That is great news for those of us who are struggling to find those tough to find crystals.

Welcome William!

Where can we order these?

John III

Thank you Lindell. As of today I am a proud member of IHC185 and I would like to extend my warmest greetings to all who read this post. I will contribute as often as I can especially to posts regarding the fitting and treatment of all types of glass crystals, whether antique or new.

Very glad to be here!

Hi John,

You can follow the email link below and describe your needs to me or post right here. All sizes of open face PW glass between 35 - 50mm are priced at $10.95ea. My mailing address is:

White's Crystals
PO Box 460532
San Francisco, CA 94146

Welcome aboard William,

Glad to hear you have joined us although you may have opened up a can of worms here. I would love to have a source for crystals but don't claim to understand the wide varieties of shapes this may entail. If I measured across the bezal with a dial caliper, is this going to be enough for you to go buy?. I currently have a 12 size Illinois that had a green plastic crystal which I immediatly tore off to prevent further rusting of the hands. What information do I need to give you to get the correct crystal for it. I think this is a good place to ask this question as I think I am not alone trying to understand this.

Steve

Hello Steve,

You can get an accurate measurement from the bezel opening but make sure to take a reading in at least 3 different areas and take an average from that. Bezels are seldom perfectly round and especially when removed from the watch.

There have been many different styles made over the years but the majority of what I make and sell are simple convex glass with a polished bevel and most of those are the obsolete RR sizes.

William

William,welcome aboard.

You have added a much needed service to IHC 185 members, and pocket watch enthusiasts in general.

welcome William,
its always nice to say hi to new members.you have a much needed service and im sure you will sell tons of crystals.can we send the bezels to you to get the best fit?
james

Hi James,

Yes, you can send bezels for fitting. Shipping will be higher depending on how much insurance is needed.
Just a reminder, only open face glass at this time.

William

Hey Bill,

I have a few to get out to you soon. I am glad you said you would fit them as I painted little pictures of me sitting at my desk with some sort of glass file or diamond emory paper trying to get the crystal in because I measured a little to small. Let me decide which ones go first and they will be on their way.

Thanks,
Steve

William, Welcome to our group!

I have a couple questions;

1. Do you have a "Bulk" price for crystals ground to the standard RR Sizes?

2. Some of us (me included) have an aggregate of perhaps 500 - 1,000 P.W. size (18 - 22) Hunter Case crystals that are slightly oversize. Were we to give you a supply of these could you "re-size" them for us to the correct and slightly (by 2 or 3/16 points) smaller sizes we need?

If you wish please reply in this forum or e-mail me privately at

david@glopar.com

Thank you, and again WELCOME!

Hello David,

I do not have bulk prices at this time. The reason is simply that a good deal of hand work is involved and making these is not a quick process. Price for glass crystals between 35-50mm is fixed at $10.95, at least for now.

I can help you with resizing and finishing your slightly over sized hunting glass. The price each would be the same as for my new glass and just so you know, we could lose a few in the process so if this sounds good to you, supply a couple of extras.

I hope this is helpful.

William

This is great news. Be prepared for the onslaught.

mike

William, you are saying to measure the bezel to fit the crystal properly . . .

We must measure the diameter of the bezel (gently guys) at three places and average the sum of those three measured diameters for a correct "fitment" diameter . . .

and making sure that we are measuring across the diameter of the outer edge of the crystal groove in the bezel . . .

My goodness what a wonderful thing to have here. Thank you so much William, for having this available.

David,

Thanks for the good photographs, they illustrate perfectly my recommended method of measuring a bezel for a proper fit.

Welcome William,

As a case repair-man it is great to known someone in the club can fill in for that hard to find crystal all of us will need. I will check my stock and email you with a list of sizes.

Thanks and welcome again.

Welcome to IHC185 William,

Do you manufacture the very thin shallow crystals for 'Demi-Hunter' cases?
these seem especially hard to get hold of.

If the demand was enough, would you take on producing high dome bulls eye type crystals for Verge watches, because certain sizes are now almost impossible to obtain anywhere at any price!?

Best regards

John

Just a FYI, a few years back, while trying to satisfy everybody all at once while fine tuning the process of finishing new crystals, William was excoriated by a national horology organization for “being unresponsive”.

Lets all give William a little space to get used to our requests and deliver some crystals.

Hi John,

I don't make the thin hunting glass at this time. I do hope to in the near future. Regarding high dome fusee glass, I do make them either with or without bullseye. I usually will need the case and movement (or just the dial side plate with center wheel and cannon pinion). Price for these is $89.00. I know it's a lot but they can take a few hours or so to finish.

...and to David,

Thanks for looking out for me but I plan on staying around and don't require any special treatment at all. I can be relied upon for good service as well as participation.

William

Dave, You are at it again.

"excoriated"

I love our English language! As soon as you "know it all", you find another 100,000 words you don't know. All "Borrowed" from "Mamimus-quantas-Terra-Lingua". Kind of like us Americans!

Great news!

Thank you William White, the world will be beating a path to your door.

Get ready for a lot of orders!

Don

Is another way of measuring, to measure the old crystal, if available? I sometimes get plastic crystals that need replacing. Would this satisfy the measurement if measured three places?

Hello Mike,

You can never get a reliable measurement from a plastic crystal. If you have a glass crystal that is complete and fits well you can use that but only if the edge is in good condition. The process I use is this: Put the bezel in a small pan of boiling water for a few minutes. This will soften the old cement and dirt. While still hot and wet, clean out the crystal seat with a round toothpick. Now you can start fresh and get a proper measurement using the process I described in the post above on page 1.

And just as a reminder to all, when sending your open face bezels in for fitting please make sure that they're clean and ready to go as I am offering this service at no extra charge outside of the extra shipping insurance that you might want.

Most of the time I can achieve a "snap" fit that is tight but if not, I'll leave the cementing to you.

Cheers!

William

To all,

We are also offering heavy flat beveled glass for turn of the century 18s "work watches" priced at $24.95 each. Available thickness' are 3mm,3.4mm & 4mm. The fine glass used for these crystals is very clear and colorless. Pictured is 4mm.

William

Welcome William.
Man, you sure look like a young fellow.
Brian C.

Brian,

That's because I am young...very young. 2 1/2 to be exact.

William

Welcome William, your services are sorely needed and rest assured you will be receiving plenty of orders as well as requests for advice.

Jerry