Crystalology; Destroying crystals in the name of science... including Ultimate crystal!

[kbiz]

So as many know I've been working on and pursuing the perfect Gen like crystal for autos... as of right now, the best, by a very long shot, is the Ultimate crystal from the Cartel but only the most recent version as there's now been 3 generations of Ultimate crystals from the cartel... and by cartel I mean only Josh and Andrew as other ultimates I've seen are not the same... however the AR is not perfect... it's better than most but that's not what this is about

I was hoping that the new auto crystals by DSN would be the answer... they're one piece and not sandwich construction. I originally thought they had a glued in cyclops that might be removable so that I could lap down the thickness and eliminate the "Holo" ring that plagues DSN's latest and greatest. Unfortunately it turns out that somehow DSN has truly created a 1 piece crystal... as in not only is the hole CNC ground into sapphire, but in fact the cyclops itself is actually ground out of the sapphire... it's amazing but the tolerances or the process he uses leaves far too much edge on the cyclops or is ground too deep... either way DSN's 1 piece crystal is not the answer I was looking for... though it can be easily AR coated by Chief or any other AR coater if the AR bothers you more than the cyclops Halo.

I also decided to test the Cartel Ultimate crystal for heat and to see if I could remove the cyclops from the body of what I thought was a sandwich constructed crystal.... however, I found that the crystal was able to withstand a massive amount of heat without and adhesive fogging or burning... in fact I tested it all the way until its destruction. That's right, I destroyed an ultimate crystal in the name of science!! My findings are not what I was expecting. I no longer believe that the ultimate crystal is a sandwich construction as I was able to heat the entire crystal and cyclops with a blowtorch until it was starting to glow a bit... and there is still no discoloration or signs of lamination of any kind... other than burnt AR So my thought is that an ultimate crystal may be able to be sent to Chief and have its AR redone... it also means that the ultimate crystal may very well be a true one piece just like DSN's but with much higher tolerances...

So maybe I'll have to pull one of my ultimate crystals off a watch and see if I can get some Chief AR on there... we'll see

Some of my cyclops collection

DSN's latest one piece after super heating to destroy any glue... and none was to be found

Destroyed latest ultimate crystal... no lamination to be found after super heating

Destroyed latest ultimate crystal... no lamination to be found after super heating

Destroyed latest ultimate crystal... no lamination of the cyclops to be found after super heating

[StormTooper4]

Dude, you are crazy but thanks for taking one (or 3 or 4 )for the team

[asf]

whoa!

[Nanuq]

SWEET!!!

That works for Rolex too...

[PeteM]

Again thats good info as always. Thanks for doing that mate.....

Whats the easiest way of telling if two unfitted crystals are man or auto?

[Mickey Padge]

Fantastic research, thanks for doing this, how many did you break?!

On another note, what would be the best crystal for an old school eddie lee 029 (2893) based PAM? The crystal installed at the moment is quite poor, and looks larger than my DSN 027a crystal....

[kbiz]

same size as your DSN crystal... in fact thats the best choice on the market right now...

[Mickey Padge]

same size as your DSN crystal... in fact thats the best choice on the market right now...

That is good to know, thanks!

I hope that DSN is willing to sell one, he has not replied to me the last few times (before CNY)

Any idea how much a DSN 027a style crystal would be?

[HauteHippie]

Very interesting info... Thanks for making the sacrifice. And I just knew you'd make Nanuq proud!

[Eton]

Wow, thanks for the mad science! I always have thoughts of what a crystal shattering into dust would be like to experience. Would freak the heck out of somebody if it was unexpected. The biggest thing for me seems to be the crystal on a rep...what's the quality...ar...single...double...cyclops...you name it, for some reason it always bothers me! Maybe because I've been struck with the Chief bug?

I mean, who wants to pay for Gen crystal, unless you're doing a serious franken, but that's not cheap with Pam's! Right kbiz?

Cheers