The 1945 Tudor Oyster project described here left the watch essentially finished but for a somewhat loose domed acrylic crystal.

I had purchased a small selection of 27mm domed acrylic crystals in the hope that one of them would fit snugly, pressed into place with the aid of my trusty crystal press.  However, ‘hope’ is simply not good enough when ‘doing it properly’ is required and so I returned to this one armed with a new 27.2mm acrylic and a freshly purchased crystal lift.

Photo credit: Jules Borel

The idea here is that the crystal is first placed face down onto the sizing platform, over which the jaws of the lift are placed.  The knob on top is then screwed down until the teeth grip the edges of the crystal.

At this point, I borrowed my wife’s hair dryer and gently warmed the crystal before tightening the jaws further, compressing the crystal to the point where its edges cleared the edge of the bezel of the Tudor.  With the compressed crystal carefully placed into position

the tension on the crystal is carefully released and a satisfying click suggests it has seated correctly.

Satisfied that I’d completed the manoeuvre properly this time, I reassembled the watch and declare this one now free from loose ends.