Prof sapphire crystal vs. sapphire crystal from allwatchparts.com

[Jurgenk]

Wanted to see differences in clarity and color in various sources of sapphire crystal for ROO builds—

Left is 2.45 mm x 32 mm 2AR sapphire from Prof, and right is 3.0 mm x 32 sapphire from allwatchparts.com

Prof

Allwatchparts.com

Not an entirely fair comparison given differences in thickness and AR, but the darker tint on the allwatchparts.com is noticeable even without a white background— actually a little pink in hue. People have swapped in 1AR 2.4 mm ROO diver crystals for this application, and I suspect those have a darker tint too...

 

[slaughterer62]

Nice thread, right up my rally! The crystal from allwatchparts looks almost untreated by comparison to the high quality transparent 2AR from Prof. Whether people prefer 2AR or 1AR is really another evergreen topic here. The genuine crystals have 1AR, but an incredibly high quality sapphire which makes them look like 2AR under certain favorable lighting conditions, so 2AR looks correct sometimes, as does 1AR But 2AR will scratch under heavy use, and that can affect cosmetics over time. The question of the correct thickness is another good topic. With the genuine crystals mostly popping a little above the bezel because of the stepped construction and the soft genuine gasket deforming, people might not be able to get enough seal from a 2mm thick rep crystal if they want this type of "top hat" look. Therefore the thicker Diver crystal might be better for this type of look as long as people mind that the crystal does not compress too much against their expensive tachymeter and damage its top finish, as small imperfections even on the top of the tachymeter will refract into the look of the watch from many different angles, and the risk of damage to tachymeters increases with thicker crystals. No matter how much time it takes, the modder really should make sure that the movement/dial/tachymeter sits at the correct position and not use the tachymeter to press the whole assembly down into shape when the bezel screws are tightened. This may take a long time in adjustments and delay the completion of the build, but it is worth it overall in terms of preserving the finish of the parts, and also the general durability of the watch during repeated crown operation and long wear.

 

[Jurgenk]

Nice thread, right up my rally! The crystal from allwatchparts looks almost untreated by comparison to the high quality transparent 2AR from Prof. Whether people prefer 2AR or 1AR is really another evergreen topic here. The genuine crystals have 1AR, but an incredibly high quality sapphire which makes them look like 2AR under certain favorable lighting conditions, so 2AR looks correct sometimes, as does 1AR But 2AR will scratch under heavy use, and that can affect cosmetics over time. The question of the correct thickness is another good topic. With the genuine crystals mostly popping a little above the bezel because of the stepped construction and the soft genuine gasket deforming, people might not be able to get enough seal from a 2mm thick rep crystal if they want this type of "top hat" look. Therefore the thicker Diver crystal might be better for this type of look as long as people mind that the crystal does not compress too much against their expensive tachymeter and damage its top finish, as small imperfections even on the top of the tachymeter will refract into the look of the watch from many different angles, and the risk of damage to tachymeters increases with thicker crystals. No matter how much time it takes, the modder really should make sure that the movement/dial/tachymeter sits at the correct position and not use the tachymeter to press the whole assembly down into shape when the bezel screws are tightened. This may take a long time in adjustments and delay the completion of the build, but it is worth it overall in terms of preserving the finish of the parts, and also the general durability of the watch during repeated crown operation and long wear.

This bit of wizardry is what separates the dilettantes from the pros in the Franken game. IMHO 2.45 mm with 1XAR on a Swiss sapphire gives you a nice tight gasket / tachy / bezel interface while minimizing the pitfalls mentioned, but everything depends on where the movement was mounted, if a spacer is used to lift up the dial, and if the donut and bezel have been shaved, etc. There isn’t complete overlap with the crystal gasket but it’s enough to “pass” without requiring more major mods to the bezel. So many degrees of freedom that the modder should have all the pieces up front. Thanks as always for adding your expert comments!

 

[Virpag]

im a Prof kinda guy......all my watches love his crystals

 

[Tompa]

This are from DS Xtal?

It would depend on the Royal Oak. They vary from 2.0-2.5mm thick. The calendars are 1.5mm same as the RO (not ROO). The diver is 2.5mm thick I believe and the regular 42mm Chrono is 2.0 and the 44mm I believe off the top of my head is 1.5 or 2.0mm.

There Roo crystal is only 2.0mm thick.. sounds verry smal if prof uses 3.0 in his.


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[Tompa]

Correction- Allwatchpart uses 3.0 and prof 2,45


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