Gasket under acrylic crystals?

[Trav2004]

Can anyone explain this to me? I am servicing 2 different vintage watches and I removed the acrylic crystals and it seems to me that there were some sort of gaskets under both of the crystals.  Has anyone ever seen this?  

[AndyGSi]

It all depends on the watch and it's water resistance rating?

[Trav2004]

The larger one is a Gotham from the 50's that doesn't make any claim to be water proof or resistant unless the back has been refinished.  The second is a clarin that says water resistant.  Could it be back gaskets that got misplaced somehow?

[Malocchio]

I've serviced a Seiko 8306-8020 where there was a gasket sitting in a groove in the side wall in addition to acrylic crystal having a tension ring. It was also a front loader and the crown had internal o-ring and not in the stem as usual. It was one of those earlier Seikos that still boldly claimed to be water proof and not resistant.

[AndyGSi]

Without knowing the full details of the watches they could just be spacer rings fitted in the past to give hand clearance if they couldn't get the correct lens.

[Trav2004]

So for the larger case the gasket only fits in the place shown in the picture. So possibly a spacing gasket?  Also I would like to send the case out to be replated and they recommend removing the crown tube and I can't tell if I can even do that with this case. The other one is clearly removable. 

[AndyGSi]

Looks like the tube is part of the case.

[Trav2004]

Thanks for the help AndyGSi.  I guess if I have to I can ream it back out if the plating makes the tube too thick or something. 

[rjenkinsgb]

The gold one appears to have a removable bezel, which traps or carries the crystal seal?

ps. What place did you find that will re-plate them? I've asked a number of places advertising plating for jewellery etc., but none of those will do watch cases!

Edited June 21, 2024 by rjenkinsgb

[Trav2004]

https://www.replateit.com/

I've seen other people recommend them on other websites and their prices seemed very reasonable so I figured I would give them a shot.  

[AndyGSi]

4 hours ago, rjenkinsgb said:

The gold one appears to have a removable bezel, which traps or carries the crystal seal?

ps. What place did you find that will re-plate them? I've asked a number of places advertising plating for jewellery etc., but none of those will do watch cases!

A friend of a friend does plating and is considering taking on external work if there's a demand for it?

[RichardHarris123]

I doubt the tube is integral to the case, it would make the manufacturing process more difficult. Tubes are either screwed or friction fit. don't forget plating does not cover blemishes, just like paint, so prep work need to be carried out to get the case as defect free as possible. 

[Trav2004]

I thought possibly they were all removable but as close as I can look at this it looks welded or soldered in place. I don't dare to try to press it or force it out in fear of destroying the case beyond repair.  

As for replateit they do also repair cases and prepare them for plating.  I've never used them so I'm not sure if that is an extra charge or all part of the cost of replating.

[Trav2004]

1 hour ago, RichardHarris123 said:

I doubt the tube is integral to the case, it would make the manufacturing process more difficult. Tubes are either screwed or friction fit. don't forget plating does not cover blemishes, just like paint, so prep work need to be carried out to get the case as defect free as possible. 

Richard do you think it's a screw down sleeve? I'll try to clean it up somewhat with the ultrasonic after work and see if that clears anything up. 

[RichardHarris123]

If it's screw in then there has to be a way to unscrew it, so groves/ vanes on the inside, if not it's probably push in.

[Trav2004]

After cleaning I found there is an insert in the tube itself.  So the tube is threaded to a certain depth for the insert.  I do believe the tube itself is soldered into the case so to remove that I would have to drill it out completely.  I've never seen that kind of set up before but I'm very new to tinkering with watches. 

[Trav2004]

So I ended up refinishing the case myself.   I am pleased with the results although it would have been cheaper to send it to rePlateit. And they probably would have done an even better job than I can do.  I relumed the dial myself also as it was radium but I didn't do the best job.  As I am just using this watch myself it is good enough.  I may try the relume again at some point.  As a side note because I replated the case myself I was able to take the hardware from the old strap that was on it, replate them and make a new strap with some scraps of leather I had laying around.   

Edited September 12, 2024 by Trav2004
Grammar