Solutions for changing vintage watch glass

[Chopin]

Hello guys, I have to change the glass and gasket of a swiss ladies vintage watch but I'm a bit stuck as I've never encountered this type before. I did some light searching on Cousins but since I'm not sure what to look for I decided to post here before ordering anything. I'm posting pics and a wannabe schematic below for help.

I guess it's not mandatory to go for glass and I could opt for acrylic as well but I'm not sure if I can find the right type and dimensions.

With my limited knowledge I stopped at this particular type (link) but sadly they don't have the smaller diameter that I need. There is also one that is flat bottomed but I wonder if the dial and hands will be correctly visible with that kind of glass. From what I've seen the original one has magnifying properties (probably because it's not flat bottomed). Would there be a similar type of crystal on the acrylic side ?

The gasket seems to be "S" shaped but I assume that the "L" shaped ones will be fine as well.

Side view of the original glass in the case.

Ideally I'd like to buy from Cousins as I already have an account with them and prices are good.

[rogart63]

How bad is it . Can you polish the crystal. With wet and dry paper and  ceriumoxid. 

[Chopin]

It's not cracked and I don't think that it's scratched either but it is a bit opaque for some reason. Never "polished" a glass crystal so I guess that will be the last thing on my list... It would be cheaper, though.

One other problem is the gasket. I have a feeling that the old one is a bit thicker than the modern ones...

What is the thickness of modern "L" gaskets ? If it's 1mm or so then it's good.. The ones on cousins seem to be -0,4 or 0,5mm...

Edited November 29, 2019 by Chopin

[Redwood]

If you download the watch glass document you will see a better picture of the profile. Look at the MDT


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[Chopin]

Will check the document out... The one that I need has to have a straight vertical wall and it needs to be 2mm thick though...

I wonder if this one would work... But it too seems to have a rounded edge...

https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/200mm-domed-cousins

For this type of glass, when they say 2mm thick do they mean total height or just thickness of the glass?

Edited November 30, 2019 by Chopin

[Chopin]

Is it possible to skip the sandpaper/wetpaper stage ? What other alternatives are there to ceriumoxid ?

Also, with wetpaper, given that the glass is only matted/opaque a bit (I'm guessing due to years of wear) could I just use the highest grit possible and then switch to rubbing it with something ?

And what sandpaper grit would be good enough ? 200-300 ?

Edited December 1, 2019 by Chopin

[jdm]

So many topics written about this, but the same questions are always asked. In short:

Only wet paper removes scratches. Depending on various factors, there is no set grade. 400 or 600 are the rough ones to start. 

Wet paper is not an effective way to finish work after, say an 800 or 1000 grit pass. Use diamond paste on an hard wheel instead. 

Cerium oxide is not indispensabile. You may find that if fact it does nothing than fine diamond paste does not do but seems harder to clean. 

Edited December 1, 2019 by jdm

[rogart63]

10 minutes ago, jdm said:

So many topics written about this, but the same question are always asked. In short:

Only wet paper removes scratches. Depending on various factors, there is no set grade. 400 or 600 are the rough ones to start

Wet paper is not an effective way to finish work after, say an 800 or 1000 grit pass. Use diamond paste on an hard wheel instead. 

Cerium oxide is not indispensabile. You may find that if fact it does nothing than fine diamond paste does not do. 

I use diamond paste to.  I polished this with 400 paper then 800 and last 1200 wet . And last diamond paste . As i didn't have any ceriumoxide. Result is pretty okay? 

[Chopin]

I had some diamond paste around and decided to use it. Result is good overall.

The glass had no visible scratches with the naked eye but it was a bit opaque. The paste did the job. (Not perfect but almost)

Have ordered some gaskets and I hope that the glass will be a tight fit.

Will remember your advices for future projects. Thanks!

[jdm]

34 minutes ago, Chopin said:

The glass had no visible scratches with the naked eye but it was a bit opaque. The paste did the job. (Not perfect but almost)

Have you used a rotary tool? Without it you would spend a lot of time for little progress. And the tool must be kept steady by some sort of holder.

[Chopin]

I had to improvise a bit... not sure if pic is good but I am pleased with the result.

like I said it was only a bit opaque due to age, I guess. 

[jdm]

Looks good. As one makes progress in polishing it becomes important not only to obtain the best possible result, but to get there quickly and with the minimum effort and mess.

Edited December 2, 2019 by jdm

[rogart63]

Great result Chopin  If you look att the zenith it's not perfect either.  I could have used a finer wet and dry paper before i polished it. A 2000 or maybe even 3000 paper would be perfect. 

 

[Chopin]

12 minutes ago, rogart63 said:

Great result Chopin  If you look att the zenith it's not perfect either.  I could have used a finer wet and dry paper before i polished it. A 2000 or maybe even 3000 paper would be perfect. 

 

I think it looks good. Love the watch, too. :)