Removing and installing acrylic crystal on 5246-6010

neeb said:

I was recently over the moon to acquire this:

http://www.thewatchsite.com/21-japa...18-5246-6010-ks-special-chronometer-last.html

I'd like to open it up. It has a one-piece case with an acrylic crystal held in place with a tension ring. There is also a bezel over the top of that, which I am able to remove and install without problems.

The "official" way to remove the crystal as well as to install it again is with the S-14 "one piece case opener" with the 29mm tightening ring. As I am unlikely to be able to get hold of one of those, I'm wondering if I could use something like this instead:

My worry however is that because the crystal has to be gripped inside the slot left when the bezel is removed, it might not be possible for those big claws to get a grip without being obstructed by or damaging the case. Also, will this tool be able to be used to install the crystal again?

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neeb said:

Thanks!

So you mean that I would leave the glass inside the "claws" after removing it, and add just a little more tension when installing it again?

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rob3rto said:

This video by Mark Lovick might help.

http://youtu.be/mZO2t848wiM

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neeb said:

Well, I got the crystal lift and it worked! Many thanks to all for the advice.

It was a bit scary just how much pressure was required before the crystal could be pulled off. I kept tightening the knob by tiny increments, convinced that the crystal was eventually going to explode before it loosened... but that didn't happen and it came off nicely. And I'm really grateful for the advice about leaving the crystal in the lift fully tensioned and then adding a tiny bit more tension to install it again. It would have been much more hassle to get the jaws positioned correctly and tightened to the correct level if I hadn't done that.

So the really good news is that my 5246-6010 is now fully assembled again and the instant date change is flicking over at midnight exactly! Getting the hour hand installed to precisely align with the date change was a bit of a fiddle, but I got there eventually...

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