So I purchased a Rado Conway wristwatch that was in need of some help. I polished up the case and band, serviced the movement and the only thing left is to install the new crystal. I have a g-s crystal press and purchased some plastic crystals. The bezel measures 29mm, so I purchased some different sizes. The size that works is 29.1mm. Every time I try to press the crystal into the case, I break the darn things (about 5).

Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong.

Im having the same problem. The book says to buy a glass crystal 0.5mm larger than the bezel. When I try to insert the crystal, I get chips and flaking around the rim. should I try something different. I have a press for back plates, but have chipped crystals with that technique also. help.

Peter,

If you want to send it to me, I can probably do it for you. No charge except shipping.

Roger

Mike,

Glass can be a bit tricky, but if you want to send it I'll see what I can do.

Roger

Thanks Roger. My ultimate goal is to be a professional watchmaker. Unfortunately, there is no one in Las Vegas that I can apprentice under. With that said, I have invested in online learning and tools to get the job done.
Thank you for the offer but I think I would rather break more crystals till I get it right.
Any suggestions to lessen the breakage would be great.

Peter, this may sound crazy but it has worked for me quite often

Try heating the bezel, and at the same time put the crystal in the freezer. You have to be quick but I have had some pretty good success doing it.

Bezel warmer? - Just put the bezel on a light bulb for a few minutes, and trust me, it will be HOT.

Regards,
Larry

Peter,

Nice to see that you want to become a professional watchmaker. There are so many special tools for various tasks that enable you to become more efficient and productive. The key to installing plastic crystals is choosing the correct size AND having the tool to flex the crystal while at the same time sliding the bezel over the crystal and releasing the flex to lock it in place.

Your just not holding your tongue right, move it a little to the left....
Actually I agree with Lawrence. I use a heat gun but I like the light bulb idea too. But all my light bulbs are the pigs tail type. I did a post on this a few months ago. Crystal in the freezer and heat the bezel. As the crystal warms, it will expand and as the bezel cools it will shrink and if you get the two together right it works. I have two crystal presses, a cheap one and a very expensive one and I hate them both. I also have a Bergeon Crystal remover 6400 thats not worth the postage, let alone the $100.00 it costs.... Don't buy a bunch of junk .

Peter, are you trying to install a tension ring crystal with straight sides or a crystal with an angled side?

It has angled sides

Ok, then you should be using a crystal lift, not a press. The crystal is initially placed in the holder on the left. The crystal is then picked up with the lift, compressing its diameter and released into the bezel. If the diameter of crystal is correct it should not turn in the bezel after it is released.

The purpose of the holder is so that the teeth pick up the crystal a bit from the bottom to leave an edge exposed to insert into the bezel.

Thank you Michael, I will have to try that.

I better make sure I am explaining it correctly. I am installing a round crystal by G-S with a silver ring inside the crystal that covers the edge of the dial.

Peter...pictures would help. Here are pictures of a GS cabinet with a foot operated installation device.

The crystal is placed on the proper size base and a rubber tipped press piece is selected.

The crystal is placed in the device with the bezel around the top. The foot pedal brings the rubber tip down onto the crystal and is flexed. The bezel is then dropped around the flexed crystal and the pedal released to lock the crystal in place.

Note...the bezel in the picture is not the one for the crystal shown...just a demo.

There are other ways to do this like anything else, but this is probably the easiest.

Roger, I took delivery of a crystal for a hunting case last week and could not get it to go into the bezel. In another day, or so, I was going to take out the emery cloth and work down the diameter until I could glue it into the bezel. Well, I saw your machine and description and got to thinking that set up isn't much different than my old Delta drill press down in the basement. I wasn't sure what to use for supporting the crystal, then remembered a useless wooden case repair block I bought several years ago (holes too deep to match up with case covers). Turns out one of the holes was perfect, being that it was just slightly smaller than the crystal. For the pressing tool, I took a spare 8 mm collet and put two layers of masking tape on the pressing surface so as not to mar the crystal. Just as you illustrated, I placed the bezel up around the collet and drill chuck so it could drop down properly onto the crystal. I lowered the press, it constricted the edges of the crystal, I lowered the bezel to the crystal, and "WALLAH," the installation worked perfectly on the first try Thank you so much for sharing this great technique with all of us!!!!!

Way to go Bruce! Very creative and it got the job done just as well.

Your post should help others to make a similar setup.

Roger

Hey man, I've got one of each of those. Thanks for the picture!

Peter, it sounds like you have a tension ring crystal. For this you should have a press with angled dies that both compress the diameter and push down on the crystal when installing. Is this the setup you have with your press?

You can't use the crystal lift I initially pictured for a tension ring crystal.

Hi guys. Sorry for the late replies. I ordered GS "ET" Tension Ring Plastic Watch Crystals, White Ring from Otto Frei and am using a GS hand press. It looks like Rogers using a hand press.
The bezel measures 29mm so I ordered 29.1 crystals and already broke around 3. It seems that the tension ring doesn't allow for the flex before the plastic crystal breaks.

Peter,
I am not sure what type of dies you are tryng to push the cyrstal in with, but it must have angled walls. If you look closely at the picture that Mike K. posted, you can see that the die must have an angled inner wall. You can also use bakalite dies to constrict the crystal from the inside, but using tapered dies is much easier.