I purchased a ultraviolet drying lamp and a red tube of ultraviolet glue from a Horological supply house. Using the glue as directed and curing under the lamp for the amount of time suggested and even longer the glue does not hold. Clean it up and make it look nice and then watch the crystal pop out as you try to screw the bezel back on the watch. This stuff is 5 bucks a tube and won't even stick to itself. Can someone direct me to a good crystal glue?
Thank you.
Patrick.

The best crystal cement on the market is "None".
That means the crystal fits the bezel as intended, without any cement necessary, and "snaps" into place with a slight bit of pressure.

For all others I have nothing bad to say about "G-S Hypo Cement". If one must glue a crystal in place, I have had good luck by placing a very small bead 360 degrees around the bezel and wiping away any excess with your finger. Then let it dry for a minute and press your crystal into the bezel. I will then wrap it with a rubber band to put good even pressure on the crystal against the cement and put it aside for a few hours or even overnight. I would say I have had a 75-80% success rate with this cement and method when the conventional method of friction fit wasn't an option.

regards,
bb

Patrick, just put it under the light and forget about it for about 4/5 hours. Most of the time I just put mine under the light and leave it all night. I also just put a small amount in about 4 places. This is after much trial and error. Sunlight will do just as good.

Patrick,

Buster is right regarding friction fitting of crystals, and I have also used G-S hypo cement, a bit messy but usually works well, available at most supply houses. I have never tried ultra violet glue.

Gary

The UV works well for me if I leave the bezel and crystal in the sunlight for 5-10 Min. you may not recognize that one word, sun, is the big round thing in the daylight sky. Never seen in Western Washington!!!

If it is a close (rather than "schnick-in") fit, I use the GS Hypo because it is easier to clean out. UV (or normal) Epoxy works but are a pain to clean out when dealing with a broken crystal.

As I do the crystal fitting at work I use UV glue regularly, with a UV lamp. Works great for me and cleans up better than epoxy which I don't use anymore. The trick is to use it sparingly, and to blunt or bevel the bottom edge of crystal so the glue has something to adhere to.

Thanks to all. Very good replies and all make sense. Buster is right about the pop in but I can't always find a crystal that is a good fit. I will try the hypo. I'll also try Phillip's method until I get rid of the UV Stuff. Mike said something about a ball in the sky. The only one I have seen looks more like cheese or sometimes an outhouse door. I will also do as William suggests and blunt the edge of the crystal. Thank you too Gary.