Watch repair advice needed

BOILER

BOILER

Joined
Feb 2, 2002
Messages
352
I have a Seiko Monster dive watch that I love. Unfortunately, I scratched the heck out of the crystal and bezel while on vacation. I took it to my local jeweler to have the crystal replaced. They said they didn't feel comfortable working on it, and sent it to Seiko warranty/repair for me. I asked for an estimate to replace the crystal and to replace or polish the bezel.

The jeweler left me a voice mail today. Seiko says my watch cannot be repaired. The entire case must be replaced, and it will cost $140! Surely somebody out there can replace the crystal on this watch.

Can anybody recommend a watchmaker to me who can handle this job?

Thanks.
Dave
 
Unfortunately I have no recomendations but you can try some things yourself.
Crystal polishing using toothpaste or polywatch may take out a lot of the scratches.
Bezels are not cheap even on the secondary market. Tho you can do this yourself, also

If the watch is that bad find a Seiko outlet store or go to some of the watch forums like
Seiko Citizen forum
poormanswatchforum
and pick up a second hand Monster.
I'm wearing a BM on bracelet now that is ~-3 sec/day

If you want to modify your watch I'd check out IWW and MKII watches.
It may be time to Yaoize :)
Tom
 
Try www.chronograph.com, they offer the crystal, as well as other accessories for the Seiko Black, and Orange Monster watches (skx779). Crystal is only $20, then you can go to www.mkiiwatches.com, and check out the do it yourself (DIY) page, there is a tutorial with photos on replacing the crystal for a different model, but should apply to yours as well. Also, check out the prices on www.chronograph.com, you may be surprised at how good the prices are. I was looking for one , and when I did find them, they were going for over $400. I had to keep from laughing at the guy behind the counter. Good luck.
 
Thanks for the recommendations!

I just got back from the jeweler. They called Seiko while I was there. Seiko says they have to replace the case and crystal as one unit. I told them to send it back to me.

Thanks hamachikama! I didn't know chronograph.com sold parts as well as complete watches. I'm going to order the parts and see if my jeweler can do the job. He told me this morning that he could not find part numbers for the pieces I needed. That's why he didn't want to work on it.

Dave
 
I replaced a scratched crystal on a Swiss Army waterproof watch and the thing lost its seal against water. Be very careful and check to see if your watch has a gas-pressurized case before you go trying to change the crystal yourself. If it does, you need to take it to someone with suitable equipment to repressurize the case. You might alsowant to call the Seiko repair people and ask them why they are saying that you need the entire case and crystal replaced.
 
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