Has anyone thought of Replacing the jewels with real ruby instead of glass that's dyed in the movements? This would of course lead to longer life of the movement. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
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Replacing the jewels with real ruby instead of glass that's dyed?
- Thread starter Sheldinian
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Is "rubies wearing out" a thing worth worrying about?
Not being sarcastic, but truly have never heard of that being an issue. I don't think the jewels and pivots are actually wearing against each other in a watch movement, but rather are separated by a thin layer of lubricant. As long as it's properly lubricated with good quality, clean lubricant, there really shouldn't be any wear.
Not being sarcastic, but truly have never heard of that being an issue. I don't think the jewels and pivots are actually wearing against each other in a watch movement, but rather are separated by a thin layer of lubricant. As long as it's properly lubricated with good quality, clean lubricant, there really shouldn't be any wear.
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Any metal part is much more prone to wear than the rubys. And I've never heard of dyed glass tbh.
shyreplover
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muiramas
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This. It’s not as though synthetic rubies are hard or expensive to make.
100 % Correct
As Teddy Baldassarre explain
@Sheldinian : i too am in love tiwh real Gems, like Rubys, Emerald, Amethist...but , i can assure you that in Synthetic form they are not that expensive to buy, aso @muiramas correctly pointed out
For example
muiramas
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I think there is an incorrect assumption amongst the naive that everything China turns out is corner cutting shit tier. While there is some truth in this on the crap end of things, the reps we enjoy from CF, VSF and BTF are fantastic watches, and we're lucky to have them.
I've heard that the reps are made with glass over ruby. Slightly different colour as well.
Yes it would. If you do please post a before and afterIt would be interesting to have colorful jewels on this waltham movement
Not even Chinatown priced replicas have "glass" jewels. Even the cheapeast DG2813 movement has synthetic rubies.
I would love to see some sources to back up that glass allegation.
Do you have any idea how cheap is the synthetic rubies? And no, it won't make your movement run longer because the metal parts will still die because of wear and tear.
There's no coloured glass in the reps we are buying. It's all synthetic rubies - which isn' ruby at all - it's aluminum and chromium oxide heated and processed in to an extremely hard substance that then become the bearings and cups that hold the pivots and shafts of the moving watch parts. They're called rubies simply because of the colour.
This substance is actually superior to real rubies in so much as it is flawless - real rubies have minor flaws that can enable them to fracture and basically be crap compared to something entirely sythesized.
The weak point in these rep movements is the metal pivots of the train wheels and other shafts not being finished to a high enough quality and wearing out or bending or snapping altogether. The other weak point is the anti-shoc systems being inferior to ebauche and other swiss/ Japanese movement manufacturers.
That said, with due dilligence and care of your lovely rep there is no reason - other than a blatant manufacturing fault/ QC fail, why your rep movement shouldn't last years and even if it does conk out after 8 years - you could always get it serviced and repaired - chances are it'll go for another 8 -10 years.
This substance is actually superior to real rubies in so much as it is flawless - real rubies have minor flaws that can enable them to fracture and basically be crap compared to something entirely sythesized.
The weak point in these rep movements is the metal pivots of the train wheels and other shafts not being finished to a high enough quality and wearing out or bending or snapping altogether. The other weak point is the anti-shoc systems being inferior to ebauche and other swiss/ Japanese movement manufacturers.
That said, with due dilligence and care of your lovely rep there is no reason - other than a blatant manufacturing fault/ QC fail, why your rep movement shouldn't last years and even if it does conk out after 8 years - you could always get it serviced and repaired - chances are it'll go for another 8 -10 years.
Order the jewels buy a jewel press and go to town. Synthetics are fine though.
Thanks for that! Yes I did find info on the web about this, and is a good read. Your right on target.
What are Jewel Bearings in a watch and why are they crucial? - Monochrome Watches
A Technical Perspective focuses on an often underestimated part of a watch, even if its role is vital to a flawless run: jewel bearings, also called rubies.
monochrome-watches.com
I found a place online that sells the synthetic ruby bearings. Pretty cheap.
Ring Jewel Bearings | Quality Ring Jewels | Swiss Jewel
Ring jewels offer flexibility due to their many combinations with endstones. Learn more.
www.swissjewel.com