Greetings All,
My desire was to change out the
ceramic bezel in my Steinhart Ocean 1 GMT for an
aluminum red/black bezel insert. The ceramic is great looking and very durable, but under most light conditions I found the numerals difficult to read. The aluminum, while not as tough, is easy to read at a glance and the “coke” style coloration gives some added “pop” (see what I did there?) to the watch.
Steinhart inserts are held in place by adhesive. There are many threads on the forum as to how to remove them. A common method of removing an insert is to loosen the glue either by heat or chemical means, then twist the insert in the bezel to break the adhesion. The bezel insert can then be lifted out without damage. This method is particularly suited to the Ocean Diver models, because they have the “pip” at 12:00 that give you some traction on the insert. Unfortunately, the GMT insert lacks the pip hence there’s nothing to push against, and the problem is compounded by the smooth, slick texture of the ceramic.
To get a better “grip” on the insert I made a tool out of a socket and a flat neoprene washer. The insert measures about 42mm OD and 30mm ID, so I picked up a washer at the local hardware store that could be trimmed to fit. I found a socket that measured 42mm in diameter and used it to cut the OD needed, then found one 30mm across to make the second cut.
I then put some contact cement on the larger socket and glued the rubber ring to it.
I gently warmed the bezel and insert with a
hair dryer and gave it a twist with my “tool”, clockwise against the bezel’s normal rotation. Nothing. I put a little more heat on it, gave it another twist and it rotated slightly. Before long it was rotating easily inside the bezel, but I had to coax it a bit with a razor blade to lift it away. The
ceramic bezel was completely undamaged. Along the bezel channel were little globs of glue that I’d balled up during the rotating process. I gave the bezel a thorough cleaning with Goo Gone.
Installation of the new insert is very straightforward. The adhesive is already on the insert. Peel away the protective paper to expose the adhesive, double check your alignment and press it in.
The finished result. Truthfully, the hardest part was waiting for the insert to arrive from Germany. Cheers!