Refurbishment of vintage 165.024 bezels

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Hello I have an interesting bezel that I feel is a good candidate for refurbishment. The insert is entirely intact, with no visible cracks or missing material.

The spots that look like cracks are actually just clear acrylic (what looks like a crack is actually the underlying metal). It’s as though the black paint simply vanished.

The lume portions are slightly visible to the naked eye, but look complete under UV. Clearly the lume has degraded or just gone missing.

Can this be repaired by refilling the lume and repainting the underside black portions? Or must it be removed and a replacement insert be installed?

Thanks in advance.


The silver colored sections seen below are not chips or breaks or missing any acrylic material; rather, you’re looking straight through the acrylic insert and seeing the bezel itself. At first glance, the bezel didn’t “match” the near pristine condition of the watch on which it was mounted. I assumed it to actually be what it looked like in the pictures—chipped and cracked. But now I realize it’s not a damaged insert, it’s actually a defective one. And in excellent condition (minus the obvious paint and lume issue!).

Edited:
 
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I ended up buying the donor bezel below for the refurb.

Before refurb:


After refurb:
Edited:
 
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That is quite an outcome, did you do that yourself? In my experience even the top tier watchmakers don’t get consistent results with these bezels.
 
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That is quite an outcome, did you do that yourself? In my experience even the top tier watchmakers don’t get consistent results with these bezels.


??? Not reading ? He Bought a different bezel.....
 
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The refurb job went out pretty well, I`m also interested in how it was made, as removing the bakelite insert, which is a 1mm thick, from the steel bezel without cracking it always seemed like a mission impossible to me...
 
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Ahhh .... , he bought another faulty Bezel and refurbished that . Great job and thanks to clarify that.
 
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Yeah thanks for clarifying for the ol’ grump
 
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Hello
I am looking for a bezel and inlay for my 165.024.
Can someone help me to find high quality parts please?
Many thanks
 
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Don't be too quick to make irreversible damage to your new purchase. Stick around a while. Discover what your watch is worth with the original insert vs an aftermarket. I hope you will realize what you have is more valuable / attractive in its original state.
Do some research on what you have first. You might find you like it better when it's more authentic.
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Hello
I am looking for a bezel and inlay for my 165.024.
Can someone help me to find high quality parts please?
Many thanks
The forum has a private messaging feature.
 
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940
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Don't be too quick to make irreversible damage to your new purchase. Stick around a while. Discover what your watch is worth with the original insert vs an aftermarket. I hope you will realize what you have is more valuable / attractive in its original state.
Do some research on what you have first. You might find you like it better when it's more authentic.

This is why i bought a donor bezel.

It allowed me to keep the original bezel, which I personally found distracting and unattractive. While I’d like this watch to be all original, my original bezel is just shot. Had I spent 5 or 6x the money on an original 67-69 bezel in top shape, it still wouldn’t be “original” to my watch.

So now I have the original; a service bezel; and a refurbished bezel also.
 
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@southtexas Hi, pls can you share how the bezel was restored? The old inlay was removed and refurbished, or it is a new custom inlay? I have the same bezel in the same condition and I`m interested in how it can be done, thx.
 
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The old insert is broken out of the bezel and a new one is fabricated and glued in. I’ve been told it’s nearly impossible to remove the original insert without cracking it.
 
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This is why i bought a donor bezel.

It allowed me to keep the original bezel, which I personally found distracting and unattractive. While I’d like this watch to be all original, my original bezel is just shot. Had I spent 5 or 6x the money on an original 67-69 bezel in top shape, it still wouldn’t be “original” to my watch.

So now I have the original; a service bezel; and a refurbished bezel also.
Can we see an "overall view " 😉 of the whole watch?
Why I ask?
I like Jose´s AKA Perezcope´s words: all depends on the "overall matching patina".......
 
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Can we see an "overall view " 😉 of the whole watch?
Why I ask?
I like Jose´s AKA Perezcope´s words: all depends on the "overall matching patina".......

Very fair point! It’s currently at the watchmaker getting the new bezel installed and the hands stabilized. But here’s a photo of it with the service bezel:

 
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Thanks, that`s what I thought, that the bezel insert must be change completely.
Who did it for you?
I had a service bezel also on the watch for a while, but is simply doesn`t match the overall patina, so I put back the old one.
 
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It's amazing how some people just read the title and then give advice / suggestions - what a drag

Incredible result, thanks for sharing