Recasing a Tudor 9411

Tudor · July 15, 2018

Finally tonight I (nearly) finished recasing my blue snowflake. I have been collecting parts for years and the case is quite elusive. I’ve been using a (decent) aftermarket case and a few months ago found a nice 1976 Case. I’ve been itching to get this together ever since!

we start with disassembly of the current watch. It served well and I always enjoy wearing this watch. At least as much as my 1680. Take the back off, pull the stem and then the movement. We must be VERY CAREFUL as these original blue dials are extremely delicate. The blue paint “rots” on these. It gets lumpy and then flakes off.

Once the movement is out, I also want to replace the seconds hand, which has a short tail. I have a genuine one but it needs to be broached slightly. This is an aftermarket one of near perfect shape. Lume color was adjusted by Dunkin Donuts coffee.

Next we case it up. Again, very careful to protect the dial. Set the dial in the counterbore - It’s small, but it’s there. And very important to set the dial straight in it. That paint can chip on any dial messing this part up and these old blue ones are particularly vulnerable.

Then the movement ring goes in. It is notched for the stem, so we need to line that up well. I sight through the crown tube to be sure all is aligned and centered. Start the tab opposite the crown then the crown side. Just catch the screw threads because it always needs further tweaking. Check the dial is seated perfectly... Once I’m happy I tighten it evenly, back and forth.

New old stock 702 crown. One word of caution here- the o-ring was petrified even though sealed in the little blister since 1973 or so. If you work on this vintage stuff, be sure you have fresh gaskets. Two o rings go inside the tube, and one on the crown. The crown one seals on the end face of the tube and the two in the tube seal on the crown stem OD. Three seal points- the “triplock “ crown.

Stem length was perfect and it took some effort to screw the stem in so I left it dry. When they are loose, I’ll use purple low strength loctite on them. I avoid it when I can because it can make life miserable and 2784 stems are not easy (or cheap) to find.

Now we finally set the crystal. A lot of guys set it earlier, getting the case “ready” ahead as it is a bit more “brute” than other watch work. The reason I wait is to set the crystal in perfect alignment with the date window. I use the loupe and ensure the top and bottom edge of the cyclops are parallel to the date window. Not a big deal but when it’s off, it’s annoying to me. I keep a scrap crystal on the case so I don’t ham fist the hand stack...

Now the crystal retainer- it slides over the crystal and is pressed firm and flush to the top of the mid Case. Mine is 99% there now. A crystal press doesn’t have the “nut” to do it so I use a small arbor press out in the garage. It was for pressing frets into fingerboards when I was building guitars. The drill press works fine too, if it’s a floor model.

Well that’s where we’re at now. Tomorrow I’ll press the retainer fully home and then deal with the bezel. That may end up another complete thread...