Noob mariner F520117 crystal and removal of bezel

[Timelord]

I recently pulled out my prized noobmariner F520117 to  wear as I like to rotate my watches every now & then.  Upon returning home I noticed my crystal was missing!!  Luckily I was wearing a short sleeve polo shirt and the hands were intact!,  I looked all over and  no sign of it!  I tried the crystals from some of my silix cases and cartel cases but they all seem to be wrong size!

 

Has anyone ever replaced one and if so, where is it possible to source one?

 

also I tried to remove the bezel to clean any grime underneath it with no luck!  How does one go about this?

 

am having a bad day!  Thanks for any feedback!

[automatico]

F520117 crystal:

"Has anyone ever replaced one and if so, where is it possible to source one?"

 

Afaik only a noob F520117 type crystal will work.  They are made similar to a 'stepped' oem rlx 295C sapphire crystal but the dimensions are slightly different.

'Stepped' = smaller where it mounts in the gasket that at the top.

 

Noob F520117 crystal sizes:

Noob overall diameter...30.5mm.   

Genuine...30.4mm.

 

Noob diameter where it fits into the crystal gasket...29.0mm.    

Genuine...29.5mm.

 

Noob thickness...2.0mm.    

Genuine and oem replacement...2.0mm,  2.10mm,  2.15mm.  Maybe more, this is what I have.

 

Last time I saw a Noob F520117 crystal for sale was in 2010 for $40.

Do not know if any other replica case references used the same crystal other than maybe the later model Noob M092117 with lettering on the reflector ring (rehaut).

 

 

"...also I tried to remove the bezel to clean any grime underneath it with no luck!  How does one go about this?"

 

The rotating bezel is held on the case by a spring wire.  The way to remove them without damage is to insert a small 4mm or 5mm slice from a razor blade in the space between the bezel and case (at the top of the case, not the side) and push the spring wire away from the groove in the case while gently pulling up on the rotating bezel while turning it.  The insert should be removed before attempting to remove the rotating bezel and to do that you have to remove the movement and crystal to get under the insert.  Hell-of-a-hassle.

 

The ro/bez is easy to bend so it would probably be better to put a few drops of dishwashing liquid soap between the case and rotating bezel and turn it around a few times while running warm water over it to clean the dirt out.  Rinse and repeat.

[Tribal]

Maybe I have one.

Gesendet von meinem Mi MIX 2S mit Tapatalk

[Timelord]

20 hours ago, automatico said:

F520117 crystal:

"Has anyone ever replaced one and if so, where is it possible to source one?"

 

Afaik only a noob F520117 type crystal will work.  They are made similar to a 'stepped' oem rlx 295C sapphire crystal but the dimensions are slightly different.

'Stepped' = smaller where it mounts in the gasket that at the top.

 

Noob F520117 crystal sizes:

Noob overall diameter...30.5mm.   

Genuine...30.4mm.

 

Noob diameter where it fits into the crystal gasket...29.0mm.    

Genuine...29.5mm.

 

Noob thickness...2.0mm.    

Genuine and oem replacement...2.0mm,  2.10mm,  2.15mm.  Maybe more, this is what I have.

 

Last time I saw a Noob F520117 crystal for sale was in 2010 for $40.

Do not know if any other replica case references used the same crystal other than maybe the later model Noob M092117 with lettering on the reflector ring (rehaut).

 

 

"...also I tried to remove the bezel to clean any grime underneath it with no luck!  How does one go about this?"

 

The rotating bezel is held on the case by a spring wire.  The way to remove them without damage is to insert a small 4mm or 5mm slice from a razor blade in the space between the bezel and case (at the top of the case, not the side) and push the spring wire away from the groove in the case while gently pulling up on the rotating bezel while turning it.  The insert should be removed before attempting to remove the rotating bezel and to do that you have to remove the movement and crystal to get under the insert.  Hell-of-a-hassle.

 

The ro/bez is easy to bend so it would probably be better to put a few drops of dishwashing liquid soap between the case and rotating bezel and turn it around a few times while running warm water over it to clean the dirt out.  Rinse and repeat.

 

That is very eloquent and useful!   Thanks is the best word I can find!  

One thing puzzles me is that a stepped crystal as with the genuine crystals must have some kind of bezel or retaining ring to hold them in place!!  Unless mine was replaced with a different type and held by sealant which makes sens as to why I lost it in the first place 

 

I take your advice on the detergent method to clean as best as possible under the bezel.  I tried he razor blade but just scratched the top side instead!  An absolute pain to come off!

15 hours ago, Tribal said:

Maybe I have one.

Gesendet von meinem Mi MIX 2S mit Tapatalk
 

Would yours be for the f series or M series?

[alligoat]

The noob crystal is basically a press in deal- from the top with the gasket.

 

Removing the bezel is definitely a chore- a very slow and difficult operation where, as auto says, you have to insert a knife or razor and slowly work around the bezel to lift it. The trick is to get it off w/o bending the bezel. I recently tried to remove one on an old noob- F520117- and bent the bezel. I'm looking at maybe turning the case on a lathe to take down the outside of the rehaut ring to see if a gen crystal and retaining ring could be fitted to the case along with a gen bezel assembly.

I'll look around and see if I can find the old crystal and gasket. 

Although the noob was a good sub at the time (2008), now days there's much better more gen like cases- Watchmaker, WM9, late MBWs, TW Best, the ST 3135 case, TC and now the JF16610 if it's still available.  

[capice]

23 hours ago, automatico said:

F520117 crystal:

"Has anyone ever replaced one and if so, where is it possible to source one?"

 

Afaik only a noob F520117 type crystal will work.  They are made similar to a 'stepped' oem rlx 295C sapphire crystal but the dimensions are slightly different.

'Stepped' = smaller where it mounts in the gasket that at the top.

 

Noob F520117 crystal sizes:

Noob overall diameter...30.5mm.   

Genuine...30.4mm.

 

Noob diameter where it fits into the crystal gasket...29.0mm.    

Genuine...29.5mm.

 

Noob thickness...2.0mm.    

Genuine and oem replacement...2.0mm,  2.10mm,  2.15mm.  Maybe more, this is what I have.

 

Last time I saw a Noob F520117 crystal for sale was in 2010 for $40.

Do not know if any other replica case references used the same crystal other than maybe the later model Noob M092117 with lettering on the reflector ring (rehaut).

 

 

"...also I tried to remove the bezel to clean any grime underneath it with no luck!  How does one go about this?"

 

The rotating bezel is held on the case by a spring wire.  The way to remove them without damage is to insert a small 4mm or 5mm slice from a razor blade in the space between the bezel and case (at the top of the case, not the side) and push the spring wire away from the groove in the case while gently pulling up on the rotating bezel while turning it.  The insert should be removed before attempting to remove the rotating bezel and to do that you have to remove the movement and crystal to get under the insert.  Hell-of-a-hassle.

 

The ro/bez is easy to bend so it would probably be better to put a few drops of dishwashing liquid soap between the case and rotating bezel and turn it around a few times while running warm water over it to clean the dirt out.  Rinse and repeat.

good info, thanks for sharing