Repair options for a gen GMT II

[breezethrusd]

Hello all.  My father recently had a small accident while hiking.  When he fell he also damaged his GMTII.  The crystal has a small scratch over it, but the bulk of the damage is above the date.  

 

What are our options?  Is it possible just to replace the piece above the date?  Im not sure if this piece is detachable from the crystal.  Or does the entire crystal need to be replaced?  

 

I'm not sure if the scratch off the crystal itself could be polished. 

[Rolexman]

The cyclops is a loose part glued to he crystal (GS hypo). You can replace it with a new one if you know your way around watches. Otherwise you are better off sending it to a watch maker. I separated some with a small chisel or even with a hot stove. In the last case one needs to remove the crystal off course and it was not a plexi But you really need to know what you are doing otherwise you will ruin the watch.

[JoeyB]

That's not a GMT Master II. It is a 1675 pointy crown guard. Depending on how deep the scratches are, it can be polished out. 

It is supposed to be over 40 years old, from th eearly to mid 1960s. From it's very clean/new look, and 6mm crown, it looks like one of RolexAddict's builds. You can  buy a brand new Clark's 25-116 acrylic crystal on Ebay for $5.65. That's what RA uses. 

[sneed12]

The cyclops is a loose part glued to he crystal (GS hypo).

Not on a plexi crystal; that's a 1675.

What are our options?  

 

Polish the scratch out of the crystal

 

Buy a clark's crystal  and replace it (~$25)

 

Buy a gen crystal and replace it

[Rolexman]

Not on a plexi crystal; that's a 1675.   Polish the scratch out of the crystal   Buy a clark's crystal  and replace it (~$25)   Buy a gen crystal and replace it

Indeed you are right. I stand corrected!

[breezethrusd]

I had no idea this watch is over 40 years old.  Im not very knowledgeable on rolex's just yet..but trying to learn.

I know he purchased it off of www.portero.com a few years ago.  I will try and polish the scratch out.  So there is no way to remove the cyclop?  In that case I will need to buy a new crystal

Edited January 20, 2013 by breezethrusd

[breezethrusd]

Again, excuse my ignorance but I want to make sure this part will be compatible: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rolex-Crystal-Reference-25-116-116-NEW-CLARK-/251083135384?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a75b89998

 

Also, where can I find a compatible gen crystal that is the same size?  I didn't find one on ebay when typing in 25-116 acrylic crysta (aside from the Clark's).

Im assuming the value of the watch will drop without a gen crystal.

Edited January 20, 2013 by breezethrusd

[panerai153]

Don't go buy some cheap crystal off Ebay, that;s a very nice watch, probably worth upwards to 5-6 K. If you don't know what you're doing. take it to a watchmaker that knows his way around Rolex and let him change the crystal. Before you do that, you can get a tube of polywatch, and try to polish out the scratches. It works well, and with a little "elbow grease" you can make it like new. Don't try any of that chisel, heat, stuff, that works on a sapphire crystal, but not an acrylic.

 

You are correct, the Clarks will decrease the value of the watch. If your watchmaker can't find a crystal, there are always 25-116 crystals for sale over on the Vintage Rolex forum (Vintage Rolex Market). Any watchmaker who is Rolex Certified and has a Rolex parts account can get the correct genuine crystal for the watch.

[Seacraft]

Bring it to a watchmaker and replace the crystal with a gen Rolex crystal. That is too nice to screw around with it yourself. It is a nice piece (though not all factory original, it does have later Rolex replacement parts)

[panerai153]

What MD2020 said is true, it works great. Your fathers watch is worth a lot of money!! I just went over to the Rolex Forum and Chrono24 and looked at prices of Rolex 1675 PCG's. I saw one in terrible shape for 7k and one on chrono24 in really nice shape, much like your fathers for (Hold your hat!!) 14K!! i don't know what he paid for his, but these are pretty rare birds, and getting more desirable all the time, especially one in really nice condition. His has had some parts replaced, this model originally came with the much more desirable small arrow GMT hand, but it's not the end of the world if it's been replaced

Try the polywatch first, then take it to a good watchmaker if the polywatch doesn't work to your satisfaction.Replace it witha genuine Rolex crystal, Don't use this watch as a LAB RAT!! It's too nice and valuable.

[panerai153]

Save your self 100$+ and buy the polywatch. Even someone who never worked on watches can use this. You don't even need to take the crystal off. Just smear it on and use the cloth to polish it to new.

 

He neesd to send it to you. You can polish it up for 50 bucksand save him 50!!!  Really though, you are right, Polywatch works great. I saved a 300 USD T-39 superdome that was so scratches you could hardly tell the time. took an hour or so, but it looked like new when I finished.

[panerai153]

Better yet, send it to me.I'll send him a nice GMTIIC replica with a sapphire crystal that he can't scratch.   I'll trade you even. Keeps great time, and looks real!!

[breezethrusd]

thank you all for the kind words.  My father will be pleased to hear that his watch is desirable and worth momre than what he paid for it.  It actually works out well, because he wants to sell it soon to help pay for a Daytona he has had his eyes on.

 

I just ordered a tube of Polywatch and will give it a try before making any other purchases.  Will this affect the scuff mark on the cyclops as well? From what I understand, this can only help polish up the crystal itself.

[sneed12]

The crystal and the cyclops are both acrylic; how could the polish only affect one but not the other? That makes no sense.

 

Having said that, the scuffs in the cyclops look pretty deep, so it will probably take a lot more polishing than the crystal itself. Even if you get them out the cyclops might end up out-of-round and the magnification may be changed or the date distorted.

[praetor]

Why not take it to Rolex Service Center if the cut is deep? It looks as if your crystal is service. There's no harm in sending it to RSC. Buying a genuine crystal aftermarket is actually more expensive then getting the part from an Authorized Dealer (which you have to swap ofc)

Edited January 22, 2013 by praetor