On my Technos skydiver the crystal split in a circle. So, I bought one of those replacement ones from eBay from Hong Kong. Guess what after about four months it did the same thing. There the best looking but I bought the watch from seller in Hong Kong so it might have had the same replacement don't want an instant replay at 50 bucks a pop plus 50 shipping that shipping seems like a rip off. Have ordered a GS diver-tite and a Sternkreuz diver acrylic crystal but no magnifier hoping the dome match. But if anyone know of a acrylic diver dome with magnifier replacement crystal let me know.
Photo's of the crystal that came with the watch.


Funny split

Replacement crystal from eBay from Hong Kong see new split same place between the 9 and 6 starting the circle split think the replacements from Hong Hong are defective avoid. Hate to use a none-magnifier but the closes ones I can find don't have them so if anyone knows of a replacement crystal that's a match with dome and magnifier let me know those replacement ones from Hong Kong if I remember no tension ring might be why they split.

 

What no comments on how these crystal from Hong Kong cracked in the same spot? I think no tenson ring or defect when made. Bad thing about aftermarket crystals no quality control. The seller on eBay ghosting me when I sent him a message on eBay about this with photos. I can put a fingernail in the crack.

 

Well, I used a GS Diver-Tite double thick crystal 31.4 acrylic crystal also had a Stella Neptune and Sternkreuz ATC both diver acrylic crystal, but the GS was tall like the one from Hong Kong. One thing I notice was the ones with tenson ring when you put your fingers and try to push the crystal it did no bend but the Hong Kong after market did really think not having a tenson ring is the defect. for the price of three other crystal to see which one fit best was half the cost of the aftermarket one from Hong Kong.

 

Glad you figured this out and shared it with the collective. These situations can be frustrating when there is not factory support and no real network of factory parts left out there. We have to forge our own path- so nice to share that info with the rest.

 

Thanks for this! I just acquired a Technos Sky Diver and was looking at the Lobtime crystal and bracelet. Might get their bracelet still until while I continue the hunt for a correct one.

 

Good info. I used a GS Diver-Tite on my Ardath Denis and it worked great. Looks great too. I've also had good experiences with Clark crystals (eBay) and used one as a replacement for my Tudor Sub ref 79090. It passed 100m of WR in the pressure tester w/o any issue.

 

Clark are nice if they have a fit for you. GS diver tite are quality made if you don’t need a specific profile, but if you do, it’s like a needle in a haystack. And even though they seem “cheap”, buying 6 of them to find the perfect fit adds up fast.

 

My GS Diver-Tite was $14+shipping. But yes, if you need the cyclops and a specific dome profile then your search just got exponentially more difficult and likely expensive. Just guessing, but an OEM crystal for a Skydiver is probably a $300 part, if not more. Getting these babies back to factory state can be downright frustrating and cost prohibitive.

Gregoriades/Localtime can be a good option, shipping is expensive depending on your location

https://gregoriades.com/?post_type=product&s=plexiglass

 

Same problem with alot of vintage. Wylers in particular used a very specific proprietary lip at the bottom of crystal that goes under the retaining ring. A Wyler with a cracked crystal can sway a purchase unless you know exactly which part number you need and can find it on eBay.
The Bulova 666’s can take a generic crystal but they has Cyclopes under the crystal which are specific to each model for placement- and there are no modern generic Cyclopes for those as far as I’ve seen.

The EPSA super compressors had a very specific profile to clear the inner rotating bezel. There are some diver tites that “fit” but they hinder the use of the rotating bezel.
I think many think of crystals as an easy consumable to replace- but for some vintage pieces they are incredibly hard to find and an integral part of the watches design.

 

This seems to be a reasonable assumption when discussing the skin diver with the generic 36 or 38mm case, but yes, when you get into proprietary or more special case construction you're 100% correct. Although, this LIDHER with what looks like a generic case has a really interesting round cyclops. It also has a DODANE/Tramelan 2000 case.



I have a watch landing today that is the latter. I don't know if the crystal is OG or not, but I hope that I never have to replace it because needle in a haystack.