Replacing crown gasket

[watchfellow 0]

Hi everyone,

I couldn't find anything on the forum regarding this topic, but I was wondering if anyone has any tips on replacing non Rolex crowns gaskets, as I have an old Hamilton crown with a melted gasket that's otherwise in great aesthetic condition. I removed the melted gasket by letting the crown soak in ammonia overnight and cleaning the residue with pegwood. Now I'm not sure how to go about inserting a new gasket or if it's even possible? Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Poljot 274]

18 minutes ago, watchfellow said:

Hi everyone,

I couldn't find anything on the forum regarding this topic, but I was wondering if anyone has any tips on replacing non Rolex crowns gaskets, as I have an old Hamilton crown with a melted gasket that's otherwise in great aesthetic condition. I removed the melted gasket by letting the crown soak in ammonia overnight and cleaning the residue with pegwood. Now I'm not sure how to go about inserting a new gasket or if it's even possible? Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

If you can't locate a new replacement crown (what is so special about it?), you have three options:

- leave as-is

- lubricate the O-ring and try to squeeze it inside the crown through the gap, going around .. Could be fun (not)

- disassemble the crown (that "washer" can be pulled out), insert O-ring, and then try to secure that plate / washer (good luck)

I would go with new replacement.

[watchfellow 0]

Thank you for the response Poljot. Nothing really special about the crown I guess, probably just me being lazy to look for a new one (and this one looks aesthetically great). I will try option 2 before I start the search, although to be honest I have in the past tried to do just that and been unsuccessful. I've also tried option 3 in the past and never had any luck with it. I always end up mangling the washer and am not happy with the result.

[KOwatch 24]

I had a similar situation, but it ended up being easier ordering a new crown than finding the correct o-ring and reassembling. Still have the old crown though, might get around to it  

[Poljot 274]

48 minutes ago, watchfellow said:

Thank you for the response Poljot. Nothing really special about the crown I guess, probably just me being lazy to look for a new one (and this one looks aesthetically great). I will try option 2 before I start the search, although to be honest I have in the past tried to do just that and been unsuccessful. I've also tried option 3 in the past and never had any luck with it. I always end up mangling the washer and am not happy with the result.

Option 2 is tricky, but doable using silicone grease and a small flat screwdriver with dull tip & tweezers. You may even use some electric tape between o-ring and the blade while pushing the o-ring to prevent damaging it.

You may also search here for a new waterproof crown:

https://www.cousinsuk.com/category/waterproof-watch-crowns

I wish you luck and hope you will work something out. I am going to spend less time on this forum as I need to concentrate on some interesting and time-consuming current projects with vintage watches (jewels replacement, new balance staffs, etc). TIME for a break :-).

[watchfellow 0]

On 1/24/2021 at 5:36 PM, KOwatch said:

I had a similar situation, but it ended up being easier ordering a new crown than finding the correct o-ring and reassembling. Still have the old crown though, might get around to it  

It actually wasn't so bad! The silicon grease trick that Poljot suggested worked a charm. I pressure tested the case and surprisingly it came out waterproof as well.

On 1/24/2021 at 6:18 PM, Poljot said:

Option 2 is tricky, but doable using silicone grease and a small flat screwdriver with dull tip & tweezers. You may even use some electric tape between o-ring and the blade while pushing the o-ring to prevent damaging it.

You may also search here for a new waterproof crown:

https://www.cousinsuk.com/category/waterproof-watch-crowns

I wish you luck and hope you will work something out. I am going to spend less time on this forum as I need to concentrate on some interesting and time-consuming current projects with vintage watches (jewels replacement, new balance staffs, etc). TIME for a break :-).

Thank you for the silicone grease tip, it worked really well. And the case even passed a waterproof test!

The irony of working on watches... there is just never enough time for every project.