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Watch Crystals

The watch crystal can take some of the hardest hits for being the window to your timepiece. There are different materials that the watch crystals are made of and several methods to install and remove different styles of crystals. Your watch crystal may be made from plastic, glass, mineral glass, or for a high grade watch, possibly a clear synthetic sapphire crystal. Because of their flexibility, plastic crystals have the widest variety of installation options including; pressure pushed, glue & adhesives, pressure ring pressed, watch press bend to fit, and bezel pressure set. Glass crystals can be set with glue/adhesives, pressure gasket pressed, and bezel pressure set. It is common to get scratches on almost any type of crystal and the methods vary in removing scratches in crystals can range from simple and inexpensive to requiring a range of expensive tools and power equipment.
One myth is that a crystal cannot be broken "unbreakable" is a term that might be used for some of the plastic crystals and although they are made from a highly flexible lexon type plastic, it is known to break in certain instances. Another myth is that a crystal cannot be scratched usually, they are referring to the synthetic sapphire type crystal and although the hardness of the crystal is an amazing "9" on the mohs scale, these crystals when touched by other hard materials will scratch.
Both plastic and glass crystals can be cut, shaped or trimmed to fit watches but if the watch requires a gasket that could possibly make the watch water resistant, using factory sizes or replacement will assure a good seal. Just as there are many ways to fit a crystal to a watch, there are several methods to custom cutting crystals. With plastic crystals it can be as simple as a file or sandpaper for shaping and cutting, and plastic polishing compounds with buffs for getting scratches out. For glass crystals machines using diamond or ceramic wheels are used to cut or shape the crystal and there are some jewelry or lapidary machines that will polish the surface using special compounds or abrasives. Here you can find the crystals to fit your wristwatch, pocket watch, and possibly your clock? We stock plastic, glass, and sapphire crystals plus, the watch tools to replace your crystal almost any watch brand including Bulova, Rolex, Seiko, Pulsar, Lorus, Citizen, and Omega.
 
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