Thoughts about Crystal Lift tool

[Frenchdude87]

Hello everyone,

I have a few vintage watches and I often happen to polish some acrylic crystal on them. A job that I find both calming and very rewarding.

Tbh I always do it directly on the watch without removing the crystal, which can be tricky (I do use some sort of yellow tape on the watch)

I know the job would be much better if I could remove the crystal to work on it.
Hence I’m looking at a tool to remove and replace the crystal.

At first I was looking at a Press Tool. But I realize with this I have to remove the crown and the movement. That I can do….But also replacing the crow, then the movement inside the watch. Tbh I’m not that skilled and I remember removing a crown from a watch and never being able to put it back on (shame…). Don't worry it was a 20€ watch

That’s why I’m currently looking at a CRYSTAL LIFT tool. It seems you can remove the crystal only witch that tool, and then place it back.

Do you have any experience with it and would you recommend this tool (remember it’s for vintage watches only)

If so, do you have any - not so expensive - recommendation ?

Thanks
Alex

 

[rendo]

My non-expert recommendation: There is not a single tool that works on every type of vintage watch. The crystal lift tool is a must have if you have a front loader watch (edit: this is not completely true based on the information Archer has provided), but you need a crystal press for most vintage watches with a tension ring inside the crystal.

I wouldn't remove the crystal just for the purpose of polishing it. Older acrylic crystals can be brittle and crack when you are pressing them back on the case, especially if you are not a professional and have a heavy hand with things.

Edited: Aug 8, 2024

 

[sheepdoll]

The cheap tools have many fingers which can mark the edge of the crystal. The omega ones are precicly ground, but one needs a lot of them and they vary in price.

Never take a heat gun to a crystal, they shrink and distort before melting.

 

[noless]

I have both the press and the crystal lift, and if you want to do it properly there really is no substitute to taking the movement out and then taking the crystal out, but as rendo has warned you, be prepared for crystals to break when you do this. This is just part of old crystals, they go brittle with age especially if they weren't stored nicely.

Honestly if you are worried about removing a crown, then I cannot recommend the crystal lift. I have the proper bergeon/vigor crystal lift and its still somewhat fiddly to use.

 

[masteroftime]

I want to underscore that the crystal lifts with claws are not intended for use on tension-ringed crystal, even those installed on front loaders. I’m not sure what watches your are working on, but that eliminates most if not all Omegas from the 1950s(?) onward.

Even front loading watches with acrylic crystals require the appropriate Omega tool 10X. Without that, the clawed lift tool does a really poor job of removing and installing those crystals. You can try to use the mini air pump, but even that is an imperfect, issue-prone tool in experience.

 

[Archer]

These are only for crystals that are compressed when they are installed, so crystals without a tension ring:



For front loading cases, Omega made specific tools for them - they are very accurately made for only 1 size of crystal, like you find on these:



The device will grip around the entire perimeter of the crystal, and push on the sides of the case whole it lifts the crystal:





The tool is not used to install the crystal, only to remove it. The crystal is installed using a press:

 

[Frenchdude87]

Hey everyone, thank you so much for your answers, sorry i didn't thank you before, just enjoying the holidays

OK so i understand that it's important for me to know if the crystal has a tension ring or not for me to use a crystal lif