Fitting round plastic watch crystals
Home Up Removing the balance wheel Mainspring and barrel Checking watch bushings Cleaning watch dials Click and ratchet Popular watch crown styles Checking wheel and pinion depth English fusee cross section view Fitting odd shaped crystals Fitting round plastic watch crystals Fitting stems and crowns Pictures and drawingsl Watch jewels and pallets Keyless work winding and setting Letting down the mainspring pivotshake Pocket watch nomenclature Polishing plastic watch crystals Positional timing problems TECH HELP Refinishing hands Removing the dial Removing hands Removing motion work Removing movement Removing stem Repairing Enameled Dials some erratic operation causes Watch is gaining Straightening hands Transmision wheel Using calipers Watch movement sizes watch nomenclature watchcleaning Watch is slow Wheels and bridges Winding parts

 

CWR Technical Pages

Polishing plastic watch crystals

Fitting round plastic crystals

First, remove movement, band, and anything else, such as a rotating divers bezel from case.

1.   Remove old crystal from bezel.

2.   Remove all old glue and dirt from bezel shoulder.

3.   Clean bezel and case.

4.   Measure distance across bezel.

5.   Choose a crystal 0.10 mm larger than measured distance.

6.   Apply a small amount of plastic crystal cement to bezel shoulder (I use G-S cement).

7.   Insert crystal with crystal press or crystal inserting tool.

8.   Clean watch dial and hands.

9.   Replace movement into case.

10. Put on case back and divers bezel, etc.

To clean dial, always use blower and a sharpened piece of pegwood or toothpick to remove dust and broken pieces of glass from surface.  Then use Rodico or something like it to remove any other residue. (Rodico is like silly putty and can be purchased from most material distributors.)

It is always best to remove the hands when cleaning the dial or to straighten them.

To straighten hands, use sharpened pegwood and tweezers, hold hand steady by inserting pegwood through the hole in the hand and use tweezers to manipulate hand.  You can also use a hand or balance tack to hold hand steady.

When choosing a replacement crystal consider the design of the watch, the height of the original, the style of the original (high dome, low dome, flat top, stepped, tension ring, straight sided, magnifier, etc.).

 

 

 

 

 I made these pages as basic tech help to others in the horological field and to give the public an idea of what it takes to do even the smallest repairs.  If anyone has any comments or something they would like to add to list please email me.  Many minds working together will accomplish much more than one working alone.  Please note that there are many ways to do different things in horology and I am not implying that any ideas in these pages are the best or only way(s) to do any given project.

I will be adding pages to this list on a regular basis so be sure to check back often.

Copyright © 2001 CompanyLongName