sishac Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 Hi everyone - last night I decided to try and remove the bezel of my asian 21j 1680 (from Reg) because I wanted to shave the crystal down a bit and age the insert. I used a case knife and popped the bezel up and off of the crystal from the 5 o'clock marker. When I took the bezel up, there was a ripped thin black gasket along the base of the crystal and nothing else. I went to put the bezel back on, expecting it to "click" on and it just sits there and doesn't attache to the case. Initially I didn't see the spring, but now that I do...an 8 sided spring...how do I get the bezel to attach to the watch using this spring? Also, I've read that a genuine watch uses a flat tension spring that goes around the crystal...this is what the bezel snaps into...assuming that my crystal is the right size (currently it has a Clark 127 that needs to be shaved down a bit), can I buy one of these tension springs (I saw one on ebay for $20) and use that over the crystal instead of using the 8 sided spring that is currently in the bezel? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 Your version is not interchangeable with Gen parts. The tension wire you describe can sometimes be a PITA. Trial and error getting it back in the right spot and in its groove. In a worst case scenario, you may even need to install it with the insert removed, and glue the insert in after a sucessful bezel install being super careful not to glue it to the case or crystal. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sishac Posted July 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 Thank you for the reply. Well, it worked great before I took it off, I guess trial and error will get it back on. Tonight I went to Harbor Freight and bought a watch crystal press, a digital caliper, and a set of metal files. When I got home I checked the thickness of my watch...it is 15.9mm....as I believe the gen 1680 is between 14 and 15mm thick, I need to now shave about 1.5mm from the crystal. Once I remove the movement from the watch, I can remove the crystal and then measure that to get an accurate reading of how much work I have to do. In addition, while I was attempting to fade my insert in a bleach solution (the pepsi GMT version came out gorgeous, while the 1680 just sort of matted up a bit), I started to work on the case edges with a metal file. I think that I will need to follow up with some sandpaper, but I think that I made a small dent. In addition, I started to work a bit on the crown guards. After I get the movement and crown out I can give it a few swipes on the inside of the crown guards to open them up a bit (they are really tight with the crown) and then also maybe shorten the tips of the crown guards a bit. Fun, Fun, Fun!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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