When a broken or scratched watch crystal needs
to be repaired replaced, the first thing to do is
identify the type of crystal.
Is it plastic? Is it glass? Is it
square, round, domed or an odd shape? Does it have
a
magnifier window? Are there any
other differentiating features?
The next steps are; remove the old crystal and
clean the watch then order the correct crystal
and finally to fit the crystal. This article is
an overview of some types of watches and how to
fit a watch crystal - click below for specific
instructions and step by step guides on
repairing and replacing watch crystals.
Tools
for replacing watch crystals
A watchmaker
should approach each watch as if it were the
most important watch ever. It does not matter if
it is
mechanical or
quartz, expensive, very expensive or quite inexpensive. If the
watch crystal needs to be changed,
it is the most important watch at that moment.
To do a proper job,
95% of the time
the movement must be removed from the case and
the case cleaned properly.
Remove
Your Old Watch Crystal
To remove the old crystal it can sometimes be
pushed out. A plastic crystal should be removed
with a crystal lift. Others that are glued with
different types of
watch epoxy will need to be boiled out or a
chemical like methylene chloride has to be used
to dissolve the epoxy. The case then has to be
cleaned to ready it for a new crystal.
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Articles:
How to remove
a watch crystal
Types of Watch Crystals
Looking at an old mechanical watch, chances are
that it will be a dome plastic crystal. If there
is not a crystal in the watch, measure the edges
of the resting place of the old crystal. A 24.40
mm in diameter measurement would require a round
24.40 dome crystal.
Since
it is plastic and easily damaged, it should be
glued. The Seiko 2-Part S-314 Crystal Adhesive
, or 
equivalent can be used.
If size 24.40 mm is not available, a larger size
crystal like 24.45, 24.50,
may work but it cannot be glued - a
Crystal Lift is needed.
Some old watches with plastic crystals like
Omegas have a security ring or tension ring to
support and secure the crystal. It can be
removed with a Bergeon Crystal Lift, 10 to 45mm
or equivalent. There are
original crystals to be found, normally more
expensive, and because of the security ring, the
Crystal and Case Press will
be needed. No glue will be necessary with this
type of crystal.
Other
types of shapes of old watches with a
plastic crystal, require more dimensions.
For example, an old rectangular Elgin with a
domed crystal measuring 14.30mm by 19.40mm
probably has a generic crystal to be found that is close
to these measurements and can be trimmed or cut to fit the
case. Plastic crystals can be filed down and
polished and always should to be glued in with
Seiko 2-Part S-314 Crystal Adhesive or equivalent.
Related
Articles;
how to identify watch crystals
and
how to measure watch crystals
Fitting Watch Crystals
Regular flat round mineral glass crystals are
probably the most common crystals in today's
watches. Remove the old crystal, remove the
watch movement and clean the case. Measure the
diameter and measure the thickness. Whatever the
thickness is, maybe 1.20mm, 1.40mm. 1.50 mm,
etc., it is necessary to get as close to the
original size as possible. Some of the sport
watches with round flat crystals have a
crystal gasket that holds the crystal in place.
If the gasket is in good condition, you can use
the old gasket and set the crystal with
Watch Crystal Press. If a gasket
is broken or in poor condition you may want to
discard the gasket and fit the crystal as close to the bezel
as possible with epoxy. If for example, the original
crystal was 22.30mm in diameter and 
2.00mm
thick, but the gasket took 1.30 mm, you should
order a 23.60mm by 2.00 thick, and glue it
(measure the watch case with a digital
micrometer for accurate size)
Some watchmakers maintain that nothing beats
jewelers epoxy two part cement. It has been the
standard for a very long time. The epoxy sets
very fast and is clear when it dries. More
recently
watchmakers are successfully using the new "Crystal Clear"
Ultraviolet Glass Adhesives (or equivalent) with Ultraviolet Lamp (or equivalent). It is fast and
clean when used
to fit mineral crystals to a metal watch case
(dries in less than 4 minutes). Times change, so does technology. If
for any reason you need to add a magnifier
window to the crystal, (calendar round Mineral
Glass Crystal - Magnifier w/ Edge 3.00mm x
4.00mm Middle Item Number: 201703) the
ultraviolet adhesive is the solution as it will
will glue the window on with no marks or
shadows.
Related
Articles;
how to
glue in watch crystals and
how use a crystal press to fit crystals
Replacing Original Brand Watch Crystals
Many brand name
watches can be replaced with a generic crystal
that will save money and possibly some time in
ordering a new genuine crystal. First determine
the type of crystal that you need, then shop for
watch crystals online to see if there is generic
crystals that match your watch. If you must have
a genuine manufacturers replacement, you will
need to know how to find watch case numbers for
ordering parts for that model and brand.
When replacing a crystal in a watch, it needs to
match as closely as possible to the original.
Look not only for diameters and thickness, but
for coloration or hues as some of them have a
special tint. Some of them are magnified
crystal, others have a design. Most can be
replaced with generics. Sometimes only the
manufacturer will have the proper replacement as
in the case of Bulova, Seiko, Citizen and some
designer brands. Original crystals may still be
available. Japanese manufactures normally list
the ID number in the case, for example, Seiko
3y03-0059. This number, especially the first 4
digits(3y03) identifies the case and the
movement #.
Swiss manufactures put the number inside the
case, Rolex puts the identification number
between the lugs. It is important to find the correct watch case number.
Most high end sport watches use scratch proof
sapphire crystals (made of synthetic
sapphire). These are really scratch
resistant, because there is a possibility that
it COULD scratch or chip.
With a hardness of 9 on the mohs scale, sapphire
crystals can withstand a harder beating than
other glass or plastic crystals. Rolex, as an answer to the Japanese
flood of sapphire crystals, began using them in
the mid 80's for the Date Just, Submariner,
president and various other models. In dealing
deal with this type of watch try to use original
parts only and try to replace not only the
crystal but the gasket. Do not glue these
crystals and do not use an old
crystal gasket. If it is not done right the
first time it will come back to haunt you.
Generic parts are good for medium/low priced
watches. If you are dealing with top of the line
brands (e.g. Rolex, Patek, Audemar) use original
parts if possible. Since generic parts
sometimes are not an exact replacement for these
high end watches, it brand parts help insure
that something will not go wrong. If
original parts are simply not available, then
use the parts that are available.
Related
Articles:
how to order watch crystals
Summary
Identify, measure, look for shape and design,
for thickness, and colors.
Clean watch cases, use pressure, epoxy or UV
glue to install them and replace the watch gasket(s) if needed.
There are crystals that are not mentioned here, some of
them would be held by the bezel and the bezel
would be secured with screws and some other will
have tension rings holding a thin flat sapphire
crystal. This is only an introduction to the
most common types of crystal replacement and
watch tools. Confidence will lead
to efforts to repair more challenging watches.
This guide will
help with crystal fitting for many popular
brands including; Seiko watch crystal, Omega
watch crystal, Rolex
watch crystal, Citizen
watch crystal, Longines
watch crystal, Bulova
watch crystal, Lorus
watch crystal, Casio
watch crystal, Hamilton
watch crystal
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