Mbw 5513 Need help

[automatico]

I have had good luck with three suppliers of 55xx/1680 aftmkt bezel kits:

1...ST

2...Clark  (eBay)

3...watchman408  (eBay) 

 

When I bought them a few years ago they all supplied the same kits...matte finish and a very good fit.  Now watchman408 says his rotating bezel is polished.  Have not purchased any new kits in 4+ years.

 

You need a good digital caliper if you do not already have one to measure:

1...The case neck (28.2mm).

2...OD of the crystal after it is mounted on the case.

3...ID of the inner (crystal retaining) bezel.

 

The crystal should be a light friction fit over the case neck.  If it is too tight it may crack when pushing it down on the case neck by hand. 

If the crystal is too loose on the case neck the inner bezel may seem to be too tight at first when starting to press it over the crystal.  Hopefully the inner bezel will adequately seat the crystal on the case neck after it is mounted.  You just have to lift the inner bezel with a razor blade etc a hair to see if it is tight enough.  Be careful not to let the sharp edge of the blade scratch the case neck. 

The crystal OD after it is mounted on the case should be .1mm to .15mm larger than the inner bezel ID.  Much more than that will crack the base of the crystal.  Pressing the inner bezel over the crystal out of level can also crack the crystal even if the dimensions are correct.

 

There is no way to describe how the proper bezel being pressed over the crystal will act/feel during installation.  It depends on tools used, parts used, and experience.  Flimsy plastic press cups can allow the bezel to get out of level especially if the post they are mounted on is small and/or the cup itself is thin.

If the crystal and bezel measure out Ok but the inner bezel seems to stick before it seats you can coat the friction surface of the inner bezel with dishwashing liquid to slick it up.  Just be careful not to let it go anywhere else on the watch...dial etc.  This is not an 'official pro tip' but many 'pros' do it to prevent scratching the crystal sidewall.  After you get it all back together, thoroughly rinse the bezel area.

If the case neck is not 28.2mm or very, very close you are going to have trouble. 

 

From the MBK sticky in the rlx section:

Note 10-6-16...IF  the case neck is oem spec 28.2mm and IF  you need a new bezel assembly...here is what I found (usually)  works:  GS PA 462-66 crystal and ST/Clark etc bezel kit IF  the ID of the inner bezel is 30.2mm.  The 28.2mm case neck and 30.2mm inner bezel will not crack the crystal when pressing it on because it is not a real tight fit on the crystal while at the same time the crystal will not pop off or leak in day to day service (although I have not tested one below about 5 atm/70 psi).  GS crystals are precision made and always the same spec unlike much of the inconsistent junk scattered all over the internet.  The PA 462-66 is a domed crystal that has the sidewall coming straight up about 1.7 to 2.0mm above the bezel insert.  You also have to make sure the bezel washer does not cause the rotating bezel to bind.  The washer needs to fit over the small lip on the inner bezel (if there is  one, it is there to keep the sharp washer away from the crystal) while not sticking out over the outer edge of the inner bezel or it will bind the rotating bezel.  Many (if not most) aftmkt bezel washers are out of spec in my experience.

I have tried this same setup with a GS PA 462-67 crystal and the inner bezel was too tight.  Also measured a couple MBK inner bezels and they were both 30.15mm id...not much difference but they can be pretty tight with the GS PA 462-66 crystal.  Matter of fact, I broke a new PA 462-66 with a MBK inner bezel on an MBK case a few days ago.  It leaked and I had to look down through the outer edge of the crystal with a 10x loupe under bright light to see the hairline cracks.  I found that ST/Clark rotating bezels will accept oem spec inserts and they snap in correctly...many aftmkt inserts and insert seats in bezels are out of spec.

[jackflash]

Go with the PA 462-66 crystal, available from Ofrei. It’s very close to a gen service crystal. The T19 from Clark will distort the rehaut. Here’s a shot of one of my earlier builds with a Clark crystal, look how thick the rehaut appears to be at the bottom.


Here’s another of my earlier builds with the PA 462-66, see how even the rehaut appears.



And here’s my MBW with a Gen service crystal.

[Mattjames84]

Automatico, and jack flash... you guys are amazing, thank you

[Mattjames84]

4 hours ago, Justasgood said:

So it seems...OP, Compare the bezel sent to you with the pics in the referenced post.

This could be true I suppose but but when I bought the watch it had all the links back to the owner who had all the mods done by rolojack, and he said it was an mbw.. sooo... but no matter what it is rolojack definately did it because everything is done to this case that he does on all his others

[Mattjames84]

Also the owner that had all the work done stated that the case had been re engraved.. so really nothing about this case would indicate its mbw other then fitment of gen parts...

[Mattjames84]

Heres the link to when the watch was sold here.

 

Anyway, what I'm gonna do when I get the bezel assembly, is try and use the old bezel with the new retaining ring and see how that fits

[jackflash]

Heres the link to when the watch was sold here.
 
Anyway, what I'm gonna do when I get the bezel assembly, is try and use the old bezel with the new retaining ring and see how that fits

How did it work out with the WSO bezel assembly?

[Mattjames84]

Crappy, I couldn't even use it. The retaining ring was to fat

[jackflash]

Sorry to hear that. So the new WSO bezel didn’t fit the WSO retaining ring either? Even though it was a set?

[Mattjames84]

Correct

[jackflash]

That’s bad news. Hope you can get a refund!