How to Remove the Cyclops from any Watch Crystal - Seiko Hardlex, Mineral or Saphire
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- This is an instructional video demonstrating how to remove a cyclops magnifier from any watch crystal. This procedure works on my Seiko Hardlex Crystal and will work on Mineral Crystal and Saphire Crystal. DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK.
My new backup dive watch is the SEIKO SPECIAL EDITON PROSPEX PADI SOLAR DIVE WATCH #SNE435 SNE435P1
I did this on my fathers Rolex Submariner. He didnt appreciate it.
Birger Boberg What happen? Did you mess up the sapphire crystal ?
If it wasn't yours, you were pretty mean to do that. Worse, almost universally when you get older, you start to appreciate the tool nature and usefulness of a cyclops.
@@travelingexplorer
why is it useful??
Edmund Ng Because your eyesight goes down the pan from around the age of 30 ! So useful 🤓
@@mrmondo1882 oh jeez, I think my common sense is breaking and not my eyesight.
There is a much easier and safer way, a good soldering iron with a flat tip directly on the magnifier and it will come off the same way and the crystal only gets slightly warm, the heat is much more targeted. i removed all of mine this way.
It's funny manufactures put the magnifier on almost every diver watch and most owners would rather not have it .
I always take them off because they always seem to get damaged.
I’ve used both tools many times and I agree, a flat tip soldering Iron would be much safer.
Used a soldering iron but everything melted and The crystal is now ruined. But that because ut was glas right? I want to try again on a sappire glas
7imonUP
No, it’s because it was acrylic. You will never melt glass or sapphire with a soldering iron.
@@Wolf_K tried it today with sapphire but it didn't get hot enough or anything. Should I have it on for a minuten or what
You don't need heat at all. Put some Goof Off on the Cyclops and let it sit there for about 30 minutes then give it a light tap and it comes off easy. Just did mine right now.
Did that really work? Can you explain in more detail? How much did you use? Thanks!
@@CodyVella I was impatient with that one that's why I had to give it a little tap at the end but I think if you wait long enough and let the goofoff do its job it will come off on its own. What I did on the second one was put a little goof off on a paper plate and I would touch the liquid with a toothpick and touch the cyclops. I did that until the Cyclops was fully covered, then I would repeat that every ten minutes. It's gonna take over an hour because the liquid eats the glue slowly but trust me it works I did it to my 3rd gen monster. Just make sure the Cyclops is surrounded with goofoff like an island that way as it eats the glue away the liquid keeps making its way underneath the Cyclops. If it's been like two hours and it's not off yet just put the watch on its side and put a small flat head screwdriver on the Cyclops pointing away from the watch and give it a little tap and it should come off. The liquid doesn't damage the watch crystal at all so you should be good. I'll make a video one day but I don't have any plans of buying another watch right now.
@@PepRex just put the screwdriver on the Cyclops and tap it away from the watch so if it was to slip it wouldn't touch the hardlex. Don't picture it like if your trying to wedge in between the Cyclops and the hardlex. You have to touch only the Cyclops.
Get some brasso on it , cleans and shines ,
I hate cyclops' destroy them all...
I just tried it AND IT WORKED! My pro tip: i "soaked" my Seiko Monster in hot water for a few minutes, applying direct heat on an already warm crystal lowers the risk of it cracking from the termic shock. Its a divers watch after all so it has no problem with it being submerged in water, as long as its not too hot that you damage the rubber gaskets etc...
good point thanks
You can also use sheets of foil tape or aluminum foil as a heat shield to protect the parts you don’t want to heat.
Thanks a lot I’ll try that
Great tip. I just used this on my watch. I used a torch lighter for like 5-10 seconds. No damage. These cyclops are really annoying.
;)
I agree. I have removed them from 3 watches now and it drastically improves the watch once they are gone!
@Eric Hollaway Imagine being dumb enough to have to actually ask that lmao
Operation cyclop removal went excellent. Now I have one less criteria when searching for watches. Useful!
Great video. I can't stand a cyclops on any watch. They are just so ugly and unnecessary. They always look like after market mods to me.
I don't want to put my glasses on every time I want to check the date. Not unnecessary for everyone.
I did it on a watch using a torch lighter. Took 4 separate 5 second blasts of heat to remove the crystal, which popped off when pushed/pried with a razor blade. WD40 did NOT remove the glue, but Goof Off ultimately did. Soaked a small corner of a folded paper towel with Goof Off, held it on the glue for 5 seconds, then rub with towel. Repeat as necessary. Took me a minute or so. The watch got pretty hot so no idea if the seals are damaged, but the watch seems to be running fine.
Thanks for the video. Have the exact same watch so you gave me the confidence to give it a try. Tried soldering iron first but couldn’t get enough heat into it. Used small torch flame and it came off straight away with no damage whatsoever. I cleaned the glue residue off with WD40 which worked really well. Watch is now so much better, date and time much easier to see as there are no reflections coming from the cyclops. Glad I did it! Thanks again!
Thanks for the video, just did this to my Seiko SNE437 with a Primus Power lighter, and as you said, it looks way better!
Did mine with a cigarette lighter when my blow torch wouldn't light.
New here and cool video man even tho the cyclops don’t bother me too much but can be useful in the future if I change my mind. Btw how are doing? Just noticed your last post was 6 years ago!
Does not work on my watch. Warning for everyone trying this, it DOES NOT WORK on all watches.
the proper way to do this without risking damage would be to pop the crystal out, but at that point you might just replace it with a new one without the cyclops
Are u freaking kidding me?? All this cyclops hate I built up over the years for nothing??😫
I might have to try this on the SPB121 Alpinist
Thanks for posting this. I've been planning to buy this watch for a while now but I couldn't pull the trigger because of that stupid cyclops. I just hate it. Now that I know it can come off relatively easily I can just go ahead and place my order.
I LOVE this watch for diving. Very easy to read, never have to worry about power reserve. I have now removed the cyclops from every watch I own. I did run into trouble removing one from a Chris Benz watch. It has Saphire Crystal and what every they use to stick the cyclops to the crystal was very resilient to heat. I did take it apart, removed the movement to prevent it from being damaged. But it eventually came off fine.
It worked! on sapphire with a butane lighter with kitchen foil everywhere else, took about 15 secs and firm push with a case knife
Worked great ..I used a lighter and a razor blade …jewelers wanted to charge me 40$ and shipped out for couple weeks to install new crystal
What was the small torch you used to remove the cyclops, I’m thinking about removing one from a Phoibos.
It is a butane soldering torch. Amazon has several different brands.
Thanks for this. Always wondered how to get the irritating cyclops off, in fact didn't know it could be done.
I'd got a couple I wanted to do. Mainly a Pagani Design 1682 and a Timex Harborside Coast.
Started on the PD1682. It seriously wasn't interested in playing along.
Tried all sorts, short blasts, long blasts, upto 10 secs ( or possibly not, was counting quite quick 🙈 ) .
Eventually decided to try the Timex. Popped straight off, cleaned up beautifully immediately with nail varnish remover ( acetone) - looks so much better 😁👍.
Regards the PD, no idea what they used but I'm gonna find out and build a nuclear shelter out of it - win/win 👍.
Unfortunately looks like I'll just have to live with that one - PD quality 😁👍
@davemerchant8788 I just did my Pagani design 1655. It was a really tough, but i ended up getting it off with a hammer & chisel! Definitely wouldn’t have been comfortable doing that with a more expensive watch, but it worked and cleaned up nicely with some alcohol. Looks infinitely better, especially as the cyclops wasn’t straight!
@@petee1968 I'm from the UK Midlands where you can 'fix anything with a hammer!!' 😂 - never thought about a watch though to be honest. Thanks for the heads up, not sure I have the gonads 🙈. Kind of learned to live with it as long as I don't look at that quarter of the dial.
A hammer and chisel.... Don't suppose there's any chance you filmed it? 🤔
@@davemerchant8788 I have a general rule where I don’t film myself committing violent crimes 😁
No real secret technique though. I literally stuck the watch in a vice (rubber jaws) and whacked it many times until it gave up. Chisel edge up against the cyclops and whacked it along the plane of the crystal, so shock to the watch as a whole will have been minimal.
As I said I’d never attempt this with a Rolex, but I bought this Pagani as a holiday beater so I’ve already written it off in my mind. And today it’s running to about -3s/d, so I guess it survived this part of the challenge.
I've done this on three watches. Granted, they're "cheap" watches, but they're expensive to me, so it was just as nerve-wracking. One sapphire, two mineral crystals. My touch flame is unfortunately a lot larger than yours, but I made do. The unfortunate truth is that you just gotta go balls deep and hit the cyclops with the torch for a good 3-5 seconds. But usually they come off relatively easily.
One of the watches I've tested, and is running great. The other two I just did, so we'll see if I lost any accuracy. Also unknown is if I somehow compromised the water resistance, but I'm less worried about that.
One curious thing is, I've never needed Goo-Gone and all these other fancy things. Some acetone, and then a fingernail and good ol' spit got rid of the glue in all 3 watches. It also helps if you do it while the crystal is still warm from the torch. Maybe glues are different but, I dunno.
HAHA there ya go, thumbnail... it really does work, I wonder if everyone's tried that instead of using the fancy stuff 😂 Thanks for the video.
Why the watch manufacturers keep using cyclop as they can see how many people hate it. Very annoying element
That has melted to O ring and wredked the watch.
Dont do this if you have AR coating
Came by to see how you remove this dam ugly cyclops on my Monster PADI...thank you for the tip and I'm steering towards a soldering iron, myself...TIP back at you... the next best thing to Goof Off or,
what I prefer because I found it works better is NAPHTHA...better known as lighter fluid... I'm confident to say it's safe on all painted surfaces and all plastics... used as a sticky adhesive remover for more years than I have been using.
Thanks for the video. I have a watch with one that I couldn’t stand. Had to be 3x or more. Dumb. Off there now and a usable watch face. Thanks again. 🎉
I tried in the past on my monster and it just wouldn't budge, but I watched your video today and gave it another shot. It popped right off I am so happy!
Awesome thanks, I hate the cyclops on my submariner and it’s coming off today!!! Who is your insurance provider should things go wrong?
Amazing video! I had doubts in doing this to these watches but now will try it out. Cheers!
Wow. Now I want a little jet torch... Damn I hate Cyclops on watches, they are super tachy and lets be honest, unless you're blind they're totally useless. I can read the date on any watch at full arm's length.
I'm with you, i don't like the cyclops on my Mantaray turtle.
Legend!! Thanks for showing that mate :) I'll be sure to do that as soon as it shows up haha
Good video. Cute dog at the end, like to see more of her
Thanks! Scarlett makes appearances in pretty much all of my videos.
Why not use a soldering iron?
I absolutely HATE the cyclops on my watch...gonna do this!!
It worked! Thank you - have removed the cyclops from three of my watches now.atb snack.
AWESOME! What watches?
Rolex -Phoibos - Tevise!
didnt work.
What happened? How did you do it?
Easier to use your razor blade to get the glue off. But, nice job. I actually use a little bit of lighter fluid if you don’t have goo gone.
Fantastic job, im taking mine off today
Worked like a charm on my PADI - another second or so and you can flick it off with your fingernail
I have a king samurai and I hate the cyclops. Thinking of doing this
@@notsure8066 I am also scared and worried ill completely ruin the watch lol
Worked like a charm thanks.
I have a cyclops that I want to remove. thanks for the vid. and Cute pup!
I went straight into mixed gas after open water advanced + medic , keep it up
nice one worked on saphire cheers lot better now
After some tires, it worked. Thanks:)
Hello doggy 🥰
Pro Tip: Don't use a torch. use an electric soldering iron with a flat face tip
This worked for the Monster! You can buy Goo Gone from Dollar Tree for $1.00. And I bought a small torch lighter from Family Dollar for $2.50. I would recommend buying a small torch and not use a bigger torch like the one they sell at Harbor Freight. The smaller flame will target the cyclops better (there's just no reason to unnecessarily heat up the whole crystal, you don't want to risk damaging the gasket. In retrospect, the crystal at no time was too hot to touch, so very unlikely any potential damage occurred) . Also I used painter's tape to cover the bezel (honestly you prob don't need to but it made me feel better).
I was nervous bc it wouldn't budge the first few tries. Initially I used a plastic edge tool, I kinda pushed it from the cyclops base - this didn't work.
I then used my smallest sharp screwdriver (watch/knife size tools). Kinda did the lift from base technique. I slipped once and jabbed screwdriver into my thumb making it bleed, but more importantly I then slipped and kinda slid the metal screwdriver across my crystal 😫... But not to fear! 😃 Bc the Hardlux crystal seems to have higher hardness (higher mohs) than a metal flathead screwdriver... so basically this means it likely won't scratch this kind of crystal. I was quite impressed.
Long story short, after a few attempts of directly applying the micro flame to the cyclops, and lifting the crystal in different places, it finally came off. Cleaning the adhesive off took several minutes - but who cares!! *BC NO MORE CYCLOPS* WOO HOOO!!😃
There's really no point in doing this as I'm going to replace with a double dome sapphire soon anyway. But man is it cool knowing I can remove cyclops 👍!
Well done. Took some balls to just go for it.
Great video!
I do it with a dremel and a fine stone at high speed. Without scratching of even touching the crystal. If you do it with heat, protect the bezel.
That was a very good idea about protecting the bezel...I used a strip of Blue Tack, which I placed about half way around and covering the bezel before starting.
Remove the bezel or tape it up
Great point!!
Wow, neat trick! I would probably just get a domed sapphire magnifier glass in place of the stock crystal.
Send me that cyclops.. I want to glue it to the 9 on my watch so I'll have a cyclops on both sides.. I love cyclops lenses !!!
That lense looks ugly..
What about the crystal gasket? Did anyone took that on mind before doing the mod?
The cyclops will be taking most of the heat. There should be no issue with the gasket.
Drum Roll.........................
This is the watch I want it done to
I like the cyclops, but reading the time at 1/4 past the hour sucks.
Sapphire isn’t only on Rolex watches, my Hamilton watches have it and so do a lot of value brands like Tissot, Certina, and Longines.
Can you eat the cyclops?
I'm gonna try this on my new King Turtle
Well did you do it? I once took a thin razor blade and was able to get a magnifier off that way. I thought I would do the same thing with a King Turtle but it didn't pop off easily like the other one did so I gave up trying. I decided to check out some TH-cam videos to see how other people were doing it. I don't think I want to do the mini torch method.
@@212days I sure did! Click my profile to see the watch. I did a very short video to show it. It was a very stubborn cyclops. It took some steady heat just like the video instructed. With some patients, I popped it off with a thin razor blade. It flew! 🤣 I'm very happy with the results. Thanks to the video! The watch is working perfect with zero damage to crystal or movement.
@@MBrown-ct5zn ah, I watched your video. You did it all right. It looks great. Your video re invigorated my desire to remove it off of my watch. At least now I know it can be done. After 5 minutes of really trying hard with a razor blade to get it off and not being able to make even a drop of progress I was starting to wonder "can even dynamite get this thing off of here?" Anyway thanks for letting me know.
woo! so this method works on the king turtle? how many seconds of heat did you use?
@@alexzhu1 about 5 seconds. Don't over heat your watch. You could damage the movement. It will pop right off with a razor blade and pressure. The crystal is very durable
I had my butane torch directly over the cyclops for like 30 sec. didnt come off.
Same.
Seiko hardlex is mineral pure and simples!
Does not work for sapphire
Thanks for this video...I recently purchased a micro butane torch and followed the procedure on this video for one of my Invicta Pro Divers, where the lens just didn't look quite right... Used the lowest fine setting...Very impressed by the result.
AWESOME! It is a little nerve-racking to try this but it works. I have taken this watch to 103 feet with no leaks, it did not affect the seals for me.
I know what you mean about it being a bit nerve-racking. I followed your technique closely. Gradually heating the the lens spot, so as to avoid the crystal cracking from thermal shock...So again big thanks from me.
Thanks so much for commenting and letting us know your results! I am so glad it helped!
Oh no! I had to take a while. It's hard to type and "roll on the floor laughing" at the same time. So, you thought that the Seiko "hardlex" was something special? or harder than... I dunno, glass? I guess you know now. Sorry, I am not laughing at you or making fun of you. I am sure lots of people fell for that marketing story. Cheers, Great video!
Garbage quartz watch! Cool video