Finding a replacement crystal for Bulova 23 jewel self winding watch

[Max50916]

So I've just finished servicing a Bulova 23 jewel self winding watch from 1961. I'm trying to find a replacement crystal but it doesn't seem that I can use a conventional round hi dome crystal. I tried fitting a 30mm hi dome crystal in which seemed to fit nicely but won't hold the bezel in place. 

There is a mirrored ring inside the case to hold the movement in place. Is this what a reflector ring is? 

I found this (see photos) in the GS catalog and THINK it's the correct crystal (PA 462-17) but since it's expensive and I've never dealt with a crystal like this before I was hoping to get some advice/correction if needed. Thank you anyone who can help!

 

(I included pics of the old crystal for reference)

Edited May 24, 2021 by Max50916

[watchweasol]

Hi  The mirrored ring you mentioned is the tension/ reflector ring and fits inside the rim of the glass and when fitted and compressed using a crystal lift tool this is what holds the glass in place.  I assume you have the appropriate tool if not a picture of one is attached.  You should be able to find a generic replacement at Cousins UK watch parts or Jules Borel and Esslingers in the USA.     cheers

[Max50916]

19 hours ago, watchweasol said:

Hi  The mirrored ring you mentioned is the tension/ reflector ring and fits inside the rim of the glass and when fitted and compressed using a crystal lift tool this is what holds the glass in place.  I assume you have the appropriate tool if not a picture of one is attached.  You should be able to find a generic replacement at Cousins UK watch parts or Jules Borel and Esslingers in the USA.     cheers

Thanks! Yes I do have this tool, I did use a generic pressure fit crystal but it didn't hold the bezel on securely unfortunately. It seems there needs to be something about the fit to hold the crystal in place, otherwise it doesn't hold for some reason

[Nucejoe]

You need a CRYSTAL PRESS  to fit in crystals with tension ring.

[watchweasol]

Hi  the general rule of thumb when ordering new crystals is to measure the old one and add 0.01mm.   https://blog.esslinger.com/watch-crystal-3/    have a look at this site for further information and a tutorial.     cheers

[GuyMontag]

Sorry, don't have an answer but here is some additional info that may help.

I have quite a few of these Bulova 23's, a couple that are front loaders like this one. They don't require a crystal press or even a crystal lift. You just have to lever off the bezel with a case knife and the crystal will then be sitting freely and can be removed with your fingers.

I have what looks like a similar Bulova 23 (1961) but with a black dial. On mine the measurements are:

Crystal ID: 28.6 mm
Crystal OD: 29.8 mm
Crystal wall thickness: 0.6 mm
Bezel ID: 29.8 mm

The above makes sense as the crystal OD should be the crystal ID plus the wall thickness x2 (0.6 x 2 = 1.2 mm)

So the Bezel ID is the same diameter as the Crystal OD, which means that for this watch the bezel should be able to fit and hold a 29.8 mm crystal as long as the wall thickness of the crystal is 0.6 mm.

Perhaps you could call/email your crystal supplier and ask for a high dome crystal with a diameter equal to the ID of the bezel and a wall thickness equal (no idea if this is something they would even know, probably not...) to 1/2 the difference between the crystal ID and the crystal OD.

Around this time Bulova started putting case numbers on the inside of the case and you could look that up in the ABC catalog and it would tell you exactly which crystal (among other components) you would need, but this one is a little before they started doing that.

The 'SELF WINDING' on the dial is interesting, I don't recall seeing Bulova breaking that up into two words vs. the typical 'SELFWINDING'.

You could also try asking over on mybulova.com, they might have the exact info you need.

 

[Max50916]

On 6/4/2021 at 10:11 PM, GuyMontag said:

Sorry, don't have an answer but here is some additional info that may help.

I have quite a few of these Bulova 23's, a couple that are front loaders like this one. They don't require a crystal press or even a crystal lift. You just have to lever off the bezel with a case knife and the crystal will then be sitting freely and can be removed with your fingers.

I have what looks like a similar Bulova 23 (1961) but with a black dial. On mine the measurements are:

Crystal ID: 28.6 mm
Crystal OD: 29.8 mm
Crystal wall thickness: 0.6 mm
Bezel ID: 29.8 mm

The above makes sense as the crystal OD should be the crystal ID plus the wall thickness x2 (0.6 x 2 = 1.2 mm)

So the Bezel ID is the same diameter as the Crystal OD, which means that for this watch the bezel should be able to fit and hold a 29.8 mm crystal as long as the wall thickness of the crystal is 0.6 mm.

Perhaps you could call/email your crystal supplier and ask for a high dome crystal with a diameter equal to the ID of the bezel and a wall thickness equal (no idea if this is something they would even know, probably not...) to 1/2 the difference between the crystal ID and the crystal OD.

Around this time Bulova started putting case numbers on the inside of the case and you could look that up in the ABC catalog and it would tell you exactly which crystal (among other components) you would need, but this one is a little before they started doing that.

The 'SELF WINDING' on the dial is interesting, I don't recall seeing Bulova breaking that up into two words vs. the typical 'SELFWINDING'.

You could also try asking over on mybulova.com, they might have the exact info you need.

 

Thank you so much for the help!

[RVCustoms]

On 7/12/2021 at 11:18 AM, Max50916 said:

Thank you so much for the help!

I am currently working on the same exact watch and having the same issue.  Did you ever find the correct crystal part number?