I figured out the bezel insert I had was not the problem, the part of the bezel the insert snaps into is slightly oversized. The new crownartcustoms bezel I bought falls out just like the one that was on it before. I had a spare bezel in my parts box (either a Cartel or a Clarks) which both inserts properly fit - but it fits so tight on the watch I cannot install the washer or the bezel will not turn. The case is Vietnam and it has gen crystal on it so I think it is in spec.
What aftermarket bezels have people had good experiences with on a Vietnam case? Which are closest in appearance and fit to the gen part?
Before buying a new bezel assembly, on which your crownartcustoms insert could or could not clip ... 2 questions ...
1 - does your bezel turn freely if installed without the washer ?
2 - does your bezel come with another retaining ring and washer that fit ?
If the answer to those questions is YES then maybe you can find a solution to use that bezel and your crownartcustoms insert by spending time instead of money
Let's suppose that your bezel turns freely when installed without a washer ...
Then you should check if the exterior diameter of your washer is not too large for the bezel
If YES your can sand it down, little by little, until it's a little loose in the bezel groove ... then put it on the retaining ring, test, remove if the fit is still too tight, sand again, try again, etc ... I have done that with several bezel assemblies and it worked perfectly
The only tricks to do this are :
- be patient, as sanding the outer diameter of a washer is easy but time consuming
- "when do I stop", cause if you sand too much the bezel could be loose even with the washer
Now let's suppose the spare bezel you have (the one in which your new insert properly clips) comes with a retaining ring and washer ...
Then I suppose you already tried to use the complete assembly but I'll elaborate to the end.
If the retaining ring is too large for the crystal then it's a dead end.
If the retaining ring is too thight on the crystal then you can slowly sand the interior diameter of your retaining ring to enlarge it until it fits firmly but not too tight.
I have done that with success on the last 9401/0 build I made ...
Here the tricks are "how far do I go" and "when do I stop" so you have to check every now and then until you get the perfect fit ...
- if you stop too early and the fit is too tight you can damage you plexi or even brake it ... too bad for a Gen crystal
- if you go too far, even by a tiny part of a millimeter, the bezel could stay in place but you'll loose any waterproofness ... too bad for a diver's watch
BTW ... maybe you could post some pics of the two bezels you have, both with retaining ring, washer and insert
