Removing crystal from Tag Heuer SLR

[bluemax]

I am trying to get the crystal removed from my Tag Heuer SLR (like the one in the pic below), but I am got a bit strange info from the watchmaker: he claims that this crystal cannot be simply popped out by a press, but that he would have to first heat up the case to "loosen the glue holding the crystal". I am reluctant to allow him to play around with the watch; does what he said to me makes any sense?

Did anyone successfully remove the crystal from this watch, and how? Do the bezel and the rehaut go out together with the crystal, or have to be removed before the crystal?

Thanks

[FxrAndy]

GET the WATCH BACK

there should be no glue on that case!!!!

[bluemax]

Yeah, that was my guess, so I did not leave the watch there. Thanks for the confirmation

[RWG Technical]

All mineral glass crystals and sapphire ones are pressed in with a compression ring. Some older watches have them glued in, but not modern watches.

On some models the crystal is inside and below the bezel, and you have to remove the bezel before you can remove the crystal, many AP's are like this.

On any Tag I have worked on, the crystal presses out the normal way.

Anyone telling you that you need to heat up the case to remove the crystal, is wacked, wonder if he was going to use a torch and I wonder how well the bezel would survive the treatment, or the rest of the non metal parts of the case...

[bluemax]

He mentioned taking the watch to a local window glass maker workshop... I shudder to think about the kind of precision tools they have there

[txcollector]

he doesn't know what he's doing. Window glass for a saphire watch crystal??? I've removed my crystal and sent to Chief just using my hands. I used the press to install it back.

Like it was said above, get the watch back. This guy probably has never worked on a watch before.

[bluemax]

It seems that I will have to get my hands dirty with crystal removal Does anyone know how it goes for this watch, should I first remove the bezel and/or rehaut? Which way should the crystal be pressed out, towards bezel or rehaut?