Truedome D19 crack

[bmb15]

The price ratio between a great watch and a genuine T39 is in the order of 50:1 (2%) or even (much) higher (1% or less), of course strongly depending on the watch price.

I would not hesitate to buy an excellent or my dream watch because it has a wrong crystal mounted, which you can and should replace later. A perfect dial, hands, bezel insert, case etc. are much more important for me.

BUT, one needs to know where to get the genuine superdome! And how to check that it is really authentic. Now I'm back where my questions started!

[ILuvSubs]

Originally Posted by bmb15

The price ratio between a great watch and a genuine T39 is in the order of 50:1 (2%) or even (much) higher (1% or less), of course strongly depending on the watch price.

I would not hesitate to buy an excellent or my dream watch because it has a wrong crystal mounted, which you can and should replace later. A perfect dial, hands, bezel insert, case etc. are much more important for me.

BUT, one needs to know where to get the genuine superdome! And how to check that it is really authentic. Now I'm back where my questions started!

I got my Tropic 39 from Phillip Ridley. Try dropping him a PM. I don’t know 100% for sure if it’s OEM genuine Tropic 39 and don’t know how to verify it, but I trust Phillip and have no reason to believe otherwise. Phillip has also sourced for me a Tropic 19 for my 1680 and Tropic 38 for my 16750. They don’t come cheap and getting the original crystals (as opposed to service crystals which have the high sides but less of a dome) is getting increasingly difficult. This is the reason why there is such a big market for True Dome.

I’ve installed all these crystals and they look fantastic and have all passed pressure tests to 5 ATMs. I’m very happy with the results!

Like most things vintage related, you can do as much research and due diligence as you can, but at the same time you’re trusting the reputation of those that you deal with that it’s 100% authentic and genuine.

[southtexas]

Originally Posted by Rolexfax33

Sorry for the late reply everyone....took a while to find my macro lens to get a good shot.

I reached out to Greg as well!






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Well, if it makes you feel any better, I have the same crack in about the same spot on my original T19. I was planning on ordering a true dome...ha! Here’s mine:




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[Filipão]

Dear Fellas,

I've just had my 1st. Truedome D19 fitted on my 5513.

According to my wonderful and very professional watchmaker Bill Rice (Yorkshire, UK)

http://williamricewatches.com/

the whole procedure went flawlessly and the Sub passed the pressure tests with flying colours.

Thank you Greg, thank you Bill!

[swaini3]

Originally Posted by Filipão

Dear Fellas,

I've just had my 1st. Truedome D19 fitted on my 5513.

According to my wonderful and very professional watchmaker Bill Rice (Yorkshire, UK)

http://williamricewatches.com/

the whole procedure went flawlessly and the Sub passed the pressure tests with flying colours.

Thank you Greg, thank you Bill!

Congrats

[bmb15]

Congratulations. You are a brave boy regarding the pressure test of a 5513 with a D19*. Chapeau! Good news for many here.
*PS: I did not look precisely, was done w/o movement

[mattedialdoc]

Originally Posted by bmb15

Congratulations. You are a brave boy regarding the pressure test of a 5513 with a D19*. Chapeau! Good news for many here.
*PS: I did not look precisely, was done w/o movement

I’m curious: how is this “brave”?


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[Sirschwag]

clearly no movement inside, would need to do a dry test once it's fully cased up again...but hopefully these hold up over time, not that anyone is diving with these anymore anyway

[bmb15]

Originally Posted by Sirschwag

clearly no movement inside, would need to do a dry test once it's fully cased up again...but hopefully these hold up over time, not that anyone is diving with these anymore anyway

Exactly, the test proofs that the D19 mounted on the 5513 case withstands the applied pressure, which is very good. I would not risk to repeat this test with a complete 5513. Probably nowadays nowbody would try to dive with a 5513/D19 (or T19).
@Filipe: thanks a lot for sharing this result plus the photos!

[Filipão]

Hello all!

Here are some pictures from the 5513 with the D19.

I love the way it's changed with such a "minor" detail.

[GuiltunderGlass]

Looks like T38s are live on the site now, $300 a pop. Big market for these considering how many ppl favor the dome look and the relative rarity of T38s in the wild.

[donaker]

Still hoping Turedome produce a T16 replica. I prefer the dome look over the OEM service crystal Bob Ridley installed on my 5508 a number of years ago.

[DavidSB]

LA Watch Works re-contours OEM Rolex service crystals to dome. I had them install one on my 1016 Explorer. Contact them for details.

[darthjord]

really great looking, I need to start looking into these a bit more...

[HunterST]

Nice to see this handled so well. I just recommended you to a friend today and after seeing this, I’m only more confident in having done so. In fact, I think I’ll go order one.

Originally Posted by 007Sub

Hello TRF! As one of the owners of TrueDome, I would like chime in and address the subject. Firstly, a small crack, or any crack for that matter, is not okay and should be addressed sooner than later.

Two important factors that impact the performance of any crystal is 1) How they are mounted and 2) The condition of the midcase and rehaut of the watch it is mounted on. Vintage subs often have variations in rehaut conditions. While these factors are out of our control we work as hard as we can in R&D to make sure that the materials, measurements, and product manufacturing are as best as possible to assure that these crystals perform reliably across all subs. For example, our measuring tolerances are two hundredths of a millimeter where industry standard on acrylic crystal manufacturing is five hundredths. Nevertheless, issues with individual examples can arise.

It seems like this crack formed not from a sustained impact, but rather on its own. We would like to address this and are happy to take care of this issue. We can send you a fully insured label to send either the watch or the crystal (ideally both together) so that we can do a thorough exam.

The feedback of the vintage Rolex community is very important to us. As vintage Rolex enthusiasts ourselves, we are constantly working to improve the quality and consistency of our crystals.

To the OP feel free to email us at [email protected]. We will be happy to assist.

Best,

Greg
Co-Founder, TrueDome LLC

[HunterST]

Interesting - I searched for a long time and I’ve had a T39 on my GMT for about 7 years and it has started to develop very tiny stress cracks. Nothing visible unless the bezel is removed and it hasn’t given me any issues…yet. I have thought about replacing with a TrueDome version to put my mind at rest. That said, I haven’t pulled the trigger yet as I have 2 watches getting full service right now… LOL

Originally Posted by ILuvSubs

I got my Tropic 39 from Phillip Ridley. Try dropping him a PM. I don’t know 100% for sure if it’s OEM genuine Tropic 39 and don’t know how to verify it, but I trust Phillip and have no reason to believe otherwise. Phillip has also sourced for me a Tropic 19 for my 1680 and Tropic 38 for my 16750. They don’t come cheap and getting the original crystals (as opposed to service crystals which have the high sides but less of a dome) is getting increasingly difficult. This is the reason why there is such a big market for True Dome.

I’ve installed all these crystals and they look fantastic and have all passed pressure tests to 5 ATMs. I’m very happy with the results!

Like most things vintage related, you can do as much research and due diligence as you can, but at the same time you’re trusting the reputation of those that you deal with that it’s 100% authentic and genuine.

[007Sub]

Originally Posted by HunterST

Nice to see this handled so well. I just recommended you to a friend today and after seeing this, I’m only more confident in having done so. In fact, I think I’ll go order one.

Thanks for the kind words and support!!


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[danlolland]

Dear community,

As someone who is actively using his Red Sub on land, in air and under water, I feel I should weigh in.

Acrylic crystals, quite unsurprisingly, are not on pair with today´s technology and should anyone insist on using and abusing their beloved vintage models (like I do), be prepared to go through a looot of crystals. I have gone through all the variants you can image on my Red Sub - the boxy original crystal, original T19, the original service replacement with flatter dome and TrueDome as well and ALL, ABSOLUTELY EACH ONE OF THEM has developed heat cracks over time. As a matter of fact, I am having an original Rolex service dome replaced by my watchmaker for TrueDome D19 that I received last week, for I have collected quite a few heat cracks over the past two months of intense summer. I will have it back on Thursday, I can post a picture of the cracked original Rolex crystal for you to see. Some of the heat cracks are 3mm long. What is strange, though, is the position of the crack on your watch, for all of the heat cracks that I have collected in the past on my crystals appeared at least slightly further away from the very edge.

Long story short, it is strange that it is on the very edge of the crystal, but if you intend to wear your vintage watch in the heat, EVERY POSSIBLE option on the market today will get tiny heat cracks from my experience. :)

[Filipão]

How and what have you used to clean your plexis?

[southtexas]

As an aside- last week I went on vacation with the family…lots of sun and water all day everyday.

I left the vintage subs at home and took a 16613 with me. I must say it was very refreshing to be able to just dive in while wearing the watch without worrying about water ingress. My only worry in the back of my mind was losing my watch/hand to a barracuda. Here’s the best wrist shot I could find:




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[007Sub]

Originally Posted by danlolland

Dear community,

As someone who is actively using his Red Sub on land, in air and under water, I feel I should weigh in.

Acrylic crystals, quite unsurprisingly, are not on pair with today´s technology and should anyone insist on using and abusing their beloved vintage models (like I do), be prepared to go through a looot of crystals. I have gone through all the variants you can image on my Red Sub - the boxy original crystal, original T19, the original service replacement with flatter dome and TrueDome as well and ALL, ABSOLUTELY EACH ONE OF THEM has developed heat cracks over time. As a matter of fact, I am having an original Rolex service dome replaced by my watchmaker for TrueDome D19 that I received last week, for I have collected quite a few heat cracks over the past two months of intense summer. I will have it back on Thursday, I can post a picture of the cracked original Rolex crystal for you to see. Some of the heat cracks are 3mm long. What is strange, though, is the position of the crack on your watch, for all of the heat cracks that I have collected in the past on my crystals appeared at least slightly further away from the very edge.

Long story short, it is strange that it is on the very edge of the crystal, but if you intend to wear your vintage watch in the heat, EVERY POSSIBLE option on the market today will get tiny heat cracks from my experience. :)

I have replicated that form of cracking in the lab with use of abrasive detergents and cleaning agents such as isopropyl alcohol. Any and all acrylic will be impacted negatively by chemicals such as alcohol, ammonia, aromatics, and other abrasives. When cleaning your watch or working with aerosolized detergents be careful not to let them touch the acrylic and you will be able get the greatest longevity possible. Polywatch and a clean cotton rag is all you need. Hope this helps!

[avera]

I put a Truedome on my 1680 last year and have loved it. I had it done here in San Francisco and have not had any issues