watch glass replacement?

There are 3 types of glasses used for wristwatches:

• acrylic glass, the so-called unbreakable glasses (FR: verres incassables, EN: unbreakable crystals)
• mineral glass
• sapphire glass

The great advantage of acrylic glass is that it is easy to press into all kinds of shapes, with or without a (high) curve. Especially in older clocks these plexiglass were used. This plastic glass is obviously breakable, but is very resistant because it bends a little when subjected to a large force. Its main disadvantage is that it is susceptible to scratching. Because plexiglass is soft, however, it can be polished.

Is your glass little scratched, in this case you can always try polishing out the scratches with copper polish! Just apply a small amount of copper polish on a tuft of cotton wool, polish the scratches in circles with a little pressure, and finish by shining up with a fine cloth. Be careful not to let copper polish drip between the glass and the edge of the watch case.

Still prefer to have an expert do this work? (understandable)

Make an appointment to replace the acrylic glass on your (vintage) watch. 

Mineral glasses also come in curved shapes, but in modern timepieces are more likely to be flat. Mineral glass is a lot more scratch-resistant than acrylic glass, but glass remains glass, and is therefore fragile. Polishing is possible with a special diamond paste: it will be able to remove scratches for the most part, but a small amount of glass will always disappear. So the glass becomes thinner, which afterwards the light reflection may also be noticeable. Of course, this makes the glass more fragile. Replacing the glass remains the best option.

Contact me to install a new mineral watch glass.

Sapphire glass is scratch-free: it can only be scratched by diamonds. Contrary to popular belief, sapphire glass is not unbreakable. The glass is enormously hard, therefore impervious to scratching, but brittle. A blow with a sharp object can break the glass. Sapphire glass is remarkably more expensive than mineral glass.

Need new sapphire glass for your timepiece? Contact us.