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Archer
··Omega Qualified WatchmakerSo I received a pretty beat up SMP in the shop recently for a full service and some case work. The owner had taken it to a "watchmaker" in a large US city, but there were some issues with the watch, so it ended up on my bench. The owner confirmed that this "watchmaker" had removed the bezel on the watch, and that although there were already marks on the lugs, it was worse after this guy had his paws on it.
Here are some shots of the damage:
Not only has the "prying" motion dug the back side of the blade into the lug, destroying the sharp corner, but the sharp part of the blade went too deep and has damaged the surface the bezel rides on:
Of course not only was the case damaged quite badly, but this "watchmaker" bent the snot out of the bezel:
I was sent a used bezel with a blue insert to replace the bezel that was bent, so I popped the blue insert out of the straight bezel with my fingers. However the bezel with the black insert was so bent I had to use a press to remove the black insert. Fortunately the insert was not bent, so I snapped it into the straight bezel, and after cleaning the case up it looks/works pretty well all things considered:
Of course I could not remove all the hack marks, so to restore this completely it would require laser welding and a lot of refinishing, but I often find that bringing back the contrast between the brushed and polished surfaces will make a watch look 95% new, and not require removal of so much material that the case shape is lost.
For removing rotating dive bezels, there is no better tool IMO than the one Omega sells - here is a swap of a bezel on a PO:
Select the right die:
Grip, twist, and voila:
Lubricate the click spring:
Push, turn, and click, and it's all good - no damage done:
Yes it is expensive, but it does the job without any damage to the watch case or the bezel, and I use it on many different brands.
For fixed bezels that is a different subject all together, and sometimes yes a case knife or razor blade is used (never prying!), but I also have what I consider to be the best fixed bezel remover on the market in this one:
Works like a charm:
Anyway, I know many will say they have removed bezels using a case knife with no problems, but I see damage like the watch above pretty often (mostly by watch owners, but more than one "watchmaker" has done similar damage also), so I recommend using the proper tools, or taking it to someone who has the proper tools.
Cheers, Al
Here are some shots of the damage:
Not only has the "prying" motion dug the back side of the blade into the lug, destroying the sharp corner, but the sharp part of the blade went too deep and has damaged the surface the bezel rides on:
Of course not only was the case damaged quite badly, but this "watchmaker" bent the snot out of the bezel:
I was sent a used bezel with a blue insert to replace the bezel that was bent, so I popped the blue insert out of the straight bezel with my fingers. However the bezel with the black insert was so bent I had to use a press to remove the black insert. Fortunately the insert was not bent, so I snapped it into the straight bezel, and after cleaning the case up it looks/works pretty well all things considered:
Of course I could not remove all the hack marks, so to restore this completely it would require laser welding and a lot of refinishing, but I often find that bringing back the contrast between the brushed and polished surfaces will make a watch look 95% new, and not require removal of so much material that the case shape is lost.
For removing rotating dive bezels, there is no better tool IMO than the one Omega sells - here is a swap of a bezel on a PO:
Select the right die:
Grip, twist, and voila:
Lubricate the click spring:
Push, turn, and click, and it's all good - no damage done:
Yes it is expensive, but it does the job without any damage to the watch case or the bezel, and I use it on many different brands.
For fixed bezels that is a different subject all together, and sometimes yes a case knife or razor blade is used (never prying!), but I also have what I consider to be the best fixed bezel remover on the market in this one:
Works like a charm:
Anyway, I know many will say they have removed bezels using a case knife with no problems, but I see damage like the watch above pretty often (mostly by watch owners, but more than one "watchmaker" has done similar damage also), so I recommend using the proper tools, or taking it to someone who has the proper tools.
Cheers, Al
