Custom Crystals

[Planet-LED]

Out of curiosity, I stopped by a stain-glass business in my town and asked them if they thought they could custom cut a piece of red glass to fit a watch I have. Interestingly, his response was that every piece of glass they cut is custom. He then showed me the glass that he had, and there was a piece just about the same color. He said that it could be done, but he didn?t know if would be durable enough to get knocked around the way a watch does. Amazingly, he said he thought it could probably be done for under $20!

I told him the original crystal was made from ?mineralite?, and he said he was unfamiliar with that term. A stain-glass business may be a good place for you to start looking. Does anyone on the board know the difference between regular glass and mineralite glass?

[retroleds]

I do stained glass work as a hobby....stained glass has two minor problems,(1)it's a bit thick and(2)it's untempered. The original crystal/glass were cut and then tempered(heated almost to softening, and then cooled slowly). Tempered glass is harder against scratches but goes to hell once actually chipped. If they can cut you a piece neatly, give it a try. Plastic isn't so bad....it's fairly easy to buff and less likely to get a real crack - especially those ones that stop you from reading the display.

[Planet-LED]

little1up,

Are you talking about plexiglass? It so, where could you get it from?

I would think that would be a good alternative because it could probably be heated and shaped to fit an Executive or Bigtime.

[retroleds]

Most larger cities have plexiglas(acrylic plastic) dealers. Or out here on the web. It is manufactured in a wide varieties of colors and thicknesses. 3/32"(2mm?) is around $5US a square foot. Plexi is very easy to bend - immerse it into almost boiling water, pull out and IMMEDIATELY bend(push it over a form, maybe a cue ball?). Bending at too low a temperature will induce stress lines that are impossible to remove,even with reheating.

[Planet-LED]

little1up,

Thanks for the great info. Can you tell me the difference between mineralite and regular glass, or does it just have to do with the tempering process?

[AlmightyTallest]

You might want to check out this guy:

http://www.crystalfit.com/

They work with many different watch crystals and can even make custom sapphire ones.

I sent some of my watches there and they did a great job. Can't hurt to send him an E-mail with your problem.

[azimuth_pl]

Hi,

I tried once to source glass producers for a custom made Pulsar glass.
Poland is known for handmade glass products and there are many small and big glassworks.
Unfortunately nobody was able to take the order:
- first they would need to buy special very expensive red additives to get the exact glass color - very hard to obtain as red is not always red, it's burgundy and even burgundy is more bloody than burgundy - the color would have to be exactly right.
- they would have to create an expensive metal mold
- I would have to order 10.000 crystals :))))

so for the time being the best source for custom (hand shaped) crystals is to buy a matching (more or less) camera filter and cut it to size and file down the edges and polish afterwards.

as for plexi, ask at advertising companies producing shop displays.

[tonyb]

I can do custom crystals of any shape and in all of the colors of the rainbow.


tony.

[CompuChron2]

Hi guys ,
I have all this available for sell:

They all come from corning glass factory and were made for Pulsar and Hamiltons,they aren't finished but if you can cut them to size I'm sure they could fit most of your watches.
the rectangular one is 15,4 mm high and 30 mm wide.The width is exactly the same as a Bulova driver.
What do you use to home cut and work on the crystals?

[azimuth_pl]

Tony, would you be using scratch resistant mineral glass or standard?
cut and shaped molded to shape? beveled or not?
what kind of price list would you have?

[tonyb]

They would be made of glass and would be cut to size with or without beveled edges. Price would depend on size, shape, and edge beveling.

[azimuth_pl]

get the point but let us all know of the approximate prices for let's say a Pulsar P2 crystal which has a beveled edge.

[tonyb]

$30.00 With express shipping.

[azimuth_pl]

hi again,

just thinking if you could post a picture of your finished crystals for us to judge?

[tonyb]

I don't have any watches that need a crystal right now. I you have a set of dimensions I could cut one to those dimensions and send you the crystal for you to judge. Also I only have a piece of lighter colored red mineral glass at the moment with a thickness of 2mm. I need to procure darker red glass and plastic materials.

tony.

[azimuth_pl]

all dimensions in mm
left and right edge angled at radius 17,4mm (bottom surface) and 16,7mm (top surface)
top and bottom edge angled at radius 42,09mm (bottom surface) and 41,39mm (top surface)

[tonyb]

I have 2mm thick material you call for 2.5mm thick material is this a problem? Also, do you want glass or plastic? Thanks!

tony.

[azimuth_pl]

unfortunately the material would have to be hardened glass of almost identical color together with identical dimensions to match the original Pulsar P2 and P3 crystals from 1972 - 74

[CompuChron]

Are you looking for this?



I have a few left NOS , not replica , not recut , not 2MM , but from the factory , 45 $ free worldwide shipping!