Vintage watch crystals rejoice! Polywatch keeps you sparkling and unblemished
By Straight-Six, published on 1 July 2011
They say a person’s eyes are the window to their soul. So, we wonder here at Prodigal Towers, what does that make a person who wears contacts? Or bi-focals? Or someone who’s completely blind? Hmmm.
Now, if you inspected watches under the same light, you would find that while the dial and hands are the soul, the crystal keeping it safe from harm is the lense through which it can be viewed. And woe betide a scratched or less than perfect watch crystal, folks! After all, you’ve spent a fortune on your vintage piece or collectible Swatch, only to wear it and be slowly driven insane by the myriad of hairline scratches that now muddy your view on that gorgeous dial.
Yeah, many have told us how acrylic crystals are great because they don’t shatter like a sapphire crystal can. But here’s a news flash, folks: 99% of the time, sapphire crystals rule because they don’t scratch. Period. And recent convex sapphire crystals from MeisterSinger and Bell & Ross show that they can get all super-dome like the acrylic crystals of old. So there.
All this said, the obsessives amongst us have been wishing for a miracle product that can bring a new lease on life to our plastic crystals and allow the dials beneath to dazzle us once again.
Enter Polywatch. This special-purpose polishing paste works (like most other polishes) by grounding down the crystal thanks to tiny abrasive particles. The edges of the scratch marks are smoothed off and the cracks filled in with some of the original plastic from the watch crystal thanks to the slightly dissolving nature of the polish. In other words, your scratches disappear and the crystal looks like new.
And this is how you do it:
- Apply Polywatch to the watch crystal.
- Polish the scratched areas for 2-3 minutes using as much pressure as you can (you need to work that polish in, boy!) at a right angle to the scratches using a piece of cotton wool
- Deep scratches need to be treated more than once.
- Finally, remove any remaining Polywatch with a cloth.
Straight-Six tested Polywatch on his vintage 1665 Rolex Sea-Dweller that has been seeing regular use over the last couple of months, and the result is nothing short of miraculous!
The pictures speak for themselves, we believe, but it’s not an exaggeration to say it has transformed an only lightly scratched plastic crystal, and with it the entire watch.
This is a product that costs next to nothing, works miracles and rejuvenates the battered acrylic crystals on your cherished timepieces – modern or vintage. If that sounds like a full-blooded endorsement, it’s because it is one. Buy it.
Vintage watch crystals rejoice! Polywatch keeps you sparkling and unblemished
Fanatical little Straight-Six is not content only spending hours detailing his M3. Today he devotes more of his time to rejuvenating the appearance of his vintage watches. In Polywatch he’s found a product that almost makes him shake with excitement. It costs next to nothing, works miracles and rejuvenates the battered acrylic crystals on your cherished timepieces – modern or vintage. Turns out it’s time well spend.
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17 Responses to “Vintage watch crystals rejoice! Polywatch keeps you sparkling and unblemished”
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It’s a great piece, isn’t it? I’ve tried on more than one occasion to steal it from him but – for a small fellow – he’s remarkably good at defending himself. He fights dirty, of course (biting and kicking mostly, with a little spitting thrown in too) but who could blame him?
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Oh, there’s no need to even get physical. I simply lay my 12-gauge on the table whenever the Fool gets a little too close to the Sea-Dweller. It shuts him up quick.
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Jack
10 July 2011
It would still be worth it… Imagine uttering,’oh the precious!!’ with your last breath… Lol
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Boris
2 July 2011
Yes, Polywatch works great, I’ve been using it for year.
But I’ve found that another product works just great to remove hairline scratches: toothpaste. Not just your regular toothpaste, but the special, whitening ones, which are a bit more abrasive.
Well worth a try.
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Boris, had heard the same thing. But to be honest, I’d rather pay a couple of euros for a product custom made to the job.
Get me drunk enough, and perhaps I’ll try it…:)
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Boris
8 July 2011
Ha! Judging by the speed those bottles are getting emptied on each of the “Talking Hands” video, you should be ripe for this kind of experince soon.
I too prefer to use Polywatch. But I never travel with it, so if find myself away from home and one of my plexy watches get scratched, it’s a good alternative.
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Matthew
6 July 2011
Beautiful watch Straight…. beautiful watch…..Does your magic paste work on plexiglass?
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Thanks, Matthew. I does indeed work on plexiglass. Rub away…
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Simon
6 July 2011
Wow: that’s one hell of a watch. Maybe I could hold him down whilst you kick and we could then take it in turns to wear it on a weekly rotation? On the other hand, maybe I should just stick a superdome plexi on my red Submariner …
If you can’t get hold of Polywatch, Brasso or Silvo work a treat. I have been using them on plexi crystals for years.
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Simon, please refer to my mention above of the Prodigal shotgun. Yours too if you come at my SD..:)
But it sounds like you have a very tasty Sub – a red at that. And it apear that the correct crystal for your 1680 is the Tropic 127. The crystal on my SD is a recent Rolex replacement installed following a complete service and water-proofing. I was furious about losing the superdome that was previously on it for a few days, but the reality is I can now wear the SD anywhere…
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Simon
14 July 2011
Fair enough: shooting would be an entirely appropriate response.
Mr Red is already sporting a Tropic 127, as it happens, but I treated my 1964 5513 to a NOS Tropic 19 (with the original domed profile) a few months ago and I now can’t help thinking he would be a dead-ringer for a double red with a Tropic 19 in place.
As it happens, Mr R may now have to make a swift exit, as my wife has just spotted the 997 that I furtively acquired last week and is making a strong case for a watch cull to replenish the family coffers. (I thought she wouldn’t notice, as it is nearly the same colour as the departed 996, but it seems that my six-year old son shopped me).
Any takers? (For the watch, not son, wife, car.)
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Simon
14 July 2011
Thinking about it, I definitely want to hang onto the wife, son and car, but I could throw-in a free cat instead. He is stone deaf, smells like a blocked drain and yowls all the time, but he still has most of his fur and his legs work.
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You’ve whetted my appetite. Care to share some hardcore pics with us? Don’t hold back. Give us the goods…:)
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Simon
15 July 2011
The cat won’t sit still for long enough, so will pictures of the watch do instead?
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Stop teasing.
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Simon
18 July 2011
Find a dark corner: I have a couple of pictures! How do I get them to you?
Jack
2 July 2011
Man do I love this watch!