Replacement Crystal for Seiko SSB181P1 (8T67-00A0)

[Zip86]

Hi there...my son got a new Seiko SSB181P1 for Christmas (see pic)...as he was showing it off to his girlfriend, he took it off and dropped in on the tile floor, shattering the crystal.  I can't seem to find a replacement crystal...nothing seem to come up when I search.  Any help?

 

[jdm]

5 hours ago, Zip86 said:

I can't seem to find a replacement crystal...nothing seem to come up when I search.

Thr Seiko P/N Iis obtained from the reference numberon the back, not the marketing code. However you don't need that because flat crystals are normally replaced by generic ones easily obtained. Measure thickness from a fragment and the recess in the case with vernier calipers. Then a crystal press is needed for refitting, reason for which all in all it may be better to give it to a watch shop.

[xyzzy]

You want Seiko crystal 370PA1LN03, which you can probably still buy from the suppliers listed in the where to get parts sticky topic.

But like @jdm said, it's probably a standard flat crystal you can obtain cheaply from many places.  From the code, we know its diameter is 37.0 mm, which like most Seiko crystals is a standard size.  It's also pressed in, glass, transparent, with no coating.  But, we can't tell how thick it is!  For some reason Seiko thinks asking a crystal its thickness is like asking a woman her weight and prefers to keep a bit of mystery about this value.  Hopefully you have a piece you can measure the thickness of!

If it's a standard thickness like 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 mm then you can get sapphire crystal on alix/ebay from China for not much cost, but a bit of a wait shipping wise.

There is a white plastic ring, which is between the crystal and the bezel.  It's crushed when the crystal is pressed in and should be replaced.  But you don't always have to replace it if it's not damaged.  It's Seiko part 8661-2290, but a generic plastic "I" gasket for a 37.0 mm crystal will probably work too.

You can't push it in with your fingers.  You need a press.  There are models that are quite inexpensive on amazon/alix/ebay/etc.  If you have not pressed in a crystal before, you will quite possibly damage the plastic gasket because the crystal won't want to go in straight.  Get a couple spares.  The generic ones are cheap.

[jdm]

1 hour ago, xyzzy said:

From the code, we know its diameter is 37.0 mm, which like most Seiko crystals is a standard size.  It's also pressed in, glass, transparent, with no coating.

This info (not a secret), which  I didn't give to not further confuse the owner  - he needs to gets the watch repaired, not become a Seiko technical expert, is derived from obtaining the part number from online databases, and then decoding the P/N using the table attached. 

Crystal Codes.pdf

 

1 hour ago, xyzzy said:

But, we can't tell how thick it is! 

Exactly. That is one reason why one always needs to measure a Seiko crystal to be replaced. The other is that obtaining the original crystal can be simply impossible, or unreasonably expensive. Let's remind that a flat mineral glass crystal cost about 1 Euro.

 

1 hour ago, xyzzy said:

If it's a standard thickness like 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 mm

Most likely it is not, Seiko often uses 1.10 or 1.60mm thickness. These can be replaced with the nearest standard thickness, even taller if that is liked.

 

1 hour ago, xyzzy said:

It's crushed when the crystal is pressed in and should be replaced. But you don't always have to replace it if it's not damaged.

It's not really crushed, but slightly pressed. The most common reason of damage is unexperienced people removing it.

 

[mikepilk]

I recently changed a crystal on a Citizen for a generic one. The mineral crystal and plastic ring only cost a couple of £ from Cousins (if you are in the UK) a saphire crystal about £25. I use a cheap press, <£10 from the bay.

[jdm]

10 minutes ago, mikepilk said:

 a saphire crystal about £25.

That is the price set by Cousins. If one wants to save and can wait a bit for delivery, sapphire crystals can now be had starting at about 5 Euro. For example:  https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003097980569.html

[xyzzy]

15 hours ago, jdm said:

This info (not a secret), which  I didn't give to not further confuse the owner  - he needs to gets the watch repaired, not become a Seiko technical expert, is derived from obtaining the part number from online databases, and then decoding the P/N using the table attached. 

My purpose for providing that was to say it doesn't have an AR coating or other feature that might make generic replacement undesirable, which can be found from the P/N.  The serial number and so forth aren't useful for finding a replacement so I didn't mention them.

The thickness and large size combined might be problem for generic replacement.  I don't think it will be 1.2, too thin for 100M rating.  I would guess 1.5, 1.8, or 2.0.  1.5 or 2.0 is no problem, but 1.8 doesn't seem to be commonly sold as generic.  Esslinger has them, but only up to 36 mm.  It looks 37x1.8 can be found in sapphire on ebay, $24.

It is possible, not desirable but possible, to press a crystal in without a watch crystal specific press.  A C-clamp, or a drill press, and an appropriate stack of washers, etc.  Any number of pressing tools one might create that are more or considerably less effective.  The important parts are to press the crystal in flat.  If it gets angled at all, it will not go in properly and will jam.  And push near the outer edge of crystal.  Too much in the center and it can break.  And of course, don't scratch anything.

[jdm]

On 12/28/2021 at 3:52 AM, xyzzy said:

My purpose for providing that was to say it doesn't have an AR coating or other feature that might make generic replacement undesirable.

Right. On the other hand we knew from the picture that it was a no feature crystals, because that is what is always used on affordable Seiko quartz watches.

 

On 12/28/2021 at 3:52 AM, xyzzy said:

The thickness and large size combined might be problem for generic replacement.  I don't think it will be 1.2, too thin for 100M rating. 

Worth to remember that the 100m indicated on this class of watches are only for marketing, these are not meant to be exposed more than 5 meters under water IMHO, especially when crono pusher buttons are present. When I can find it again I'll post a table of thickness/dia values to pressure which can be useful as a reference. In all events a thicker glass is desirable for an higher protection to shocks.

 

[Zip86]

Thanks everyone!  Very helpful.