tenacious_b Posted July 5, 2008 Report Share Posted July 5, 2008 OK, since someone pointed out in an earlier post that the GMT II C's crystal is uneven with the high side toward the 3'oclock position, it's turned my watch into a real personal eye-sorer. I saw another post where a member used some pipe fittings from the hardware store to pop out a panerai crystal, and showed a c-clamp in the picture, persumably to pop the crystal back in. Well, I was so inspired that I went to Lowe's and picked up a small c-clamp, and used it in along with a half dollar sized coin and a piece of an artificial chamoi to press the crystal evenly into place. It was a very hairy experience and I was sweating profusely the whole time, afraid that I might shatter the crystal or damage the cyclops. There was no "pop" or noticeable give since I was using so much padding, and only had about half a milimeter to go, so I had to keep stopping and checking. After the third go, I cranked down as tight as I dared, turning the crank slowly, and decided that I would just leave it like that for 5 minutes (intuition I guess). I loosed the clamp, polished her up, and viewed her against good lighting and BAM, she's fixed! I'd post a picture of my materials, but my wife has the camera at one of her job sites today, but I'll try to remember to post when she get's back. Pictures (sorry I didn't take any befores, but if it's uneven, hey you know what it looks like: Thanks for looking. -Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itseme Posted July 5, 2008 Report Share Posted July 5, 2008 waiting for the pics :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llsteve80 Posted July 5, 2008 Report Share Posted July 5, 2008 You got brass ones buddy..... If it works, it works right? I'd try it but I break stuff. So did you take it out and start fresh, or just press the 3:00 side down? reminds me of the hockey puck fiasco..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiker01 Posted July 5, 2008 Report Share Posted July 5, 2008 The big question for me is.......would that fix make it water resistant? Would that make the seal around the crystal mold with it or it will just set on whatever was not displaced? Did you do a water test or do you care? ......for the water resistancy of the watch? I do and its a big part of my decision to buy the watch! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenacious_b Posted July 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 @ itseme - added pics @ llsteve80 - I do have brass ones; left crystal in and just applied pressure toward the 3 o'clock side... e v e r s o s l o w l y.... @ HikeUSA - I guess so; I don't know, but under a loop, it appears to have evenly sealed; I took it swimming yesterday and it was fine; off a diving board several times and in a 12 ft pool, and no worries. Of course I made sure the crown was snug and the case back was tightened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiker01 Posted July 10, 2008 Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 @ itseme - added pics @ llsteve80 - I do have brass ones; left crystal in and just applied pressure toward the 3 o'clock side... e v e r s o s l o w l y.... @ HikeUSA - I guess so; I don't know, but under a loop, it appears to have evenly sealed; I took it swimming yesterday and it was fine; off a diving board several times and in a 12 ft pool, and no worries. Of course I made sure the crown was snug and the case back was tightened. Great job, there T....I'm proud of you! Keep us posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest carlsbadrolex Posted July 10, 2008 Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 Wow, thats definitely one way to do it!!! Glad it worked out for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanikai Posted July 10, 2008 Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 Thanks for taking the Time to share your findings ten. .... necessity is truely the Mother of Invention... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algreen345 Posted July 12, 2008 Report Share Posted July 12, 2008 (edited) I had the same problem with my crystal and considered sending it back to Andrew for repair. Then I read about this fix and ordered a crystal press from Amazon. It was $30 with free shipping, which was the price of sending back the watch to Andrew. It took four days to arrive and four minutes to fix my GMT IIc. The crystal sits perfectly now and I took it to the pool today to test it out - works perfectly! Thanks for this suggestion. Edited July 12, 2008 by Algreen345 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenacious_b Posted July 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2008 no problem. there's nothing better than half assing a solution and having it work out. Sounds like you did it the right way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sub16610 Posted October 22, 2008 Report Share Posted October 22, 2008 Hi to everybody, i've he same problem, but after i unmount the crystal i saw the nylon ring is not regular, it's deformed, there is no way to put the crystal perfectly. I need some ring to replace mine, i asked around but nothing, nobody have it, could someone help me please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colingwhufc Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 Hi to everybody, i've he same problem, but after i unmount the crystal i saw the nylon ring is not regular, it's deformed, there is no way to put the crystal perfectly. I need some ring to replace mine, i asked around but nothing, nobody have it, could someone help me please The same thing happened to mine and it filled up with water ,I just sent it back for a replacement but it is still at uk customs hope to get it tommrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.