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Submariner Bezel harder to turn

CoDiffe
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Hello all,

I’ve had my 1990 14060 for a little over a year now. No issues and it’s running like a champ BUT over the last few weeks I’ve noticed the bezel has become a booger to turn. Yes I use it almost every day I wear it. Just curious if this has happened to anyone else? Is it possible for dirt, wabi sabi, etc. to get stuck underneath? Worth taking it to get removed/cleaned?

7674B701-F73F-4FED-897A-ADDE4CA36289.jpeg
 
jaguar11
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Dirt I guess. Is it worth fixing... Do you use the bezel much? Perhaps the whole watch needs a service.
 
Slowpoker
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Has it ever been serviced?

If there's dirt and grime stopping the bezel from turning then a simple clean using warm soapy water and a soft toothbrush should loosen it?

If that fails then it's time to take it to the RSC.
 
IanES
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I have a 14060 non-date sub. 'N' Serial. I was loading something into the trunk of my car and I must have caught the bezel on the side somewhere and the bezel popped off. It was there lying on the floor in the trunk and I nearly had a heart attack 😲

But looking at the rest of the watch on my wrist and I saw it's a simple clip and spring bar thing and the bezel popped right back on again.

Now don't take what I say as gospel so check around but I do believe it's easy to pop off, clean and pop back on again. There's probably a special tool and/or a knack to getting it off correctly. But please check and don't shout at me if I'm totally wrong.
Edited:
 
CoDiffe
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It has been serviced. I bought it from a dealer in NYC. It comes with a year warranty and of course I bought it a little over a year ago. Like I was saying, everything else runs like a champ (5 sec. fast per day since I bought it). It's just the bezel has become really hard to turn like something is caught underneath. Yes, I use the bezel everyday I wear the watch to time my lunch break at work.
 
kelev_ra
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Well just remove the bezel (use some tape!!!) and clean it. Had this issue with many watches in the past - and it should be a super easy fix.
There's videos about renoving the bezel/insert on youtube...
 
blufinz52
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Love that watch!
 
redzer007
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Do you swim/dive in salt water? I often find that if I dont rinse my dive watches after being in the sea the bezel will often get difficult to rotate. I rinse under a warm tap and turn the bezel a few rotations whike under the running tap. Does the trick for me.
 
CoDiffe
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redzer007 redzer007
Do you swim/dive in salt water? I often find that if I dont rinse my dive watches after being in the sea the bezel will often get difficult to rotate. I rinse under a warm tap and turn the bezel a few rotations whike under the running tap. Does the trick for me.

I actually was in California and swam in the ocean with it in early September! By golly I think you may have just hit the nail on the head. I’m going to try it.
 
HiDive
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You should always thoroughly rinse your Sub in warm water after swimming in any water but especially the ocean. Even pool and lake water should be washed off of it. Rinse it from all angle to insure that you get water flowing under the bezel. This should help. If you still have difficulty turning the bezel there could be some sand or dirt lodged beneath the bezel and it can scratch the parts pretty easily. Then remove the bezel and spring and carefully clean them.
 
CoDiffe
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blufinz52 blufinz52
Love that watch!


Thanks! I feel like I got really lucky with this one. It was in even better condition than the seller represented it as. Even has a fading blue bezel. Got it for a good price too.
 
CoDiffe
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Just an update - it definitely helped. Also - it’s really hard to turn a soapy bezel while it’s having water poured over it so do this with caution. This bezel has never been quite as smooth as my uncle’s brand new no date sub but I figure that’s because mine is almost 30yrs old.
 
CoDiffe
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larryganz larryganz
He had a Bezoar in his Beezel
This guy made me second guess my pronunciation of “bezel”

All these years it’s been “beeezil” 😁
 
Dan S
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rkman11 rkman11
This video is awesome on so many levels.

And also so ridiculous. Half of what he is doing is out of the field of view, and the video is so poor, you can't see anything anyway. I laughed out loud when he said that he was considering using a pair of pliers to handle the tiny spring, but ultimately decided it would be better to use a pencil. Hasn't he ever heard of tweezers?
 
redzer007
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CoDiffe CoDiffe
Just an update - it definitely helped. Also - it’s really hard to turn a soapy bezel while it’s having water poured over it so do this with caution. This bezel has never been quite as smooth as my uncle’s brand new no date sub but I figure that’s because mine is almost 30yrs old.


just remember what you are trying to do is disolve the salt, not wash it out. More water, less soap would be my advice. Also dont be tempted to use any oil etc.

It may be that it needs popping off and cleaning. I'm brave enough to pop off my speedy bezel, not got the balls to pop off the rolex one yet (but it's on the list of things to do)
 
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