Any risks of changing crystal/plexi? / Are aftermarket crystals the way to go?

[onthemoney]

Hello.
So because I am a little paranoid, I like to ask the question.
Both my watches are serviced in the past year, but one has a service plexi, and the other is extremely damaged, both of which somewhat bother me.

Now we all know it is impossible to find NOS crystals, and not cheap either.
T19s or 39s don't come by often, and I have read that aftermarket are close in terms of aesthetics, durability is great too, and WR is not effected.
Can guys that have used aftermarkets confirm this?

Lastly, does the changing in plexi itself usually cause any issues?
Will moisture become easier to enter the dial or anything at all?
Ofcourse I will be taking it to a watch maker.

Apologies in advance, just trying to make sure before doing anything.

[Porter]

Originally Posted by onthemoney

Hello.
So because I am a little paranoid, I like to ask the question.
Both my watches are serviced in the past year, but one has a service plexi, and the other is extremely damaged, both of which somewhat bother me.

Now we all know it is impossible to find NOS crystals, and not cheap either.
T19s or 39s don't come by often, and I have read that aftermarket are close in terms of aesthetics, durability is great too, and WR is not effected.
Can guys that have used aftermarkets confirm this?

Lastly, does the changing in plexi itself usually cause any issues?
Will moisture become easier to enter the dial or anything at all?
Ofcourse I will be taking it to a watch maker.

Apologies in advance, just trying to make sure before doing anything.

There are a lot of plexi manufacturers, ones better than others. I bought mine ( 5513 super dome ) in Germany and very happy with it. I've changed myself because is my hobby and I have tools.
After changing I made the water pressure test and I wear it snorkeling, swimming pool... every week and no issue.
Hope this helps! Good luck.

[oldLeatherNeck]

I am completely perplexed at people who own expensive Rolex, $5K or move in value, and put on a $30.00 cheap aftermarket crystal

Do some search on the forums and see how these crystals failed. Regardless of where where they were made, one thing for sure, they were not made up to Rolex standard. They develop micro cracks that are hard to see to the naked eyes. This allows moisture / water damage to your expensive watch. If you do decide to put on one of these, not only you keep your watch away from the water, but avoid the sun/heat. There are reports that these plastic crystals just suddenly cracked while on the wrists during a hot day.

I've seen some sellers from Hong Kong blatantly put domes on all his submariners that he's selling. That helps him sell the watch alright, but puts his buyers at risk. No wonder why he's banned from VRF.

If you need that dome look, get the service crystals and have ABC or other watchmakers round-off the edge for you.

[J!m]

The only aftermarket I could suggest where you want to use the watch for diving is a G-S brand crystal. Made in the USA and supplier to many watch companies.

Otherwise a Rolex service T-19 is fine.

In all cases, the watch must be pressure tested annually to ensure it doesn't leak. If you don't test at least annually, get a Seiko diver for diving and whatever crystal looks good to you for the "dry diver".