josh_w Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 So I decided to just go with the cartel 3717 instead of a heavily modded one. Because of that I'm getting the 01 an the 09 St. Exupery as well. Now in the future I want to do chief's AR. Can the 3717 crystal be removed without taking out the movement from the front? Or do you have to press through the case? And if you remove your crystal to send it off for many weeks, what do you do with your crystalless watch? -Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 Crystal must be pressed out from inside the case; the movement must be removed in order to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomhorn Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 Buy one of Taka's pre-AR'd crystals ... swap it with the one you send to Chief ... replace it when Chief's comes back ... rinse and repeat for the St. Ex ... sell the Taka when you are done ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh_w Posted January 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 Buy one of Taka's pre-AR'd crystals ... swap it with the one you send to Chief ... replace it when Chief's comes back ... rinse and repeat for the St. Ex ... sell the Taka when you are done ... Great idea - is the AR from Taka as good as Chief's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 In my opinion... chief's is best. Not accurate to the gen's AR... But better. If I had purchased the gen, I would have had the gen crystal chief AR'd as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobster Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 In my opinion... chief's is best. Not accurate to the gen's AR... But better. If I had purchased the gen, I would have had the gen crystal chief AR'd as well... Chief's AR is just so beautiful. I wish all gen watch crystals could be sent to him for AR.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomhorn Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 (edited) Very close IMO ... Personally, I think judging AR (just like anything that's visual in nature) is a bit subjective. Everyone has a different opinion on quality and color. IMO if you have the wherewithal and patience to go with Chief, I would still rate his a little better based on some of the amazing pictures I have seen on the various forums of his work, especially on 3717 crystals. Edit ... I see Ubi beat me to the post ... damn that watch ... it's all his fault for sending me down the path I am on ... Having said that, I have a Taka installed on mine because the timing didn't work to go to Chief at the time I was getting Vac to re-lume the dial and hands. I am quite happy with it and doubt I will change it out at this point. On the wrist: Under a direct spotlight with no filter: I just was offering up a path for you to be able to keep your watches in the rotation while shipping crystals to Chief. Nice thing with Taka's crystal is that it is already done (when he has them in stock), so you don't have to be without your watch in the interim. Assuming you don't harm it while it's installed, you should be able to get most of your money back when you sell it. The other thing you could do, since you are ordering two watches, is to ask the dealer you are getting them from if they can get you an extra crystal. Some dealers will sell parts. You can then do the rotation bit the same way. Edited January 18, 2011 by tomhorn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eton Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 Chief is the way to go IMO...and you might not require that much patience for some spare parts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh_w Posted January 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 I asked for two spare crystals. Those can go to chief while I wear the watches. Let's see what they say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh_w Posted January 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 Oh and it seems the 371701 really really needs that oem Kevlar strap. Do they make a rep IWC deployant? The gen is $200+. There is a UK company that sells unbranded deployants for IWC for £11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh_w Posted January 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Oh and it seems the 371701 really really needs that oem Kevlar strap. Do they make a rep IWC deployant? The gen is $200+. There is a UK company that sells unbranded deployants for IWC for £11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammy1 Posted February 1, 2011 Report Share Posted February 1, 2011 I asked for two spare crystals. Those can go to chief while I wear the watches. Let's see what they say. If you can't get one from the dealer, I have an extra 3717 crystal. I swapped mine for a Taka crystal and don't need the spare. PM me if interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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