A Little 5513 Crystal help???

[bobandshawn]

Hi guys,
I recently pared everything down and now have only one sub - a built from scratch 5513. It is supposedly a Cartel case set. I purchased a "Vietnam" bezel form a well-established member here. It supposedly had a gen crystal installed. However, fast forward to now and a broken crystal...

I don't have anything that fits in the old tool box, so I ordered a couple of these from WSO: 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PLASTIC-PLEXI-WATCH-CRYSTAL-FOR-ROLEX-SUBMARINER-5512-5513/310304848166?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Unfortunately, the crystal fits quite loose on the lip (crystal I.D. too large), and the retaining ring doesn't sit down on the crystal (too tight). Is there THAT MUCH variability across the makers or is this unusual? I don't mind springing for another gen crystal as long as I know it's going to fit. Is there a recommendation that seems to work better than others?

Thanks in advance for any help...
B

[RickFlorida]

This is something I've battle with for a few years on my cartel case 5513 build.

 

With everything off of the case, do you get 28.2mm for the O.D. of the "case neck" where the retaining ring goes?

 

My advice (which I learned here)  purchase an entire bezel, retaining ring, and friction washer all together so that they are all designed to work with each other.   This is your best hope for fitting your crystals.  My problem was that my "case neck" diameter was too big so that even with high quality bezel and retaining ring sets, my crystals broke too.  Because I had my Cartel case reshaped by a professional to look like a real 5513..... I went to the extreme of shaving off my case neck and creating a proper case neck diameter that is to be silver soldered onto the case.

 

(I'm a jeweler on the side and I've worked in a machine shop so I'm able to do it).   No one else here would probably do this and just buy another case.   I don't have money for a nice 5513 case.

This brings me to another frustration.  WHY THE HELL IS NO ONE 3D PRINTING 5513 CASES?   You could 3D print a case using material jetting technology.

Edited August 20, 2018 by RickFlorida

[alligoat]

I'm assuming you already own a set of calipers. If not you need to buy a set pronto.

Check out Ofrei.com-http://www.ofrei.com/page419.html

They have a large selection of T-19s. Hopefully one of these will fit. If you can get a tight fit with the crystal on the case, you can always sand down the crystal retaining ring to make it fit over the crystal.