Help with Press on bezel for Dom acrylic glass

[Jin999]

Hi everyone,

Appreciate your kind advise on installing bezel fit Dom acrylic crystal

The problem is when I sit the crystal in the press die, the die is not deep enough to touch the bezel. Photo attached.

In this case how should I proceed?

Should I remove the Dom crystal, press on the bezel to the watch case then lastly press in the crystal?

 

Kind regards

Jin

[rodabod]

You could remove the crystal and fit the bezel first. 
 

Or, try it like you have if it’s not too much force required to press - acrylic crystals can take a lot of pressure if it is correctly applied near the edge. 

[Jin999]

49 minutes ago, rodabod said:

You could remove the crystal and fit the bezel first. 
 

Or, try it like you have if it’s not too much force required to press - acrylic crystals can take a lot of pressure if it is correctly applied near the edge. 

Hi rodabod, I afraid the acrylic crystal will break as the contact point is at the centre of the cystal. Are there special dies for Dom crystal? Or what's the normal practice for such situation.

 

[rodabod]

Ah, I guess it must be quite a deep crystal. I had a similar issue with a Tudor crystal with cyclops magnifier, so had to modify the crystal press cup. 
 

Do you have a crystal lift?

[Jin999]

1 hour ago, rodabod said:

Ah, I guess it must be quite a deep crystal. I had a similar issue with a Tudor crystal with cyclops magnifier, so had to modify the crystal press cup. 
 

Do you have a crystal lift?

Unfortunately I do not have crystal lift tool. Did u used crystal lift tool to compress the crystal and fit it right into the bezel?

 

[rodabod]

1 hour ago, Jin999 said:

Unfortunately I do not have crystal lift tool. Did u used crystal lift tool to compress the crystal and fit it right into the bezel?

 

Yes, exactly. 
 

Is your movement a front-loader or does it fit in from the rear? The other option would be to use your crystal press to compress the new crystal and fit it to the bezel when the bezel is fitted to the mid case, but with the movement not yet fitted. 

[Jin999]

7 hours ago, rodabod said:

Yes, exactly. 
 

Is your movement a front-loader or does it fit in from the rear? The other option would be to use your crystal press to compress the new crystal and fit it to the bezel when the bezel is fitted to the mid case, but with the movement not yet fitted. 

It's a front loader so it tricky 

[rodabod]

Ok. I would either make a new cup (section of nylon pipe pressed with a flat attachment?), or I would use a crystal lift (claw) to fit the crystal separately. I would recommend getting a second-hand Swiss crystal lift if you have the money. 

[Jin999]

8 hours ago, rodabod said:

Ok. I would either make a new cup (section of nylon pipe pressed with a flat attachment?), or I would use a crystal lift (claw) to fit the crystal separately. I would recommend getting a second-hand Swiss crystal lift if you have the money.

Crystal lift I saw a few on AliExpress at middle price range.

 

Thank you rodabod for the kind advice.

 

Regards

[Tudor]

I made one from a scrap of PVC pipe. 

[HectorLooi]

7 hours ago, Jin999 said:

Crystal lift I saw a few on AliExpress at middle price range.

If you intend to use the AliX crystal lift only rarely, then go for it.

I got my first crytal lift from Alix. It lasted only a few times before noticed that I required more and more force to tighten the crystal sufficiently to remove it. I took the crystal lift apart to find out why.

The jaws of these China made crystal lifts are made of aluminum. Just after a few uses, the rim of the body will leave indentations on the jaws. The next time you remove a crystal with the same diameter where the indentations are, the rim of the tool gets caught in the depressions and you'll need a lot more force to close the jaws beyond it.

The Indian made ones fair a little better. The jaws are made of brass and don't suffer damage after each use. But the center hub is made of aluminum which can distort after some time.

So Rodabod's advice of getting a 2nd hand Swiss crystal lift is good advice.

[Jin999]

On 9/26/2020 at 3:26 AM, HectorLooi said:

If you intend to use the AliX crystal lift only rarely, then go for it.

I got my first crytal lift from Alix. It lasted only a few times before noticed that I required more and more force to tighten the crystal sufficiently to remove it. I took the crystal lift apart to find out why.

The jaws of these China made crystal lifts are made of aluminum. Just after a few uses, the rim of the body will leave indentations on the jaws. The next time you remove a crystal with the same diameter where the indentations are, the rim of the tool gets caught in the depressions and you'll need a lot more force to close the jaws beyond it.

The Indian made ones fair a little better. The jaws are made of brass and don't suffer damage after each use. But the center hub is made of aluminum which can distort after some time.

So Rodabod's advice of getting a 2nd hand Swiss crystal lift is good advice.

Hi, I'm considering using crystal press to press back the crystal, I'm not sure if it will work 

[Jin999]

On 9/24/2020 at 3:01 PM, Jin999 said:

Hi everyone,

Appreciate your kind advise on installing bezel fit Dom acrylic crystal

The problem is when I sit the crystal in the press die, the die is not deep enough to touch the bezel. Photo attached.

In this case how should I proceed?

Should I remove the Dom crystal, press on the bezel to the watch case then lastly press in the crystal?

 

Kind regards

Jin

On 9/26/2020 at 3:26 AM, HectorLooi said:

 

Some update on the progress.

 

The bezel assembly with domed crystal can be press to the watch case by hand without any tools.

Job done and thanks everyone for the sharing their experience, appreciated.

Kind regards

Jin