fiddy glass

[Secondbaseman12]

Hey guys,

Its now 4 weeks ago that I bought my first pam, its great. Few days ago I noticed 2 litle scratches on the sapphire I didn't like it but what the heck its a rep and its ment to use it. Well yesterday the whole sapphire exploded and now looks like this.

I am planning on buying a sapphire from davidsan but do you guys have some tips to prefend this from happening? cause it realy sucks.

Thanks Niels

 

[bignasty]

Sorry to be the one to let you in on the secret but that glass more than likely isn't sapphire.

However the Davidsen ones are. I've installed several for myself and other members.


Good luck,
Jon 8)

 

[LLCoolRS]

I am having MAJOR issues with exploding fiddy glass too.

I had my original crystal explode... now the replacement crystal exploded today. Both within 1 week of receiving. My replacement crystal came installed in a new bezel/case.. (two different crystals, each with their own bezel).

I have heard two explanations:

1. The crystal is pressed into the bezel poorly. Not pressed in perfectly evenly... there are stresses and pressures that eventually crack the crystal.

2. The bezels are faulty... not CNC properly. Again, stresses on the pressed crystal which leads to the cracking.


If Im dealing with improperly CNC'ed bezels... I definitely don't want to waste $80 on a davidson crystal to have that crack on me. Anyways... most likely i will comunicate with my dealer have and retry with crystal number THREE.

In the mean time im scratching my dial face and dinging the hands with all this part swapping, lol

LLCool

 

[hoffman]

Well, I had mine for about six months and wore it frequently with no problems. Then I decided to turn it into a vintage piece and while scuffing up the case I scratched the glass and within a few minutes it broke while just sitting there.

I think that once you scratch one of the cheaper ones it's just a matter of time before they fail. I had the mov't out of mine when it broke and I inspected it well following the fracture. Mine wasn't installed crooked and it looked like it was well seated in the gasket.

Mine was the cheapest model that silix sells.

I figure that the crystals are made of about the same quality glass that goes into ashtrays and they can't take any stress. Once you introduce a scratch it's just a stress riser in an already compromised component.

The bad thing about it is that they don't break right away. Could make for an embarrasing situation

 

[bignasty]

I am having MAJOR issues with exploding fiddy glass too.

I had my original crystal explode... now the replacement crystal exploded today. Both within 1 week of receiving. My replacement crystal came installed in a new bezel/case.. (two different crystals, each with their own bezel).

I have heard two explanations:

1. The crystal is pressed into the bezel poorly. Not pressed in perfectly evenly... there are stresses and pressures that eventually crack the crystal.

2. The bezels are faulty... not CNC properly. Again, stresses on the pressed crystal which leads to the cracking.


If Im dealing with improperly CNC'ed bezels... I definitely don't want to waste $80 on a davidson crystal to have that crack on me. Anyways... most likely i will comunicate with my dealer have and retry with crystal number THREE.

In the mean time im scratching my dial face and dinging the hands with all this part swapping, lol

LLCool

Both wrong. The member below your thread hit it on the head. The domed glass, once scratched, shatters due to the stress of pressure applied at all sides. Quit messing around with the OEM rep crystals which claim to be sapphire and buy one of Davidsen's. You willl be very happy. That or don't wear your watch so the crystal doesn't get scratched and you'll also be alright.

Jon

 

[MET-Rx]

I've been reading up on this occurrence with the fiddy crystals. That's why I just ordered a 127 from EL that he is having a real sapphire put in. Only a couple days added to the wait but well worth avoiding the hassle of exploding cheap crystals down the road.

 

[Secondbaseman12]

Interesting guys, I bought myn from trusty. I also contacted him about this and he sad its 100% sapphire. Well why would he lie. So whats the different between davidsan's sapphire and the one I had.

Niels

 

[bigbadbrad]

just get Davidsen's

Both wrong. The member below your thread hit it on the head. The domed glass, once scratched, shatters due to the stress of pressure applied at all sides. Quit messing around with the OEM rep crystals which claim to be sapphire and buy one of Davidsen's. You willl be very happy. That or don't wear your watch so the crystal doesn't get scratched and you'll also be alright.

Jon

EXACTLY - spot on! Get a proper crystal from Davidsen. Not $20 - you get what you pay for. I like the Davidsen's so much am thinking of getting 2 back-ups for that day down the road when I'll want to replace my current 127/217's - hopefully after many years of satisfied use!

Cheers, BBBs

 

[thelawnmowerman]

Are you saying that none of these Fiddys come with sapphire
I have the latest swiss movt with swan neck
cheers

 

[swfla]

Wow, there is a definite trend here!! I too got one of the swan/sapphire/superlume models. I enjoyed it for a month and then accidently dropped it. It survived the drop unscathed. I put it away for a week to wear something else. When I pulled it from the drawwer, it was shattered. I thought it was my fault. BTW, I did contact the dealer who said his shop can put a new one in for $100. Didn't want to put the watch on a plane again. So he told me to be sure my local guy does a pressure test when installing the new crystal. Si I took it to a local watch repair shop, he could only get an acrylic crystal for $22. He said the original wasn't sapphire. (Don't know if he is right, I WANT to believe in one of our favorite dealers.)Looks good but of course I'm not satisfied so I just ordered the ar from Davidsen.
Does anyone understand what the dealer was talking about when he said to "test the pressure". Is there some measuring device to check torque on the crystal?? It seems such a simple operation.

 

[rogerwine]

Crap, is this what I have to look forward to? I just sent back my 127 because of damage done during shipping to me. So now the watch I am paying $350.00 ( now with double shipping) for doesn't have the improvements that I expect. I compared the one I bought to Davidsens and bought this one because of the swiss unitas and the swan neck and the lume. But if the Sapphire crystal with AR isn't Sapphire and will probably shatter with normal use, whats the use of comparison shopping with the dealers if what some of them claim just isn't true? I have read in this forum that when you get defective watches to just deal with, because the game were in is just luck of the draw, and what do you expect these are just replica watches. I think all that holds true at $100.00 + per watch. But at $300.00+, I think that the trusted dealers need to really know what they are sending out vs their claim of quality. If Davidsen and Ruby and TTK and others that are hand inspecting the product that they send out then this really starts to narrow down the field. I can see the next generation of 217/127 "Ultimate" Pams as touting now, non-exploding crystals, but at a little more dough!

 

[Secondbaseman12]

Amen rogerwine,

I now have doubt if my dealer is telling truth, cause i did pay good money even its a rep. the dealers can't sell reps telling its sapphire when its not.

I am planning on buying one from davidsan and let my local guy install it.

what about that presure test?

 

[swfla]

I was told by a supplier of parts that the shattering issue is with mineral glass. True sapphire is a non issue. I feel that time is the test. Several dealers on this forum have been sent packing because they didn't stand behind their product. Apparently manufacturers and suppliers to these dealers will "pull a fast one" occasionally. A very good reason to go with dealers who personally inspect each watch. However, even dealers who drop ship, but provide good after care are still a good way to go.

 

[Secondbaseman12]

Well I have talked with a few very knowledgeable people on this forum. They all agree it is mineral glas and no sapphire. I geuss my dealer just lost me. I don't like when they say you get this and they don't deliver.

Niels

 

[Road-Warrior]

On my PAM212, I scratched it on the first day I got it.
(It was a deep scratch)
So I used a very fine sandpaper to get the scratch out,
and then polished it to restore the shine!!
I was amazed that it withstood the abuse!!!

 

[swfla]

On my PAM212, I scratched it on the first day I got it.
(It was a deep scratch)
So I used a very fine sandpaper to get the scratch out,
and then polished it to restore the shine!!
I was amazed that it withstood the abuse!!!

That would be mineral glass and not sapphire. Glad to hear it didn't break and you were able to make it look good again though.

 

[hrosemd]

Me too

Just to throw in here, I also purchased one of the new swiss swan neck 127s and had the crystal spontaneously explode while in the watch box. Davidsen crystal on the way. Very disappointing though.

 

[astig]

yikes! looks like it is a must to get a davidsen crystal for every fiddy.

 

[thelawnmowerman]

my first fiddy had a different glass in it than my peplacement,
the glass in the second one is much better it looks cleaner
and you can see the numbers better from almost any angle
I think Sash wrote something about this in his fiddy description
in his section ,
I'm hoping this one is a sapphire.

 

[Pizzanooo]

This thread question keeps popping up ...

DAVIDSEN Crystals are 100% Sapphire and AR coated. No cheap core, no shattering behaviour. The Quality and LOOK of them is far better than anything you will see out there as well. Your dial will look 10X better and you watch will visibly look better with the replacement crystal.

Could`nt agree more. Davidsens crystals are by far the best replacement. Just received his 217 and that bugger is beautiful...