My watch collecting days go back to the mid 70's but I've been collecting + restoring Seiko's for many years. My favorite model: The Yellow Dial 6139-600X as most of you probably already know. I was able to buy one brand spanking new back in 76' as a kid with my first "Real" paycheck fresh out of high school. She was a beauty and I was hooked. Fast forward 30 years and I was heavily engaged in collecting and restoring Seiko's. Back then original crystals were plentiful. Nowadays, not so much. There have been many aftermarket crystals available. Some are good copies. Some are not so good. Needless to say I've tried all the popular ones.
I've been contemplating, for quite some time, to step up to the next level, and do a reproduction 330W18GN crystal of my own. After all, it's the crystal I use to most. For a little background on the 330W18GN Mineral Glass Crystal there are 3 versions.
The first and early version is the crystal with the outer ring and was only used for a few months up until about April or May of 69' in the Speedtimer Proof models. I have only run across this style mounted in a watch and have never seen one as a replacement crystal. The later crystals will interchange with this style crystal.
The next version was a Double Domed version which was used from mid 69' up until roughly mid 73'. From mid 73' on the 3rd version was a inner domed Flat Top version. Since most aftermarket 330W18GN's are the flat top version I wanted to reproduce the earlier Double Domed crystal. Several months ago I contacted a "supplier" to inquire about a custom crystal order. After submitting a sample of a NOS Early Style Original Seiko 330W18GN Double Domed Crystal the process moved forward. Being a perfectionist has it's advantages and disadvantages. I wanted to get this right. My biggest complaint was the inner bezel distortion caused by most aftermarket 330W18GN crystals. If you haven't noticed it before you'll know what I'm referring to after this review. It turns out, as I had imagined, the manufacturing end of a reproduction crystal would be a lengthy process. After much discussion, research, development, and revisions, my reproduction crystal has became a reality. This review is not to claim I have a perfect 1:1 copy that "is available nowhere else" but rather an in depth study of the aftermarket crystals that are available and how they measure up to the original. You'll have to judge for yourself which you prefer.......:
This review will only cover Mineral Glass Crystals. Personally, I would never consider a Plexiglass Crystal in place of a Mineral Glass Crystal.
I prefer to stick with the original design. If a watch originally came with a mineral glass crystal then that's what I'll use if a replacement is needed. The same goes for an acrylic crystal. If that is what was used originally, I wouldn't attempt to replace it with a mineral glass crystal.
These are the 4 Most Popular specimens up for review along with mine for a total of 5 crystals: In order, The Original, My reproduction, Sekosis, Sternkreuz, and Spencer Klein's.
For this review, I used the same watch, I did my best to keep it in the same position, using the same camera angle with the camera mounted on a tripod so we would be comparing apples to apples.
Original Double Dome 330W18GN Crystal . There's not much to say other then Seiko got this Right! Crystal clear view of the dial and inner bezel with no distortion.
First up is Klein's (Klien's Vintage Watch) repro 330W18GN crystal. This was originally reproduced by Jonathan Koch at East Tech Manufacturing. It is the late style Flat Top crystal. Johnathan actually participated in it's development at G+S supply in Rochester NY. Jonathan spent several months at G+S supply, hands on, in it's development. It's a good crystal but it has it's shortcomings. Particularly noticeable is the inner bezel distortion and the "black ring shadow" around the inner bezel when viewing the watch straight on.
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Next up is the Sekosis reproduction 330W18GN crystal. It's another "Flat Top" crystal. It looks good at first glance. It's another popular seller due to its lower price but when tested fell short of desired results. On the positive side there was only a light touch of the black ring shadow around the inner bezel as seen on the KVW crystal. Inner bezel distortion was acceptable but the overall measurements, which will be shown later in this review, fell short of the original. This was the only crystal that "fell out" once the bezel was removed and the watch was turned over to remove the crystal. With the original crystal and the other crystals tested, a light push from the back side with slight resistance noted, was required to remove the crystal.
Then we have the SternKruez 330W18GN crystal. In my opinion it's has been one of the better choices when it comes to reproduction 330W18GN crystals. It is a Double Dome crystal. Just a slight hint of ring around the inner bezel, only at certain angles, and the overall measurements are more in line with the original. However, it does have a slight bit of inner bezel distortion compared to the original. I'd say over the years I've used an equal amount of Jonathan's original "East Tech" crystals and the Sternkreuz crystals on my own watches and on restorations done for others.
And finally here is my reproduction 330W18GN crystal. A Double Dome Tempered Mineral Glass Crystal. No black ring shadow and not much, if any, inner bezel distortion when compared to the original. I'm a stickler for details and I feel it measures up well to the original. No Bogus claims here. No Hype. Just a good honest alternative to an original crystal when an original isn't available or is over priced. It has passed the test of a Persnickety WIS Collector for Fit, Finish, Appearance, and Pressure Testing up to 100 meters.
I've been contemplating, for quite some time, to step up to the next level, and do a reproduction 330W18GN crystal of my own. After all, it's the crystal I use to most. For a little background on the 330W18GN Mineral Glass Crystal there are 3 versions.
The first and early version is the crystal with the outer ring and was only used for a few months up until about April or May of 69' in the Speedtimer Proof models. I have only run across this style mounted in a watch and have never seen one as a replacement crystal. The later crystals will interchange with this style crystal.
The next version was a Double Domed version which was used from mid 69' up until roughly mid 73'. From mid 73' on the 3rd version was a inner domed Flat Top version. Since most aftermarket 330W18GN's are the flat top version I wanted to reproduce the earlier Double Domed crystal. Several months ago I contacted a "supplier" to inquire about a custom crystal order. After submitting a sample of a NOS Early Style Original Seiko 330W18GN Double Domed Crystal the process moved forward. Being a perfectionist has it's advantages and disadvantages. I wanted to get this right. My biggest complaint was the inner bezel distortion caused by most aftermarket 330W18GN crystals. If you haven't noticed it before you'll know what I'm referring to after this review. It turns out, as I had imagined, the manufacturing end of a reproduction crystal would be a lengthy process. After much discussion, research, development, and revisions, my reproduction crystal has became a reality. This review is not to claim I have a perfect 1:1 copy that "is available nowhere else" but rather an in depth study of the aftermarket crystals that are available and how they measure up to the original. You'll have to judge for yourself which you prefer.......:
This review will only cover Mineral Glass Crystals. Personally, I would never consider a Plexiglass Crystal in place of a Mineral Glass Crystal.
I prefer to stick with the original design. If a watch originally came with a mineral glass crystal then that's what I'll use if a replacement is needed. The same goes for an acrylic crystal. If that is what was used originally, I wouldn't attempt to replace it with a mineral glass crystal.
These are the 4 Most Popular specimens up for review along with mine for a total of 5 crystals: In order, The Original, My reproduction, Sekosis, Sternkreuz, and Spencer Klein's.
For this review, I used the same watch, I did my best to keep it in the same position, using the same camera angle with the camera mounted on a tripod so we would be comparing apples to apples.
Original Double Dome 330W18GN Crystal . There's not much to say other then Seiko got this Right! Crystal clear view of the dial and inner bezel with no distortion.
First up is Klein's (Klien's Vintage Watch) repro 330W18GN crystal. This was originally reproduced by Jonathan Koch at East Tech Manufacturing. It is the late style Flat Top crystal. Johnathan actually participated in it's development at G+S supply in Rochester NY. Jonathan spent several months at G+S supply, hands on, in it's development. It's a good crystal but it has it's shortcomings. Particularly noticeable is the inner bezel distortion and the "black ring shadow" around the inner bezel when viewing the watch straight on.
Next up is the Sekosis reproduction 330W18GN crystal. It's another "Flat Top" crystal. It looks good at first glance. It's another popular seller due to its lower price but when tested fell short of desired results. On the positive side there was only a light touch of the black ring shadow around the inner bezel as seen on the KVW crystal. Inner bezel distortion was acceptable but the overall measurements, which will be shown later in this review, fell short of the original. This was the only crystal that "fell out" once the bezel was removed and the watch was turned over to remove the crystal. With the original crystal and the other crystals tested, a light push from the back side with slight resistance noted, was required to remove the crystal.
Then we have the SternKruez 330W18GN crystal. In my opinion it's has been one of the better choices when it comes to reproduction 330W18GN crystals. It is a Double Dome crystal. Just a slight hint of ring around the inner bezel, only at certain angles, and the overall measurements are more in line with the original. However, it does have a slight bit of inner bezel distortion compared to the original. I'd say over the years I've used an equal amount of Jonathan's original "East Tech" crystals and the Sternkreuz crystals on my own watches and on restorations done for others.
And finally here is my reproduction 330W18GN crystal. A Double Dome Tempered Mineral Glass Crystal. No black ring shadow and not much, if any, inner bezel distortion when compared to the original. I'm a stickler for details and I feel it measures up well to the original. No Bogus claims here. No Hype. Just a good honest alternative to an original crystal when an original isn't available or is over priced. It has passed the test of a Persnickety WIS Collector for Fit, Finish, Appearance, and Pressure Testing up to 100 meters.