Another GMT II Crystal Guide

[Spaceballer]

This build included hand refinishing. Jubilee edge chamfer/soften. Gen Xtal swap. A rehaut polish. Bezel/click spring rework.
You can use the gen gasket/xtal, the key is to use the seconds wheel from a 3235, it’s 0.5mm shorter, the stock clean second hand pinion needs to be tightened a bit to get sufficient friction fit.

This is going to be a photo dump.

 

[KJ2020]

That's some very nice work bro, kudos! Really gorgeous result!

What height crystal gasket did you use and please tell if you used a 7035 crystal as ofc the 295-CAR fits as well.

I should mention that if swapping in a 3235 seconds hand wheel, it needs to be from a like factory. The DD/VS and SH/VR wheels are not interchangeable.

The SH/VR3235 parts are shaped slightly differently (not gen-spec), and the two upper wheels are set in reverse order.

SH/VR on left, DD/VS on right

Another option would be to clip and smooth the 3285 seconds hand wheel. Now thanks to you, we know how much to clip it off - 0.5mm.

This was a technique used for 2836 wheels back in the day.

From another thread
"Snip off about .5mm or more if needed based on how much you need to lower the hand.

Now the pinion top can be sanded and rounded nicely. The 600 grit sanding stick worked fine here as well. Clean it up and reinstall to the watch."

Your work is beautiful and immaculate. Such a pleasure to view the craftsmanship.

 

[Spaceballer]

That's some very nice work bro, kudos! Really gorgeous result!

What height crystal gasket did you use and please tell if you used a 7035 crystal as ofc the 295-CAR fits as well.

I should mention that if swapping in a 3235 fourth wheel for the seconds hand, it needs to be from a like factory. The DD/VS and SH/VR wheels are not interchangeable.

The SH/VR3235 parts are shaped slightly differently (not gen-spec), and the two upper wheels are set in reverse order.

SH/VR on left, DD/VS on right

Another option would be to clip and smooth the 3285 fourth wheel for seconds hand. Now thanks to you, we know how much to clip it off - 0.5mm.

This was a technique used for 2836 wheels back in the day.

From another thread
"Snip off about .5mm or more if needed based on how much you need to lower the hand.

Now the pinion top can be sanded and rounded nicely. The 600 grit sanding stick worked fine here as well. Clean it up and reinstall to the watch."

Your work is beautiful and immaculate. Such a pleasure to view the craftsmanship.

Thank you! Yes sorry, I must’ve not mentioned that this was VS only not VR, I love the modularity of the VS32xx platform.
The gasket used was 2.3mm.
I would strongly advise to just purchase a gen seconds wheel/swap it. trimming is too much of a hassle. Tolerances may vary from movement to movement as these are rep parts after all. The seconds wheel pinion will be slightly recessed below the minute wheel pinion if done correctly. When pressing on the second hand you won’t be able to see if you’re on the pinion or not you have to go by feel.

 

[Spaceballer]

I will post some more photos tonight I checked that thread & the measurements did not match with this clean V3. The total height of the second hand was way off.

 

[Spaceballer]

B25-7035J was the crystal used.

 

[KJ2020]

Thank you! Yes sorry, I must’ve not mentioned that this was VS only not VR, I love the modularity of the VS32xx platform.
The gasket used was 2.3mm.
I would strongly advise to just purchase a gen seconds wheel/swap it. trimming is too much of a hassle. Tolerances may vary from movement to movement as these are rep parts after all. The seconds wheel pinion will be slightly recessed below the minute wheel pinion if done correctly. When pressing on the second hand you won’t be able to see if you’re on the pinion or not you have to go by feel.

Wow 2.3mm gasket - this is great. So a gen or gen-spec (DD/VS) 3235 seconds hand wheel eliminates all guesswork on gasket height to get proper date mag, crystal sitting height, and second hand clearance. Boom!

It will be interesting to see if the same holds true for the SH/VR movements.

 

[Spaceballer]

Haha yes! Perfect magnification achieved! I was surprised I hadn’t seen this done before. Shaving gaskets and messing with clearances is a pain in the ass. This is a one and done solution. I may finally get the chance to use all the spare VS parts I have laying around.

 

[Spaceballer]

Wow 2.3mm gasket - this is great. So a gen or gen-spec (DD/VS) 3235 fourth wheel for seconds hand eliminates all guesswork on gasket height to get proper date mag, crystal sitting height, and second hand clearance. Boom!

It will be interesting to see if the same holds true for the SH/VR movements.

This better shows the Crystal height. Looks perfect to me!

 

[WatchSmith.US]

An excellent and informative thread! Thanks!!

 

[Spaceballer]

That's some very nice work bro, kudos! Really gorgeous result!

What height crystal gasket did you use and please tell if you used a 7035 crystal as ofc the 295-CAR fits as well.

I should mention that if swapping in a 3235 seconds hand wheel, it needs to be from a like factory. The DD/VS and SH/VR wheels are not interchangeable.

The SH/VR3235 parts are shaped slightly differently (not gen-spec), and the two upper wheels are set in reverse order.

SH/VR on left, DD/VS on right

Another option would be to clip and smooth the 3285 seconds hand wheel. Now thanks to you, we know how much to clip it off - 0.5mm.

This was a technique used for 2836 wheels back in the day.

From another thread
"Snip off about .5mm or more if needed based on how much you need to lower the hand.

Now the pinion top can be sanded and rounded nicely. The 600 grit sanding stick worked fine here as well. Clean it up and reinstall to the watch."

Your work is beautiful and immaculate. Such a pleasure to view the craftsmanship.

Returning to this thread as I’ve had the opportunity to do this a second time & capture better photos for you all.

Here is how the hand stack should look prior to installing the seconds hand.


Fixing someone else’s handiwork installing a B25-7035J.

 

[nightowl77]

Amazing work. What would you recommend the gasket height would be if I wanted to just swap the stock xtal to deep xtal. Heard that need to change gasket for better date mag. Of course disregarding the deep xtal sitting higher than the bezel unlike gen.

 

[Spaceballer]

Amazing work. What would you recommend the gasket height would be if I wanted to just swap the stock xtal to deep xtal. Heard that need to change gasket for better date mag. Of course disregarding the deep xtal sitting higher than the bezel unlike gen.

Deep is 1.8mm thick, give 2.8mm a go, you may get lucky with a 2.7mm

 

[15450]

Deep is 1.8mm thick, give 2.8mm a go, you may get lucky with a 2.7mm

Where do you get your deep crystals?

 

[Spaceballer]

Where do you get your deep crystals?

I don’t recommend them. Stick with VSF or Genuine.

 

[15450]

I don’t recommend them. Stick with VSF or Genuine.

Why?

 

[jakehd]

Vsf xtals are great ootb

 

[Spaceballer]

Why?

I have had multiple quality issues when I have installed them for people in the past, they scratch & chip very easily, poor AR coating adhesion. They are not a good option unless you’re replacing a broken stock crystal. CF crystals are a lot better than what they used to be. VSF is very good. If you are looking for an upgrade instead of a repair I’d only suggest genuine.

 

[Spaceballer]

Vsf xtals are great ootb

100%

 

[nightowl77]

100%

Do you think there’s a big difference or is it worth it to go for gen xtal from vsf stock xtal?

 

[Spaceballer]

Vsf xtals are great oot

Do you think there’s a big difference or is it worth it to go for gen xtal from vsf stock xtal?

Yes.