Upgrading to a Sapphire Crystal on the Seiko SKX007 Dive Watch - Watch and Learn #27
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- Опубліковано 5 сер 2024
- In today's episode of watch and learn, we will show you how to upgrade the hardlex crystal on the Seiko SKX007 to a scratch resistant sapphire crystal. It's a simple upgrade that requires just a few tools and a bit of know-how.
The same technique applies to many Seiko divers, such as the SKX009, SKX173, SKX175, etc. The aftermarket is full of options to upgrade your Seiko diver, so this is just the start!
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Thank you man for making videos and having a true love for watches. You helped me a lot in my descision and I am happy to say my SKX has been on my wrist almost 6 years now.
What a great video, with meticulous attention to detail! This is an upgrade that I might consider doing to my Seiko SKX 011j1 diver in the future. Thank you!
Thanks for this whole series, Mark. Really helpful material and thoughtfully made. Cheers! 🍻
Thank you very much. I've learned alot watching you work. Gives a real different perspective on the watches.
Cool video, Marc! Thank you for educating us! All the best, Rob in Switzerland.
I was so ignorant about these processes. Thanks for the education!!!!!
This was difficult - it took me four or five tries to get it to actually close. But the video was very helpful, and eventually, I did it. Thanks, Esslinger.
Did my first replacement, thanks to your video, this was a breeze.
Easy job, will done this on my srpe57, wish me luck , thanks for the tutorial Marc!
The Seiko looks so mucht better now with the saphirre glass. WOW! Gread video.
Great video, thank you! I managed to replace it by myself following your "manual". I had only a slight problem with even positioning of the sapphire in the case. At first it was placed in a bit tilted position but a repeated press on the elevated side finally corrected it. I used flat sapphire with clear AR and the same look (with bevel) as the original hardlex. I managed not to touch it from the bottom so everything remained nicely clean. Now installed and it looks beautiful!
I bought a watch from him and he has such good service and I love the watch. Thanks you!
Thanks so much.
Tonight I just aligned/glued the chapter ring and installed a sapphire crystal in a Seiko SKX007 that I purchased from you a few weeks ago. It was challenging at times but it all turned out perfect in the end. Thanks so much for your helpful videos Marc!
Is it still waterproof?
Thanks Marc, great vid. I'm gong to swap out my 013 crystal and you have been a lot of help. Cheers.
Jody, Mark and Tristano. The youtube horological holy trinity lol. In all seriousness I enjoy all the content you guys put out!
Hi Marc,
Great video! I scratched the hardlex crystal on my Seiko SNZG015J1. Thanks to your video, I got the courage to replace it with a domed sapphire crystal. Just finished the job and it looks great. Your Watch and Learn videos are terrific! Can't thank you enough.
Hi, is it still waterproof?
I might have a go at this, I hadn't realised how straightforward it was to be honest..especially removing the crown.
Thanks Marc.
Yes, scary easy!
Thanks. I just put a domed sapphire crystal on my 1953 invicta and a glide lock clasp. Looks proper now.
Great video with excellent tutorial! Will be attempting this soon on my Seiko flightmaster.
thank you marc for sharing this with us. I have a Seiko franken monster watch which has the hardlex glass, it now has a little scratch on it. I used to rate the hardlex glass but no longer do. I have 10 -11 watches which are sapphire glass, you can't go wrong with sapphire as their the 2nd hardest to diamond.... I also have anti reflective on my new le jour mark 1 chronograph watch. I watched a video that states you can scratch the anti reflective coating leaving people thinking that their sapphire glass is scratched which is not the case as sapphire glass can not be scratched, only the AR coating....
Thanks for all the context in your narrative. I really enjoyed it!
Thank you.
Great video mar . I'm going to order me a sapphire crystal for my 007 and my 009 . I just received the press a couple days ago. I ordered my my seiko skx from you and my lumed ceramic Batman bezel insert. It has been a pleasure doing business with you. By far the best watch dealer in the world In my opinion. I would NEVER order from any other company. Great selection and prices and shipping is just as good as Amazon
this is a really great vid. I'm planning to mod my SKX007, and this is one of the best instructional vids I've found. thanks!
Great; good luck!
Hey Marc great job with the video. Since you already at it, you should also do more videos with that skx007 such as replacing the hands, replacing the dial, replacing even the movement, etc. I bet that would be a great topic for watch and learn.
Perhaps, thank you.
I was worried about the lack of lead in on the sapphire crystal, but I see it does work fine. Thanks for your awesome videos!
It works because the taper on the gasket. Don't get your gasket inverted!
Excellent instructions! Thank you.
You're a superstar, Mark. Thanks for explaining it clearly so that even a noob withe two left hands like me understands it. Now to put it to practice. That "crack" you'll hear coming from the general direction of Belgium won't be a sapphire crystal cracking but rather the window when I throw my tool through it without bothering to open it first.
Cool story
Fantastic! I figure I get me some tools, some parts, and in a couple of years I'm F.P. Journe. Great video as always, Marc.
LOL, hopefully!
Just changed my Crystal to sapphire great instructions but it was difficult to see the place to ouch to get the crown out I also changed the aluminium bezel insert for a ceramic one in dark blue. Well pleased looks well smart and expensive. The sapphire really catches the light.
Great video Marc. Thanks for uploading them.
Welcome!
Great episode of watch and learn, love the whole series keep up the great work, really enjoying them, thanks. Saludos
Thanks for checking them out.
Great tutorial!!! Needed to show how to make sure the crystal is clean from any dust before putting back the movement and case. Thanks
Thanks Marc, enjoyed the video.
Mark as usual great content. I think I may need to upgrade my crystal now! Great channel!
Perhaps! And it isn't difficult.
Nice upgrade by the way...encouraging!👍
Marc...you're the best! keep the videos coming thank you
Glad you enjoyed, thank you.
As usual, I learned something new. Thanks, Mark.
That's the whole idea, great!
I would send every watch that I own for repairing to you rather than another watchmaker any given day. The aura and the passion that you have for watches are simple incredible. Great job, Marc!
I wouldn't do that! LOL
You did see his gloves covered in loose lint right....?
crazy, I was just looking at SKX's and sapphire crystals to buy last night. perfect upload timing haha
Sure is!
great videos and very helpful. really enjoying them & learning a lot. much appreciated
Thanks!
Thank you so much for these videos Marc. You make it look so easy. I've managed to pop a sapphire top hat into my 5KX. Was a bit sketchy putting the movement and crown back in but I managed it. Thank you Marc! Keep up the brilliant work and videos! Peace ✌
Thanks Marc. Your vid was a great help. Cheers.
Great Video Mark. Very well done. Thank you.
Thanks for watching! Glad you liked it.
I'm successfully change my sappire glass on my turtle, thanks for this video marc ❤️ from Malaysia.
why? shell isn't enough for him?
Great mod!!!
Thanks so much for shareing!!
thank you! i am really madness with SKX 007!! Still trying to buy one of this!!
Great video. I have a couple of older Casios. Yes, Casios! They are the amw330 and 320 with the champagne dial. They are far better than what the price would suggest. They are quartz watches. I love them and I am considering a sapphire glass upgrade for them. You might think I am out of my mind but so am serious.
Nice tutorial Mark. Thank you.
Thanks! Appreciate it.
Very nice video! Before this I always removed the bezel before attempting to remove the crystal... Didnt know this could be done!
Yes, not necessary. The bezel is just added to the watch at the end. It is not part of the case at all.
Thanks for answering! Are there any watches where the bezel insert actually overlaps the crystal? Wouldn't removing the crystal without first taking off the bezel then damage the bezel insert? I guess the bevel on the oem hardlex must have tricked me into thinking that!
Great video. I need to replace a damaged mineral crystal. Local repair shops want more than the watch is worth for the repair.
Great tut!
Spot on video Marc!
Thanks!
Hi, Marc very good video.
Keep it on !
Thanks for the support.
Excellent video, so helpful.
Thank you.
Marc, another great video! I'm pretty handy with tools and am not so afraid to try something like this. I already have a press. I picked it up for changing batteries in a Seiko SFWM64 that my Best Half gave me. A press is the only way you can get the case back back in place. On a side note, I received the Blue Orient Bambino Ver. 4 (for myself) and the Seiko SUP359 (for my Best Half) that I ordered from Island Watch. My God both pieces are beautiful. I am so happy that I could size the band on the SUP359 to fit her wrist (her's are pretty small). Again thanks!
Thanks so much!
Mechanical watches are kind of amazing when you think of it, especially in the days before quartz etc.
They still are amazing. Think of the micro-machining needed to make the parts, those cogs and wheels and shafts. Ultra precision is nothing new-and there were no quartz watches 57 years ago, mechanical goes back quite a way.
Quartz better than mechanical
@@ralfrufus3691 Better for what? Timekeeping sure, but it requires electricity and I prefer the complications of mechanicals--just because that's what I'm into. I enjoy over-complicated mechanisms large and small because I'm the sort of guy who appreciates the craft of making and maintaining such critters. Enjoy your quartz stuff, I've had plenty of them. I even ruined the quartz action in a gold Movado once by letting a battery get old and leak into it. I sold it for scrap gold... OTOH I've had a pair of Seiko SKX's since the early 2000's and they're still great and getting facelifts at present. I've even gotten them keeping pretty good time-which isn't that difficult when you know what to expect. Cheers
14 Years later my Hardlex is showing some wear. It was a BIG step up from the junky watches I wore before, but now is the time we go Sapphire.
Finally sorted out that the SKX crystal gasket is not symmetrical. It has a taper. Apparently I've gotten mine upside down twice. Once you screw it up, gotta start over with a new one. No one talks about the asymmetry of the crystal gasket. Lucky I found it in another video. New gasket on order. I'm trying to put in a Sapphire crystal.
I did get the Seiko 5 crystal installed no problems, but the face won't stay put. I think something was damaged when the OEM crystal was broken, but I don't see anything that appears damaged. The 5 is now perfect with a domed crystal, but the face is all loosey goosey.
Thanks for the excellent video!
Welcome!
Great instruction video ! Thanks man !
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you.
Excellent work, thank you very much 👏😀
Thanks for watching.
Excellent! You make it look easy! Now if only it was equally as easy to upgrade the SKX with a hacking, hand-windable movement!
it's not too hard. the trickiest part is getting a crown/stem combo that works and is still watertight.
LOL, thanks.
I have changed a few crystals on my watches. I find that for watches with the rotating bezel, it is easier to install the crystal with the bezel removed.
Do you lubricate the crystal gasket?
More chance to damage watch, though.. .
Thank You, Marc👍🇨🇿
Fantastic, very informative. Harbor Freight sells the blue press & other neat watch tools, don't forget to use the 20% off cupon.
LOL!
Fantastic - another great video with lots of detailed explaination!
Mark, I have a SKX011J1 with factory mis-aligned hands (the hour hand is offset when the minute hand is at 12) - could you consider a video covering the process of re-aligning the hand set (or even changing them as suggested previously) and what tools are needed?
Ironically, both of my K series 007 & 009 are perfectly aligned...
I'm considering it.
thanks for another great video keep it up
Great! Thanks for watching.
Excellent thanks.
cool video, awesome as always keep it up.
Thanks.
¡¡🙏 GREATES, AMAZING RESULTS; WILL FOLLOW YOUR RECIPE.BLESSINGS !!.
Superb Video 👍
Thanks!
Thanks most helpful
Thanx for another great watch and learn video, I just received my new sapphire crystal for my new Padi from crystal times and was wondering what a fair price would be for switching out a crystal, being that I don't have the tools or confidence yet to do it myself & will have to take mine to a repair shop. Kind of crazy how you posted the video the same day I received my new crystal! Thanx again, and please keep the great videos coming!
$30 or $40 would do it.
Thanks Marc
Thanks for checking it out.
awesome video thanks.
Thanks.
Great video
Thanks.
That was really helpful😎👍🕙
thank you you did a great job ! I really enjoy it . I watched all of your videos from Kurdistan , Iran.
Thanks so much.
Popping out domed crystal may require more concave space to allow movement than most press die kits will have.. No worries! Just use a roll of electrical tape and the case will sit on that and the roll will sit on the bottom die. The center of the tape roll is big enough for almost any size crystal and case. IMPORTANT!! Be safe and always remove the bezel before crystal removal otherwise you may bust up the bezel insert when some crystals are removed. Happened to me today and ruined a ceramic insert.
Great video again Marc! Sapphire obviously better than hardlex. But I have to say the hardlex on my SKX007 (almost 10 years old) is like new! (Wish I could say the same about the bezel insert, and a scraped lug where I popped off the bezel :-( ).
On a separate note, I’m really looking forward to receiving the Bambino I ordered from you a couple of days ago. Just could not resist..!
Very best regards,
Tim (over the pond in the UK)
Thanks for the business Tim!
Could probably find a spare bezel insert in my parts tray if you need one. (Also in the UK)
Sapphire is more scratch resistant but it's also more brittle and easier to shatter. The mineral glass (Hardlex is mineral glass but with a specific doping) is a compromise between Sapphire and Acrylic in terms of resistance to scratching and resistance to impacts.
I'm amazed you got the chapter ring reasonably aligned, because it's something Seiko are never able to do. I have heard Seiko intentionally design the flaw into every diver in order to reduce counterfeiting.
Why not have a logo on their box or some other method to reduce counterfeiting? If this was true it just doesn't seem the right thing to do.
@@veetour Sorry, it was sarcasm. Seiko should be able to align chapter rings, but they don't. Why don't they? Because they choose to keep the flaw in so that you know an SKX is genuine only when the chapter ring is misaligned.
It was a joke.
Marc, you should do a video on how to align a SKX bezel and dial.
Considering it. I sort of covered the bezel in the dive bezel video.
Awesome video! IMO, the cost of sapphire is well worth it - esp if you plan on keeping your watch for the long haul. I would not buy a watch without it or the ability to easily upgrade.
The other guys like Lume Shot would lubricate gaskets for an hour. This one was short and sweet!
Great job, have you made afterwards a waterproof test to check if the watch has the same level of atm.?
would the replacement for a Seiko BluMo be relatively as easy? Thanks... Love the saphire glass.. I am pretty tough of my watches... Thanks...
Hey Mark! Thanks for the informative video. I've got an ancient Seiko 6309-7409 diver and the chapter ring is misaligned. I'd like to fix it. Do you not need to remove the bezel before punching out the crystal on all divers or just the SKX007?
Hi Marc, great video. I have an DW quartz watch and want to upgrade to sapphire as well. However I cannot remove the movement like this video. Is there any way to remove the existing glass without removing the movement? Thank you in advance...
very informative video thank you, I tried to search for a saphire crystal for my seiko 5 but they don't seem to make any :/
usa.crystaltimes.net/shop/products/ct063/
wow dude. I had a swatch watch in Jr .high . it got stolen in the locker room when I had set it on the bench with my clothes to change for p.e.. that was 1987.
Fortunataley you got rid of that piece of junk. A Swatch, what a lost!
Great video. You really demystify some of the simpler maintenance. I just wish you had put in a new crystal gasket for the video. Forty dollars for a sapphire crystal is a significant amount for this watch. It would be a shame if it leaked because of a dried gasket that probably only costs a few dollars.
The gasket is new as the watch isn't old, so I know its good.
Every time I watch these videos I think Andy Kindler.
My chapter ring is slightly misaligned, might not try and fix it however if there's that notch to stop me
where can I get a clear case back so I can see the time movement for the skx007?
All the middle school boys at 9:11 are going: hehehhehehehehehehehhehehhehehehhehhehehehehhehehhehehehehhehehehehehhehehhehehehehhehhehehhehehehehehehehhehehhehehehhehhehehehehhehehhehehehehhehehehehehhehehhehehehehheh
LOL
Jeremy Bowman LOL. My wife would say “hey Joe how old are you”
Thought the same man hahaha
Didn't even tough the sides
😏👉👌
How much does this effect the water resistance if at all? Any tips to help preserve water resistance after removing and replacing the glass?
Obviously many comment on the video without watching and listening to the video.
Im doing this on a duro with a double dome sapphire crystal
thanks for the video. Is the crystal removal process for the Seiko ssc017 solar diver be the same as for the skx? thx
Can you do a video with a Orient Ray 11? By replacing it with a Sapphire crystal.
Hey guys,
I recently purchased a Seiko SRPD37J because I love that green dial. Just wondering if anyone knows whether or not the hardlex crystal is glued in? There appears to be something between the crystal and case which is bothering me.
Can you get purchase a see through backs on the Seiko 013 model?