Speedmaster 3861 bezel lost?

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So was it the entire bezel that came off or just the tachy insert? Glad it's back in business.
Just the tacky insert. It was so random though--no other damage, no dings, nicks or scratches. Weird.
 
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It’s a reasonably common method of holding a fixed bezel in place. The advantage is that every time you remove the bezel, you replace the gasket, so that you get a “new” for every time, instead of a gradually loosening fit with the old system.

No idea what happened in the case of the OP, but in my experience when people say there wasn’t any impact, there was often one that they just didn’t register.
So does the plastic gasket need to be replaced EVERY time you reinstall the bezel? I ask because I was thinking of realigning my bezel as it is slightly off center. I was wondering if I would need to source a new gasket or if I could just pop off the bezel, realign and pop it back on using the same gasket?
 
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So does the plastic gasket need to be replaced EVERY time you reinstall the bezel? I ask because I was thinking of realigning my bezel as it is slightly off center. I was wondering if I would need to source a new gasket or if I could just pop off the bezel, realign and pop it back on using the same gasket?
Yes is the short answer. All these hard plastic seals operate on deformation to create friction, whether it is the seals that holds the sapphire crystal in place, holds the press on case back in place, or hold a bezel in place. Once that seal has been deformed the first time, it will never hold as tightly as it did initially.

Now will the bezel fall off immediately if you remove it put it back on with the same seal? No, not likely, but to me it's recipe for a missing bezel sometime down the road. Up to you if you want to risk the cost of a new bezel or not...