Rolex

Bill Sohne
1637

• Show profile
• Show other posts

Ok a new old Day Date for me .... sill shaking my head...

Hello everyone...

It is not often I buy a dress watch... but this one came along.  I have been looking for a white gold 1803 for years....   ones I have came across , caseback over polished to it being paperthin... would flex if pressed ! ,   or lugs over polished to almost look like a toothpick, or a diamond dial that I cant go for....  etc......

Well last weekend a friend show his new 1803 .

He was proud that he was able to replace the rolex 114 cyclops crystal non cyclops domed crystal , this one was actually an Omega that he read somewhere ( on the net ) that it would be a proper replacement.    I had to laugh, but it did look ok .  My only concern that it would still be water resistant at least to getting caught in the rain. ( more about that later ).

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/armitageshanks/media/RDD/E897A7B2-58FF-411A-BECC-33893E02E6EE-3199-00000425963E58DB_zps463a10d9.jpg.html][/URL]

But What I loved about the watch ,  NON-lum dial and hands , I know the dial is marked T swiss  , but it is a non-lum dial .  The hands are stunning non lum uncommon style.  The Dial style is classic DOORSTOP and its all monotone !!! shades of silver and grey...  I new I wanted it and after some talk we agreed.

Now on to the Crystal story...

Well I was able to see a close friend who happens to be a watchmaker...  I asked him to do a vacuum and pressure test to 120 m .   As soon as he put the watch in the tester it Failed !.  

 What good is a oyster case that is not waterproof ?

So we first  checked all the gaskets ( caseback , crown and case tube).  FYI : All the gaskets were hard and brittle so all gaskets have to be replaced.  Typically you would just replace the crown ( it would have a new crown gasket installed) but I asked if he could  he replaced just the crown gasket  so I could save the original crown . The case tube was also replaced.   . He then retested it and still failed.

So we removed the bezel and the crystal came off with a pry of my fingernail.  The crystal was could not seat well , we found the last leak .   So for the person that posted that an Omega crystal would fit properly ...  I would disagree at lest in this watch.     An old friend Larry Kaplan sent me a Rolex 114 crystal back in 2009 in case I needed for a 1802 that I purchased at the time.  I did not use it and it came in handy today!!  Thanks again Larry.  

So here it is after PASSING the vacuum and pressure test !! and back on my wrist !!

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/armitageshanks/media/RDD/ABA4D49C-3FEC-427A-9ED9-37C1EF6ED677-3177-00000422775EFF56_zps7b873faa.jpg.html][/URL]



ok here is pic of the 1802 that was suppose to get that crystal ! It wont miss it ..

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/armitageshanks/media/RDD/cc709f4a.jpg.html][/URL]




Good Hunting

Bill Sohne