Rolex DateJust crystal question

[compworld]

One of my old Rolex DateJust watches have an acrylic crystal. Anyone know how much it would cost to change to a sapphire crystal?

[skywag]

I don't think it can be done. Anyway, Rolex collectors covet the acrylic.

[roger0770]

cannot be done for the crystals set differently. i've heard of aftermarket kit that can do so, but the water resistance would suffer. i am sure someone will give you a more detailed answer later.

[compworld]

No biggie. It just scratches much more than sapphire. Thought I'd ask the pros.

[Shade]

Good thing the acrylics are that it's possible to polish the scratches off as long as they're not too deep. Sapphires however, needs to be replaced instead if you want the scratches off... (or so I've heard)

[Denver Dick]

Originally Posted by compworld

One of my old Rolex DateJust watches have an acrylic crystal. Anyone know how much it would cost to change to a sapphire crystal?

Well, this has been my experience based on owning my TT DJ 16013 for 23 years (original owner). When I was young, I was rough on cyrstals. So, after having my 16013 for a couple of years I had an aftermarket sapphire cyrstal installed. I promptly dropped the watch on a tile floor shattering the the sapphire cyrstal. I had it replaced with another sapphire cyrstal . . . that one lasted until November last year when I had the RSC bring my 16013 back to factory specs, including an acrylic cyrstal.

Sure enough, I put a small scratch on the new acrylic cyrstal within a few weeks. Ah, but now we have Polywatch (cream in a tube) to polish out scratches. It worked perfectly. So, get tube or two of Polywatch and enjoy the deep, warm and rich look and feel of the acrylic crystal.

The RSC will NOT install a sapphire crystal on a watch that originally came with an acrylic.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by compworld

No biggie. It just scratches much more than sapphire. Thought I'd ask the pros.

Yes and very easy to remove scratches from acrylic with polywatch or Autosolve metal polish in tubes.Acrylic crystals are always replaced as part of normal service and far cheaper than Sapphire. And remember this even Sapphire can scratch and chip and far more difficult to remove scratches and much more expensive to replace. .