Vintage watch crown

#1

Hello

I collect vintage watches. An important thing among collectors is having an all original watch with the correct parts. The problem occurs when parts have been changed on a 40-50-60 year old watch.
So I was thinking. Would it be possible to replicate some parts in stainless steel?
One part on vintage watches that tend to be changed out is the crown. This is due to the crown being worn down over time.

The crowns are typically very small and have intricate details. Logos, bevels and such. I collect a specific brand of vintage watches. Universal Geneve Polerouter and on some models its not possible to find the correct parts anymore since they haven’t been produced since the 50s.

So my question is. Is it technically possible to make such small detailed parts?

Here is a picture of a typical crown. Its 4-5mm in diameter.

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Hoping for some input.

Ørjan.

#2

The backside. The threaded part can be done manually.

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#3

Hello,

Thank you for your interest to our service.
Answering your question it is possible to make such small part.
But there are a lot of details to be taken into account.

The inside (to match the tube) has to be exactly 1.6, 1.8, 2.0 or 2.5 mm. (The treads differ from 0.7mm to 1.2mm with steps of 0.1mm.
Taking into account, that wall thickness has to be at least 0.3mm and details cannot be smaller than 0.1 mm we can not guarantee fitting crowns.

The only thing I can offer you is to do a test order to check if this could be used or not.
Let us know if you have any further questions and we would be happy to help you.

Best regards,
Anna

#4

Thanks for the reply. The threading can be done manually after printing so thats not a big problem. Just need to printe a tube that will accept the threads.

I was mostly concerned about surface details and such. I would be interested in doing a test print. How much would it cost to do a test?

Ørjan.

#5

Hi Ørjan,

We offer the material which gives a significant level of detail.

You can see more information including the pictures following the link below:
https://i.materialise.com/en/3d-printing-materials/high-detail-stainless-steel

The price of your model depends on its dimensions.

In any case, to print something, we always need a file with your 3D model.
This will help us to check the feasibility, the level of details and provide you with the price.

Please feel free to contact me if you need any further information.

Best regards,
Anna