Watch Crystal becoming foggy internally

[Orhorolgy]

Seeking advice.....

I have a Junkers 6434/178 ATLANTIKFLUG watch that I've now had for little over 25 plus years now.  It is a good watch and enjoy wearing it (that is whenever I do decide to wear it) still keeps excellent time, etc.

The problem that has slowly been developing now (maybe the last couple of years or so) is that the inside of the crystal has slowly starting to become foggy sort of. More than likely I am assuming that it is a bit of moisture that has possibly set in?

The crystal itself is in excellent condition. The crystal has no deep scratches, cracks, chips, etc. nor is it lifted and the back of the watch has the tighten screw down cover.

I have not messed with the watch itself as far as opening it up, etc. I've just left well enough alone to it. Though as previously mentioned I have worn it occasionally.

This is where I am seeking advice or direction as to how to approach this particular problem as to why or just how the inside of the crystal fogs up. 

The dial and still be seen and the time can still be seen as well it's just that it has started to annoy and distract me and has become bothersome.

I would like to stop this from happening. 

Lastly anyone here on the forum familiar with the Junkers brand of watch?

Any and all suggestions and recommendations are appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

[Nucejoe]

 Leave the watch face down under sun light for several hours to get rid of any moisture inside it.

Moisture rusts the base metal that parts of the movement are made of.

Keep the watch away from water moisture, which I presume has ingressed through the case tube due to worn crown seal. 

 

 

 

[jdm]

4 hours ago, Orhorolgy said:

the inside of the crystal has slowly starting to become foggy sort of. 

Remove mov.t, dry up the inside of the case with an hairdrier, inspect for cleanliness, inspect and replace as necessary crown and caseback gaskets, lubricate these with a bit of silicon grease before reassembling. Then do a condensation test which is warming the whole watch just a bit then let a couple of very cold water drops on the crystal, that does nor replace a pressure waterproofing test but at least tells you right away if all moisture has left.

[Nucejoe]

8 hours ago, jdm said:

Then do a condensation test which is warming the whole watch just a bit.

Interesting test. 

Question , How do you warm the watch and how much in terms of degrees?  

 

[jdm]

40 minutes ago, Nucejoe said:

Question , How do you warm the watch and how much in terms of degrees?  

With an hairdrier as mentioned above. The standard test is described below

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Resistant_mark

[spectre6000]

Clever. My daily driver has very little in the way of water resistance (pilots' watch), and it's managed to have water ingress on two occasions. Both of which were when a slight stream of water ran over it; once water running off a tarp that had been rained on, and the second was something work related and tap water spillage or something. Both times, I just opened it up, put it under my tray cover with the corner raised to keep any dust out, and I just let the dry mountain air do it's thing for a few hours. I didn't think to add heat or test anything. I resealed the main gasket with silicon the first time, and the secondary (probably too much) the second time. Both times, I noticed the moisture inside the crystal immediately, and acted within minutes, so I'm hoping I staved off any significant corrosion damage. Next time (should there be a next time), I'll definitely apply heat and test.

Yet another example of the dichotomy of watchmaking where high meets low. You don't have a pressure tester (high tech), so a decent proxy is to just warm it up and put a drop of cold water on it (low tech). Fascinating art/science...

Edited February 8, 2022 by spectre6000

[Orhorolgy]

13 hours ago, jdm said:

Remove mov.t, dry up the inside of the case with an hairdrier, inspect for cleanliness, inspect and replace as necessary crown and caseback gaskets, lubricate these with a bit of silicon grease before reassembling. Then do a condensation test which is warming the whole watch just a bit then let a couple of very cold water drops on the crystal, that does nor replace a pressure waterproofing test but at least tells you right away if all moisture has left.

Thanks to everyone who has posted and given very good info, advice, etc. I appreciate it very much.

I suspected that just maybe any gasket(s) that the watch may have would probably need to be replaced?

I was hoping that would not have been the case but oh well.

I take it that just about every mechanical watch will have a back gasket as well as a Crown gasket?

What about the top cover?.....do all watches have a top cover gasket as well?

 

Edited February 8, 2022 by Orhorolgy

[Nucejoe]

1 hour ago, spectre6000 said:

 I noticed the moisture inside the crystal immediately, and acted within minutes, so I'm hoping I staved off any significant corrosion damage. 

You are likely to have got away with zero damage to the movement itself, I don't know about lubricants though.

If you are obssesive like me, a goog clean and lube is in the order. 

[spectre6000]

Not [i]every[/i], but practically every. As for a top cover gasket, it depends on the case design. There are some that [i]only[/i] have a top cover gasket (these often won't have back covers, and sometimes deceptively so), some that only have a back cover gasket. Tough to say from the photos, but it's not unlikely. 

@Nucejoe, Yeah. I bought it NOS. IIRC, it was 6 years old when I got it, so already due a service. I've been trying to get to the point where I'm comfortable tearing into it. It's a 2824-2, and ETA parts limitations for randos like me, so I don't want to risk screwing it up too badly. I did some major office rejiggering yesterday, and while I still have a bit to go, I'm hopeful that I'll be digging into a number of movements very soon! My office was the dining room pre-pandemic-two-people-working-from-home-and-also-we-had-a-baby-and-my-office-became-a-bedroom paradigm, and we finally realized that under quarantine, no one is coming to have dinner any time soon. Additionally, I finally found someone who could sell me a semi-temporary sturdy shelving unit in a safe and economical way, so I now have full run of the dining room table as a work surface rather than a junk repository. Just need to finish clearing a few things out of the way... Coming soon!

Edited February 8, 2022 by spectre6000

[LittleWatchShop]

5 hours ago, jdm said:

With an hairdrier as mentioned above. The standard test is described below

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Resistant_mark

I think there is a misprint in the Diver watch section.

[Nucejoe]

 I think the movement in OP's watch is a Malnija a Russian made and not the original Eberhard, Malnija best run as much as you have energy to wind so it polishes itself. Though water damage at microscopic level is bad too, I don't think its a big deal with Malnija.

ETA movements are much finer made and are real susceptible to moisture damage. 

[LittleWatchShop]

My neighbor had me replace a glass crystal in his Invicta.  I posted about this on this forum.  In summary, it fogged up when he would shower with it.  With guidance from these fine members, I removed the crystal and purchased a new nylon case ring (that interfaces with the crystal) and a new gasket for the back.  Using one of those silicone applicators, I coated the gasket with silicone.  With the new nylon insert and new back gasket, the problem was solved.

I used my waterproof tester to discover where the leaks were.