Im looking for info about the ceramic inlay for the sumo.
I've emailed and asked, and got an reply saying that the inner and outer diameter was a good fit, however the thickness at the outer diameter was abit low, which you can see on the picture I added.
Anyone tried this bezel inlay, and if so, how did you find it? Im thinking of several layers of adhesive tape to make the inlay sit abit higher, like the original.
Was greeted by a nice little package as I arrived home today.
The bezel was well packaged.
The bezel shines quite nicely, mirroring the ceramic one I have on my Deep Blue Recon
Put it over the sumo one to get an idea on how it'll look, and I think it'll look amazing, just need to get some double sided tape.
The numbers are engraved (although shallowly, I suppose because of the thickness of the bezel, similar to my SAGQ007), and then painted.
Upon closer inspection of the bezel under a 10x loupe (I have a problem, I do this with all watches/watch related things I buy and in most cases it ruins the fun :-() I saw that mine came with a hairline smudge on the 5 in 50. The smudge was almost unnoticeable with the naked eye from a normal distance, but once you know it's there you always see it, however it was easily fixed with a needle.
Blasted both the watch and the bezel with my UV flashlight, and the lume-pip seems to match the lume colour of the original bezel/watch.
Even after 30 minutes it hasn't lost it's power and shines as good as the original, maybe with a slightly warmer greenish tint, will do a more extensive test tonight.
Just need to buy some doublesided tape that's used for bezels and with patience and a steady hand remove the bezel and replace the insert. I'll update once I've done this if I run into any problems.
Has anybody tried to attach a bezel using GS Hypo Cement? Have an entire tube to hand and it's thick so it won't run and takes time to set, also can be easily removed it it does get in contact with other surfaces
Small update, the lume on the pip of the ceramic one is OEM strength, after about 8 hours, in darkness, it still shone with the same strength as the one on the OEM bezel, and I couldn't tell the difference colourwise
I recommend whoever will buy this bezel insert to fit it with thicker double sided tape, and not ruber cement or glue or whatever.
The ceramic bezel insert is thinner, considerably, so that it will fall into the bezel.
The measurements I took might not be completely accurate but will give you an idea on thickness difference.
I tried filling the gap with GS Crystal cement, will wait till tomorrow to let it set and will see if I can fit the bezel back to the watch with the book trick without sinking the insert into the bezel a bit.
I must say that removing the Sumo bezel is extremely easy.
I managed to snap the bezel back on the Sumo after the Crystal cement set.
Again, it's not a good idea to do it with crystal cement or whatever you call it, and you'll have (I believe) much better luck with thicker double sided tape, or something similar to those draught proof sticky sponge things as they compress a bit.
There is a gap between the inner bit of the bezel and the crystal, probably 0,5mm or so and I believe that this will always be the case if you want the outer part of the insert to be flush with the bezel (at least using my method). You *might* be able to get it to fit better using thick double sided tape but I doubt it.
However, this gap is with the Sumo's original flat crystal, I believe with a domed Sapphire, it will actually fit bang on, and maybe even take a bit of the dome out of it, so it looks a bit more flush, but this will need to be tried by somebody who already has one and wants to give this bezel insert a try as I can't justify getting one right now, plus I'm not extremely comfortable taking my Sumo apart and fitting a domed sapphire myself at this stage.
All in all, I like the way it shines and looks, it's an inky black which plays well with the sumo's dark charcoal dial. It gives the watch a more sophisticated look and should've been one of the upgrades the Sumo received as part of the Prospex line update.
Had a chat with Damien about the ceramic inlay and the possibility of doing it for newer models.
Apparently it's really tricky to get the the double slope of the original insert done properly in ceramic. Still would like to see one on a Sumo with domed sapphire as I believe it will sit completely flush and maybe take a bit of the dome height away, he never thought about it and might try to see how it looks.
Regarding newer models, I was interested if he'd consider doing an inlay for the Shogun, however he said he'll focus for the moment on the more popular models (sumo, skx, etc) but it could be a possibility if enough interest is shown, so maybe we could do a poll at one point.
I'm happy with the way it turned out, even though there's the small gap, I think once I get my hand on a domed/double domed sapphire it'll sort out everything (hopefully).
I removed the excess crystal cement from the edges of the insert with a needle and a springbar tool , no scratches whatsoever on it.
In case anybody was wondering, I have no affiliation with Damien or DLW watches, and don't get anything out of this, just trying to get more ceramic options for Seikos.
Thanks for all the pictures and updating this thread! I was also interested in this mod and how to do it. I don't think it's for me but the watch looks so much better with the new insert!
I don't own a SKX/mod, but I don't believe the gap issue is even an issue with the SKX. Look at his instagram account dlw.watches or search #dlwwatches for examples.
The problem for the sumo bezel insert arises because of the dip at the inner diameter that creates two different heights.
My experience is the same: although the quality and materials of DLW are top notch, yhe design is a bit off. No amount of shims could fix the lip on the outer edge of the bezel, without ruining the fit on the inside of the bezel.
I had to grind off the top 1/3 of the bezel to get a flush fit. It was a lot of work, but it looks amazing.
if inserts aren't made to the specs of the specific sapphires (or vice versa, etc) i've always seen it as a crapshoot as far as gaps and stuff like that.
Also, not sure if you were there when the installation was done... but if you were, was there an issue with the ceramic bezel insert being too thin?
Like the DLW one is a bit thin, such that you can either install it lower to flush with the crystal, or higher to flush with the outer bezel. Does the yobokies one have that same issue?
Many of the posters here have bezel inserts from DLW and crystals from elsewhere. This FB video made me decide to pull the trigger with DLW but having them supply both to me. It will be a while before they arrive and the mod is done, but I will post results when finished.
The Turtle, and SKX007, seem to be relatively easy to make parts for. At least with the SKX007, there is a lot of product knowledge nowadays.
It is more frustrating with the Sumo though...
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