There’s been a lot of different ideas being thrown around the internet on how to replace the bezel insert of the Steinhart Ocean 1. I foolishly knocked mine by accident and scratched the edge of the insert. So I ordered a new insert from Steinhart, for €15 – you can see it here.
After contacting a fellow member of the Christopher Ward Forum, who had done this already (HendrixGreen, many thanks) I decided it would be best to go with the way Steinhart themselves suggested to him. That is to pierce the insert itself with a tool and pry it off. Doesn’t sound that easy, and it did indeed turn out to be a bit fiddly. But, I managed it – and recorded the whole process too. Take a look at the video to see me do it in real time.
Here’s the damage:
So I give the insert a good seeing to with a small terminal / technical screwdriver:
And then I can pry it off once it’s come loose:
Here’s the bezel without the insert:
And then we clean up the residue glue and stick the new insert in:
As good as new!
Dustin
12 November, 2014 at 3:30 am
Hello, very helpful post. I have wondering the whether to have to do the same thing. Can I ask a few question.
1, Was it a really strong knock that scratch the bezel?
2, Does the new bezel insert come with some glue at the back already? Cuz you didn’t seem to apply any adhesive when you put in the new insert.
Thank you for your answer
Joshua Clare-Flagg
12 November, 2014 at 8:41 am
Hi, yes it was a hard knock on a wall that created the mark. The new bezel has a sticky glued back so you can stick it straight on. Thanks for reading!
Dustin
12 November, 2014 at 9:46 am
Thank you for your reply, that really clears my concern.
Marco
28 November, 2015 at 12:50 pm
Thank you for this helpful video. Are those ceramic or aluminium bezels?
Joshua Clare-Flagg
28 November, 2015 at 12:52 pm
This is an aluminium bezel insert. You wouldn’t be able to do the same to a ceramic one.
Mike
24 October, 2018 at 3:56 am
Would it b easer to just remove the entire bezel then use a method to heat the bezel to remove the insert?
Does the bezel hold the crystal on the watch case?
Matt
15 April, 2020 at 5:45 pm
I had a bezel insert just fall out. Any glue recommendations for re-applications ?
Loyd Brown
11 October, 2020 at 4:59 pm
I came across this page out of desperation, as I needed to replace my bezel insert in my watch but wasn’t sure on how to do it properly and the watch repair shop I trusted here in town closed for good a couple years ago.
Reading a couple of other pages first that involved a pen knife and the person slicing a thumb wasn’t my idea of an easy replacement.
Anyway, I decided to have a go with your technique but modified the instruction for making the piercing hole with a pin vice. That worked great! Then getting the small screwdriver, it was not too difficult to remove the insert (which was aluminum) and replace it with a ceramic one.
A nice do-it-yourself job confidently done with your instructions and inspiration.
Thank you!
Joshua Clare-Flagg
11 October, 2020 at 7:20 pm
Thank you, I’m glad it helped your DIY bezel insert replacement!
chris
1 January, 2021 at 2:18 pm
what a lot of useless work you did. There is a much, much easier way to do this. Also, you just destroyed an insert for no real reason. With my way, you could have saved and tuck away that “damaged” insert.
Now that Steinhart stopped selling their inserts, having destroyed that original insert was just silly.
Joshua Clare-Flagg
4 January, 2021 at 10:30 pm
It’s worth noting that 1. I had literally no idea what I was doing and 2. this was the way Steinhart told me to do 😉
Horology_Reversed
20 February, 2022 at 9:21 am
Steinhart wouldn’t recommend doing this.
No watch company in their right mind would. They would tell you to go to a watchmaker. Please upload to Imgur the said recommendation by them.
Otherwise it didn’t happen.