FOIS hesalite mod??

zoohannover

This forum is the source! 😉
See this discussion:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/fois-with-hesalite-crystal.81363/

Dms5150

Hi there, thinking of getting a new Speedy (currently have 3592.50) and love the look of the FOIS. Perfect size, love the leaf hands.. but the only thing stopping me from purchase is that super ugly box sapphire crystal. It just looks so out of place on such a retro looking watch. I prefer hesalite all the way.

This might be sacrilege, but I'm actually considering getting a FOIS but then swapping the Sapphire out with a nice rounded NOS hesalite crystal.

Does anyone know if there are structural differences between the bezels and cases of hesalite vs sapphire watches? Or might it be possible? (With the assistance of a good watchmaker of course)..

mrchen

There are a lot of threads here that discuss this. Essentially it can be done but only after greatly modifying an acrylic crystal and with no guarantee of water resistance or workmamship-- eg. a watchmaker has to cobble something together to make it work as the stock FOIS case can not take a stock hesalite crystal.

Regarding the sapphire vs. hesalite... It's really just a preference mate... Don't buy in to the marketing hype. The milky ring is not that big of a deal, and for the 99.99999999% of us who won't be NASA (or SpaceX) pilots, having sapphire is not a life or death situation.

Daval

I can certainly vouch for the craftsmanship of Adam of the Lewis Watch Co. I purchased one on his hesalite conversions last year and could not be happier with the result and the process. The sapphire version of FOIS always seemed a bit 'cold' to me. The hesalite version is exactly the opposite. But in the end, it is a matter of personal preference of course.

If you are looking for examples, you will find plenty in my posts in the WRUW thread.