry, it snapped into place but fine. Oh, the mistakes united states of america amateurs make!

Information technology was no skillful putting information technology off, the time had come to printing in the winder and see if the watch still worked. Pressed it in and bingo, the watch started up directly away, using the ability that had been stored in the bound for over a twelvemonth! Amazing.

Conclusions from 'domicile' repairing a broken crystal on a Rolex…

Back on my wrist, where it belongs.

Now I have no uncertainty that this page volition outrage many Rolex purists out there and I certainly cannot condone working on such fine timepieces without proper training. Indeed I may have just as easily damaged the watch further. But in my defence, it had lain in a drawer for over a year, and was, to all intent and purposes, flake. I had nothing to lose and everything to gain, (Oh, and I am a really, really handy gars!).

The sentry works just fine correct now, but who knows what other damage the shock of the fall did. But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. 1 twenty-four hours I promise I'll go it serviced properly and replace the aftermarket parts.

In the meantime the lookout is back where it ever was and where information technology belongs; on my wrist in all weathers and in all weather condition, telling me the fourth dimension.

Stay well

By Ian Anderson

Cleaved crystal repair update…

I just thought I'd allow you know my watch is still ticking along nicely, as I update this on the 21st October 2018, so that's been: 6 years, 3 months, or 2283 days or 54,792 hours or  iii,287,520 minutes  or, wait for it, deep breath…. 197,251,200 seconds!!!    (courtesy of timeanddate.com)

Phew, that'southward a lot of ticking 🙂 Not bad for a sentinel which had a broken crystal…..

Replace broken crystal update No.ii! (Sept. 2021)

Well, the other twenty-four hour period I went to open the automobile door and I heard a 'tinkle'…

I looked downwardly and saw a what looked like a little plastic disc on the floor. It took me a moment to realise that it was my watch crystal. Ah, shoot, that's not good. Luckily I saw it before I started putting my hand in my pocket, jacket sleeve etc., because that would have really buggered up the face and hands etc.

Turns out the crystal was fine simply rather the plastic gasket had deteriorated and was broken up. I couldn't find gaskets for sale on their own , so I ordered a new crystal and gasket. I ordered it on ebay.co.uk from chrono.HK (ebay.co.u.k./itm/283438914175) and it price twenty odd GBP.

I followed the instructions equally above and it all went together simply fine. For a refresher I did go online and come across if anyone had uploaded whatever videos since I last did this, and I institute a not bad guy called Marshall. Here is his video on a Rolex restoration which makes for an entertaining 45 mins.

I also establish another guy chosen Peter Grande who shows exactly how to supervene upon a Rolex crystal. He does remove the motility, although I didn't find it necessary when I've washed mine. If yous do need to get some lookout repair tools, caput over to amazon and search for Bergeon.

All round handy gars, humanitarian, and mad scribbler.

Moved around a bit, from one side of the planet to the other, only at present settled close to the beach in Kingdom of norway.

steigerwaldtheassion.blogspot.com

Source: https://handycrowd.com/replace-broken-crystal-on-rolex-watch/

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