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.
