Question about a vintage seized dive bezel

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WhatYourWatchSay

·Apr 20, 2019

The other day I saw a vintage Eagle Star Squale 2001 and the white bakelite bezel was seized tight and wouldn't turn.

The seller says the previous owner decided to repair something on the bezel with clear epoxy and some might have slipped between the bezel and case and that's causing the bezel not to turn.

Is there a chance something like that can be repaired or will the bezel be damaged in any attempt to remove it?

 

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Foo2rama

·Apr 20, 2019·Nowhere near as grumpy as he used to be...

Have you tried running dental floss under the bezel? It’s a trick for non ratchet bezels and the net seems to think it works on dive bezels. There are some YouTube videos on it.

Worked on my “stuck” Sinn 903.

 

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WhatYourWatchSay

·Apr 21, 2019

Thanks Foo2rama, I've read about that tip and have used it on non dive bezels.

Apparently the hex ring on these cases needs to be unscrewed and the bezel can then be removed. I wonder how much epoxy is under the ring.

 

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Dan S

·Apr 21, 2019

There would be various ways to remove the bezel with solvents, heat/cold treatment, etc. It might take some trial and error, but if you go slowly and carefully and don't force anything, you would most likely be able to preserve the bezel. Still, in it's current state, the watch is significantly devalued, since any buyer is taking on a risky project.

 

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WhatYourWatchSay

·Apr 21, 2019

Thanks Foo2rama and Dan S for your thoughts on this, much appreciated 👍

I've been looking locally for a vintage Squale but I guess I should keep looking past this one.

 

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michael22

·Apr 21, 2019

Epoxy can sometimes be degraded by heat, sometimes by UV light, depending on the specific preparation. Some preparations are resistant to both.
The extra difficulty here is a bakelite bezel, which may be less tough than the epoxy.

 

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WhatYourWatchSay

·Apr 21, 2019

michael22

The extra difficulty here is a bakelite bezel, which may be less tough than the epoxy.

That was my concern as well, michael22. A go to solution would be acetone, (nail polish remover) but I cna't begin to imagine what that would do to the Bakelite bezel insert.

 

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michael22

·Apr 21, 2019

Can you see the epoxy?
It may be a BS answer. Nearly anything would be easier than that.

 

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WhatYourWatchSay

·Apr 21, 2019

michael22

Can you see the epoxy?

To be honest, I hadn't noticed it. The bezel didn't really look like it had a repair done to it, but I accepted the seller's answer on face value.

 

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michael22

·Apr 21, 2019

Some people will think that a corroded seize is the worst, & seek to explain it with a lesser evil.
In this case, they may have got it backwards.
Worth thinking about if the price is right.

 

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WhatYourWatchSay

·Apr 22, 2019

michael22

Some people will think that a corroded seize is the worst, & seek to explain it with a lesser evil.

That was my first assumption, that an old dive watch had a seized bezel from diving, then the seller comes out with the epoxy explanation. I'm going to look at it again later this week and take some pics and post them here.