Vertex Dirty Dozen crystal

[Neverenoughwatches]

3 hours ago, rehajm said:

So the Buren DD also has one of these retainer rings. Mine was stuck and thought I’d find something in my case back tools but most of the nibs are round and taper to the end so are too fat to reach down inside the case.

Welp, it had been over a week without buying another tool…In the states Amazon sells this Lyecun case back opener: 

The nibs are the perfect fit for the notches on the retaining ring…

I unscrewed and reversed the direction of the nibs so the flat end was against the inside of the case. Worked a charm. Perhaps there’s something in your stash of case openers that looks similar?

 

What is the purpose of the ring ? Does it just set the crystal height? 

[rehajm]

3 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

What is the purpose of the ring ? Does it just set the crystal height? 

It locks the crystal in place as speculated: Place the case dial down and load the crystal thru the back. The original style crystals have a substantial lip edge to them and tightening the ring places forward pressure on this, pushing the glass into the underside of the front ‘bezel’…

[Neverenoughwatches]

14 minutes ago, rehajm said:

It locks the crystal in place as speculated: Place the case dial down and load the crystal thru the back. The original style crystals have a substantial lip edge to them and tightening the ring places forward pressure on this, pushing the glass into the underside of the front ‘bezel’…

Ah brilliant thanks for that fella, i have a Record DD , gives me an idea what to expect when i take it apart. I'm assuming finding a replacement crystal might be a problem. 

There were also likely spanners dsigned to fit these retaining rings.

[rehajm]

I just cleaned up some crystals so I’ll take close ups…and I have a Record in the baddie radium storage waiting attention and all my hazard duty kit is out this week. I’ll try to take some photos of what to expect in the Record. I’m not certain all the DD cases have the retaining ring…

Edited July 26, 2024 by rehajm

[RichardHarris123]

Are new crystals available with the substantial lip? If not, what are the alternatives?

[rehajm]

Alright...some photos. Forgive the macro photography. It's early in the US and I haven't had my coffee...

First, the Record DD case...

...with the ring. I can confirm the ring for Vertex, Buren and now Record. Omega does not use the ring- regular press fit works fine. Here's the Buren case with my nifty wrench...

Crystals...Long ago I purchased a couple from a Hong Kong (?) supplier called Lobtime. They claim one of their specialties is hard to find replacement crystals. Lovely website...and there are always US EBay sellers offering 'perfect fit' DD crystals. I've just assumed all these vendors are making proper measure to discover the correct size to order from the major suppliers, G-S, Sternkreuz, etc. then selling for a markup, but I'm not certain. Could be NOS...

Here's some looks at the lip- perhaps it can be determined which Sternkreuz to order, if possible...

...the last two are from the Buren DD. I replaced the last one because of some deep scratches in the sidewall what showed. Replaced it with the 'Lobtime' replacement...

END

[praezis]

2 hours ago, rehajm said:

Here's some looks at the lip- perhaps it can be determined which Sternkreuz to order, if possible...

Hardly possible if you don‘t give any sizes 

[rehajm]

19 minutes ago, praezis said:

Hardly possible if you don‘t give any sizes 

I believed this is a general discussion about the function of the cases and crystals and not my place to repeat general DD sizing information- at least not in this thread.. If someone wants to measure all the crystals I’m happy to thumbs up as that’s valuable information, I will point you to resellers offering the service at a substantial markup vs a crystal at Cousins…

Edited July 26, 2024 by rehajm

[praezis]

Then my general answer: yes, Sternkreuz supplies such crystals.