Could someone kindly advise me as to the correct size of crystal for my Hamilton 992B stainless steel case No. 15 - and a possible source of supply, please?

John,
Below is a links that may be helpful.

Robert

https://ihc185.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2...981033841#7981033841

Robert and Lindell

Thank you, both, for pointing me towards and for providing me with wise advice. I am able to do my own fitting but here in Australia it can be difficult (or impossible) to obtain materials. Nowadays, the internet is a great help, of course.

With thanks, again.

Very honestly, I couldn't imagine replacing a crystal unless I had access to a rather larger selection of stock.

Quite aside from learning the techniques (which are not so difficult), I seem to always miscalculate the size and actually find the right size by trial and error (most of the time).

Since the labor costs on crystal replacement should not be extreme, I'd probably recommend that most folks simply send their bezel to a well-stocked shop.

Here we have a "Crystal Size Ruler" from a 1935 Material Catalog.

Are these hard to locate?

Robert

In the best of all world's, Robert, I suppose we could simply measure the crystal size and order one.

But.... at least in my experience, it is not all that unusual to find that the bezel has been "worked" and is now difficult to fit.

And Hunters? I've come so close to finding crystals for hunters, only to learn that the dome was too high for the case to shut.... or the crystal was too low for the hands to clear.

I'll still go with trial and error.

To all who provided the kind and informative responses to my initial question I now report back.

I took the advice that the acrylic crystals of today are of sufficiently high quality and durability to grace a railroad grade watch and followed one of the leads to Twin City Supplies (with which supplier I had not previously dealt). There Joel Held provided excellent service, sending me a requested selection of nice bevel-edged acrylic crystals for my stock. From amongst them I have found that size 441 - 49 1/2 securely fits the Hamilton No. 15 stainles steel case and it certainly looks the part. I used my Swiss multi-pronged compression tool to enable me to slip the crystal into the bezel. Problem solved.

I would add that I am conscious that it was a requirement for standard watches in railroad service to be fitted with glass crystals and it is a fact that I utilise the watch in engine service on a tourist railroad. Even so, I think that the acrylic crystal will provide safe and satisfactory service.

Once again, my thanks to the good people of Chapter 185 for their ready assistance.

John Scott