Timex Explorer Crystal Replacement

[BrianE]

Hello, As I mentioned in my intro post I'm a newbie and have started practicing on some inexpensive quartz watches laying around. I want to replace a damaged crystal on a Timex Explorer. I have replaced a crystal on a dive watch that had a gasket and I could order the crystal by the watch model number. Not so with this Timex.

 

The Timex has a stainless diver like case except there was no gasket. After removing the crystal and movement I cleaned the case and noticed a small amount of a clear sealant of some type where the original crystal sat. Measuring the opening I get 24.5 mm. The crystal thickness is 2 mm. My initial thought was to install a domed mineral crystal using a gasket ( I type) but all the gasket sizes I found have ODs of 24.8 or 24.3. The domed mineral crystals seem to be sized every .5 mm. This seems to leave me one option is to try a 24.5 domed crystal with some sealant or flat crystal that is available in .1 mm increments.

The original crystal is plastic, 2 mm thick with a 1 mm dome. Under closer inspection I noticed a very small lip around the bottom edge. When measuring the old crystal it was 24.5 mm without the lip and 25 mm including the lip. Even if I wanted to reinstall the old crystal I can't see how it would be possible to compress a 2 mm thick plastic crystal enough to get it started into the case.

 

Another thought about adding a gasket is it would be visible from the front since the watch doesn't have a bezel insert that would cover the gasket like traditional divers.

 

And thoughts on the best way to proceed would be appreciated.

 

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[jdm]

Either way will be  fine, choose the crystal and method that you like better. Personally I would avoid plastic and (if meant for everyday use or occasional show-off) use sapphire if cost is reasonable.