5512/3 Loose Bezel Fix

[kiplin]

Hey, was just playing around with my 5512's spacer ring (the one underneath the bezel), and I've found a way to create a tighter fit, and have it work similarly to the thicker ones a few guys here have bought i.e. where it's much harder to spin the bezel, and works best when you apply some downwards pressure to it. I feel like a bit of an idiot posting something this simple, but I haven't seen it mentioned and I did a quick search but found nothing - with the influx of those buying the older rollies I figured it might help a few people.

It's nothing hi-tech, doesn't need any tools, and takes about 30-seconds.

All that needs doing is bending the spacer ring in a few places. I found one crimp wasn't enough for me and the increased resistance in turning it was asymmetrical, two (at 12 and 6) had the same problem, but 3 (at 12, 4, and 8.) worked well. Then I went a bit overboard with 4, but corrected it nicely by smoothing out the bends.

It works *really* nicely, the bezel's a little hard to turn without any downward pressure, but not impossible by any stretch, and with just a bit of pressure spins nicely. The height of the bends can be changed to alter the resistance etc. Here's the pic:

Edited July 10, 2011 by kiplin

[freddy333]

By design, those flat bezel springs are supposed to be slightly bent/crimped (to increase upward pressure on the bezel, which keeps it in place) & the bezel is supposed to be pressed when you want to rotate it.

[woof*]

I did variations of this method too.

After time it would still loosen..one time the bezel, insert, and ring all went in different directions across my shop...it was a miracle I found all the parts... I finally sent my watch to Jmb.

He machined a new ring and turns perfectly, and hasn't come off since! But that was my experience.

[odourboy]

FWIW, I got a 5512 from Josh today (BEST VINTAGE YET yada yada yada..) and found the bezel was way too loose. I put opposing bends in four quadrants, snapped it back together and it functions perfectly and feels great. Given that I'm not likely to ever use the bezel function, it'll probably stay happy for a long, long time.