Replaced crystal

Posts
87
Likes
409
I found my dad’s semi functioning old watch in a safe.

I sent it back To Omega, and it looks great. But the new crystal seems to stick out a little more. There is a little gap between the case and ledge of the crystal.

i have the old crystal, but it is hard to compare outside of the watch. Am I seeing things?
 
Posts
13,483
Likes
31,778
No, you're not seeing things. Some of the modern genuine Omega crystals have a different profile than their vintage counterparts.

Nice heirloom watch BTW.
 
Posts
419
Likes
387
Yes ! One of my obsession .. !😉 I have many vintage watches ..Omega and others .. something difficult to reach is to have a crystal sitting low as they were at the time ... replacement are always higher .. and the watch suddenly looks so much better when you get the right crystal ! At the moment, I am trying to get the right crystal for an Omega Geneve from the 60'ties .. no luck, impossible to have a genuine crystal for that model nowadays from Omega .. am considering to have the local Omega representative install a crystal, not Omega, but sitting lower ..
All part of the fun !
 
Posts
911
Likes
4,393
Yes ! One of my obsession .. !😉 I have many vintage watches ..Omega and others .. something difficult to reach is to have a crystal sitting low as they were at the time ... replacement are always higher .. and the watch suddenly looks so much better when you get the right crystal ! At the moment, I am trying to get the right crystal for an Omega Geneve from the 60'ties .. no luck, impossible to have a genuine crystal for that model nowadays from Omega .. am considering to have the local Omega representative install a crystal, not Omega, but sitting lower ..
All part of the fun !
I waited a long time for Omega to send my watchmaker a replacement crystal for my 1970 Constellation. Even if the parts exist, Omega tends not to move quickly, or at least not in this case!
Edited:
 
Posts
87
Likes
409
You are right, Ω do move slow. I actually had my watch to sent them around Thanksgiving, and I only just got it back a few weeks ago. Perhaps a Covid-19 thing?

Thanks for the input. I am leaning towards having them re-install the original crystal (which they very considerately returned to me). Quick note: Much better than Rolex, who cleaned and polished everything and didn't return anything.

Ω
 
Posts
16,307
Likes
44,995
I broke the domed “tropical” crystal on my 60’s Tudor Prince many years ago. My watchmaker sourced a current factory replacement based on case number and it was the flat topped acrylic that Rolex/ Tudor offers for their 34mm watches 70’s- today- it just looked weird. I had to hunt down the correct domed crystal which took me months- but it was so worth it.
 
Posts
87
Likes
409
OK, so I finally went back to the dealer (Tourbillon) . They said that they can put the original crystal back on the watch -- for $180. I don't like it because I paid $550 to get the watch serviced already, and they are the ones who put on the non-fitting crystal without asking me. Also got an Omega strap there.

I could wait 5 years until the next service interval...

What would you do?
 
Posts
24,327
Likes
54,150
Replacing the crystal might void your Omega warranty.
 
Posts
87
Likes
409
Replacing the crystal might void your Omega warranty.

This ill fitting crystal was installed by Omega. The replacement of the original would also be done by Omega. The Tourbillon store is owned Swatch Group, which owns Omega.
 
Posts
29,705
Likes
76,893
OK, so I finally went back to the dealer (Tourbillon) . They said that they can put the original crystal back on the watch -- for $180. I don't like it because I paid $550 to get the watch serviced already, and they are the ones who put on the non-fitting crystal without asking me. Also got an Omega strap there.

I could wait 5 years until the next service interval...

What would you do?

They installed the current replacement crystal for your watch. If you want the old one put back on, they aren’t likely to do it for free, although $180 for swapping a crystal is pretty steep...

Also, if they replaced the crystal for some sort of defect, even if they install it again, if something happens to the watch related to this old crystal, they may refuse to repair it under warranty.

Cheers, Al
 
Posts
87
Likes
409
They installed the current replacement crystal for your watch. If you want the old one put back on, they aren’t likely to do it for free, although $180 for swapping a crystal is pretty steep...

Also, if they replaced the crystal for some sort of defect, even if they install it again, if something happens to the watch related to this old crystal, they may refuse to repair it under warranty.

Cheers, Al

Oh, I see...in this case putting on the ORIGINAL crystal may void the warranty. Sigh...that does make a sort of sense. Maybe I'll just live with it for a little while.
 
Posts
24,327
Likes
54,150
This ill fitting crystal was installed by Omega. The replacement of the original would also be done by Omega. The Tourbillon store is owned Swatch Group, which owns Omega.

OK, I didn't realize that. I figured it was just an AD, and I didn't realize that they were an actual SwatchGroup service center. Still, there's no harm in double-checking that there wouldn't be warranty problems.
 
Posts
87
Likes
409
OK, I didn't realize that. I figured it was just an AD, and I didn't realize that they were an actual SwatchGroup service center. Still, there's no harm in double-checking that there wouldn't be warranty problems.

It was good advice, and it seems there is a chance it would void the warranty. The idea being they replaced the old crystal for a reason. It actually looks perfect to me (it is my profile picture). But if anything happened to it, I suppose they could blame the old crystal...
 
Posts
5,636
Likes
5,811
I was hoping to reuse an original crystal for my latest 2627 project but it broke coming out of the case. The flat ones do look different but you get used to them eventually.