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Cheap No-Date Facelift


jmb

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After y'all confirmed my suspicion that my 3.0 mm thick crystal just didn't look right (kind of an understatement) I replaced it with a ofrei generic 2.25mm crystal and put on a new cheap e-Bay (jandkwatches) bezel insert while I was at it. The crystal doesn't have quite as beveled an edge as I'd like but looks OK when not under extreme magnification. Cost of crystal was around $3.00 and the e-Bay insert was $10.40 shipped. It's not perfect but much better than it was and I think this pearl is a perfect candidate for the "epoxy" mod. After the epoxy and a little final polishing and I think I've done about all I can without breaking my self-imposed $60 total project limit. Time to order another one, I guess! ;)

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new%20crystal%203.JPG

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After y'all confirmed my suspicion that my 3.0 mm thick crystal just didn't look right (kind of an understatement) I replaced it with a ofrei generic 2.25mm crystal and put on a new cheap e-Bay (jandkwatches) bezel insert while I was at it. The crystal doesn't have quite as beveled an edge as I'd like but looks OK when not under extreme magnification. Cost of crystal was around $3.00 and the e-Bay insert was $10.40 shipped. It's not perfect but much better than it was and I think this pearl is a perfect candidate for the "epoxy" mod. After the epoxy and a little final polishing and I think I've done about all I can without breaking my self-imposed $60 total project limit. Time to order another one, I guess! ;)

new%20crystal%201.JPG

new%20crystal%202.JPG

new%20crystal%203.JPG

Want to double your money? That thing is cool as hell!

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You, too, can start with a $32.90 watch and wind up with this! Seriously, this one has some boo-boos in it and isn't really "ready for prime time". I am thinking about buying another and being a bit more careful so if you're still interested in a couple of months I might have one that's a bit more "refined".

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So this is the club I've been hearing about! I always thought you could never go 'too thick' on a Rolex crystal. I just looked at your original thread, and all I can say is, "Yikes! You most definitely can!" Huge improvement with this new crystal.

Are you doing any further mods (say, on the crown guards), or does $60 include the cost of your own labor?

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Thanks, TeeJay!

LHOOQ, I know what you mean on crystal height as it seems the vast majority of reviews of lower priced Subs complain that the crystal is too low but I got a bit carried away with the replacement! My "investment" does not reflect any labor - I've been married long enough that I'm getting used to working for free! :brow: I have a crown and tube I could install, and if I do that I'll "liposuction" the CG. In all reality, though, I'll probably leave this one where it's at, order another and mod it to death and be a bit more careful.

I had originally budgeted $50 which included enough for a new crown and tube but I broke the original crystal when I tried to clamp onto the watch case to drill the lug holes without removing the crystal. Even with padding the vise jaw the crystal shattered when only a slight amount of pressure was applied. Then, when I pressed the crystal back in (the last time) I got lazy and didn't remove the insert. I would have gotten away with it but somehow I "slipped" and the upper die slid off to one side a bit and put a nice crease in the original cheapo sheet-metal insert.

So, I learned to remove insert when pressing in a crystal and remove crystal before sticking case in milling vise!

I really want to do one with no additional money, only labor. The holes and CG would be all labor (unless I break some drill bits) and I am going to grind a lathe cutter so I can re-shape a crown so if I can accomplish all of this without tearing anything up I should wind up with a Sub that looks like this for under $40 - plus labor! What I need to do is order several of the watches to spread the WU fee and shipping out...

My breakdown is:

Watch - $32.90 (plus shipping and WU fees)

Crystal - $3.00

Insert w/pearl - $10.40

Spring bars - $4.00

Total - $50.30

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I doubt I could have hit my "price target" with a gen crystal! :nea: Next time I'll have to be more careful and not bust the "stock" one... :rolleyes:

I think I'll probably take this one back apart and thin the CG and work on the bezel some. This is one of the super cheap jobs that had a sheet-metal insert so I will probably need to clamp the bezel into the lathe and deepen the "groove" the insert fits into. :-p

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