How to replace OMF Speedmaster bezel

[watchlover128]

Hi everyone,
I thought I would just share a bit of knowledge for anyone looking to replace the rubbish OMF Speedmaster insert. For anyone that already has an OMF Speedmaster they would agree the bezel is very dull and next to the subdial spacing it ruins the rep for me. If you can see past the subdial spacing and thickness they are very reliable reps and are built very well. Ok let’s begin,

As mentioned this is how the watch comes as standard. Compared to the genuine the bezel is very dull. When I removed the OMF bezel it actually appears that it is made out of ceramic bizarrely. Anyhow here’s a comparison below.

Rep:



Gen:

Step 1:

Firstly head over to eBay and you will need to buy a cheap nylon watch press, watch makers hammer and an acceptable bezel. I have included pictures of all below. There are many genuine bezels available. The size of bezel that fit my OMF was

Diameter of Insert: 38.8mm

Inner Diameter of Insert: 34.50mm.




Step 2:

To remove the old bezel flip your Speedmaster over, face down onto a soft surface. Carpet worked ok for me. Use the edge of one of the Nylon presses to sit on the under edge of the bezel and strike it firmly with the watchmakers hammer. It may take one or two hits to get your confidence up but one solid strike and it will come straight off. See pictures below.



The bezel and insert are glued together when they come off with adhesive tape. To separate these I heated the bezel up after removal with a hair dryer and used a smaller nylon press to push it out from behind. Be careful as these are easy to break as they are made from ceramic



Step 3:

Clean all the tape from the bezel and refit this to the watch using your watch press. This is one of the easiest parts. Fit a big enough nylon dye on the bottom of the press to hold the watch from moving and a large enough one on the top to go over the bezel. Place the bezel on top of the watch and push down as demonstrated in the images below.

I will finish uploading the rest today as my son has just woken up

 

[Erikfit]

Thanks for this kind of post in the forum. Amazing.

 

[johnlogan]

Good post!

 

[johnlogan]

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...exp_id=34bf9388-48b0-4dce-930a-ceb9c0070887-0

 

[watchlover128]

You may need to run a piece of sandpaper around the outside of the insert 2 or 3 passes if it’s too tight to make it fit. If you want a gen spec finish you can also run a file on the top of the bezel to thin it sorhst the insert fits flush. Here is the end result. The OMF case will also take a Speedmaster plexi.

 

[johnlogan]

You may need to run a piece of sandpaper around the outside of the insert 2 or 3 passes if it’s too tight to make it fit. If you want a gen spec finish you can also run a file on the top of the bezel to thin it sorhst the insert fits flush. Here is the end result. The OMF case will also take a Speedmaster plexi.

Makes a world of difference! I did mine also yr.day. Insert was just too gray, too REP looking.

 

[watchlover128]

That looks soo much better now. If you want to take it one step further take the whole bezel back off and file it flush with the insert. You may need to buy a new insert if you hit it but will make it nice and flush.

 

[johnlogan]

That looks soo much better now. If you want to take it one step further take the whole bezel back off and file it flush with the insert. You may need to buy a new insert if you hit it but will make it nice and flush.

I have ordered a few more inserts as I have several “gray speedys” ready to be modded. I will try sanding the insert down on the next project to reduce the edge. I used a q-tip to press it in place and scratched the insert a bit when dragging the q-tip around the insert.
Despite the edge it looks soooo much better on the wrist.

 

[watchlover128]

A good way to prevent marking the insert is to put a clear bag on top of the insert like the ones you get with watch parts. Even a sandwich bag would work well I recon. Good work though! Sometimes the inserts are a tiny bit tight so if you run the edge of the insert on some 180 grit just like a bike wheel that should take it down the tiny bit you need. Just sort of spin it by hand on the spot with a bit of pressure to ensure you don’t square it off.

 

[processengr]

Hi,
I read the thread . Thankyou for the great post, especially the easy way to remove the bezel!
The links in the thread no longer work, at least for the Ebay replacement bezel- I am in The USA maybe that matters...On Ebay the inserts range from 17 to 150 ...
Tough to decide which to buy ... any recommendations?

 

[oldtools]

Here is a complete bezel assembly that fits a genuine Speedmaster. It's more money than just the insert.

Tachymeter Base 1000 "Dot Over Ninety" DON Bezel for Speedmaster | Spiralwinder Watches

This is a reproduction Base 1000 DON "Dot Over Ninety" Bezel for the Omega Speedmaster, Professional and Straight-lug variants, made available by Spiralwinder Watch Parts.If you are unsure whether this bezel will fit your Speedmaster, please contact me.This bezel can be mounted to the...

www.spiralwinderwatchparts.com

 

[processengr]

New $7 USD Ali aluminum bezel insert, Clark "hesalite" crystal

 

[Importr]

I had a go at this today and I'm fairly pleased with the results. I used an old insert thinned down and fitted under the new insert to make up the height dfifference.
I have a gen hesalite crystal but it's bigger than the OMF v2 sapphire so I didn't try to fit it. The new insert won't even go around the hesalite.

 

[Chilosaparis]

very usefull, thanks for sharing