Can you Replace the Glass on a Rolex? [Complete Guide]
Back in the day, Rolex used plexiglass crystals for its watches. Compared to other watch brands, Rolex was late to change to sapphire crystal. Today, sapphire crystal is the standard type of crystal for almost all watch brands due to its superior scratch-resistant properties. Sapphire crystal is extremely hard and does therefore not scratch easily.
However, that is not to say that sapphire crystal cannot be scratched. If it is knocked against a hard surface, it may get scratched. The edges of the crystal may be chipped from a hard knock and in the worst case, the crystal can shatter, for example, if the watch is dropped on a stone floor. Scratches are more common than completely shattered crystals. But regardless if your crystal has a scratch or has shattered, you may be wondering if it is possible to replace the glass on a Rolex. The good news is that the answer is yes. And it’s usually not a very costly or difficult operation. Let’s go through everything you need to know.
Change from plexiglass to sapphire crystal
Rolex, like all other watch companies, used plexiglass crystals in its early days. It wasn’t until the 1970s that Rolex began using sapphire crystals for its watches. The first Rolex watch to use a sapphire crystal was a quartz watch reference 5100, powered by a Beta 21 quartz movement. This watch was introduced in 1970. In the following years, Rolex started to introduce the sapphire crystal to more and more of its watches. Today, Rolex uses sapphire crystals for all of its watches due to their exceptional scratch-resistant properties.
Plexiglass crystals have the benefit of being cheap to make and not shatter. The issue, however, is that plexiglass crystals will scratch very easily. In fact, it is inevitable. If you’re just wearing your watch under a cuff, the cuff will likely result in small micro-scratches. And so over time, you can imagine that a plexiglass crystal will develop a lot of scratches. The good news is that it is relatively easy to polish a plexiglass crystal.
Polishing a Rolex plexiglass crystal
If you have an older Rolex watch with a plexiglass crystal, it is relatively easy to polish it and bring it back to life. The easiest way to polish a Rolex plexiglass crystal is to buy a tube of Polywatch, apply a small drop, and then carefully polish it with a cloth. Polywatch is a polishing cream specifically made for plexiglass watch crystals and works extremely well.
If your plexiglass is broken and has cracked, don’t worry. You can relatively easily have the crystal changed. Unless you are experienced, we wouldn’t recommend doing it yourself as you need the correct tools and don’t want to risk damaging the watch. However, it’s an easy fix for a watchmaker and since plexiglass crystals are quite cheap, it will not be an expensive repair.
If you feel that your plexiglass crystal is scratched beyond repair and has big, deep scratches, you can also decide to change it as well.
Replacing Rolex crystal
The biggest issue is when a sapphire crystal shatters. The shattered crystal will cause many tiny pieces of glass that can scratch the dial but also find their way into the movement. The problem with this is that when a sapphire crystal shatters, the watch needs to be completely disassembled, including the movement.
This is to ensure that all tiny parts of the glass are removed and do not interfere with the proper functioning of the movement. Because of this, replacing a shattered Rolex sapphire crystal is a more expensive fix since it always includes a complete service of the movement. This means that the repair will cost several hundred dollars. You can expect a cost of around $600-900 depending on where you have it repaired and the severity of the damage (assuming nothing else has broken).
Replacing a Rolex crystal that hasn’t shattered
If you just have a Rolex with a sapphire crystal that hasn’t shattered but only gotten a scratch, the solution is much more simple. In this case, the watch does not need to be completely disassembled which makes the operation much easier and less time-consuming.
If the scratch on your crystal annoys you, you can have a watchmaker change it. The best recommendation is that you visit an official Rolex service center/watchmaker as they will likely have the correct crystals for your watch in stock, plus the required tools and expertise. Most independent watchmakers will however be able to help you change the crystal.
Can you polish Rolex sapphire crystal?
The short answer is no. Sapphire crystal is extremely hard and therefore, the sapphire crystal on your Rolex cannot be polished. Instead, you need to replace the crystal if it has scratches and it is something that annoys you. If you just have a small scratch, then you may not think too much about it or even care. But if you have multiple scratches and find it annoying, you can take your watch to a watchmaker, preferably an official Rolex service center and they will be able to assist you to replace it with a new one.
Rolex sapphire crystals are extremely difficult to scratch
The thing with sapphire crystals is that they are extremely hard and thus extremely difficult to scratch. Sapphire crystal ranks 9 on the Mohs hardness scale, whilst diamonds rank 10. As such, it is one of the hardest materials in the world.
However, with that said, this doesn’t mean that sapphire crystal cannot be scratched. If you accidentally knock it against a hard object like a stone or hit the edge of the crystal against metal, it may scratch or chip the crystal.
The big issue is that, whilst sapphire crystal is extremely hard, it can shatter and cause thousands of tiny shards. If you accidentally drop the watch on a hard surface, there is a great risk that this will happen.
Thankfully, it is rare that this happens and if you just accidentally knock the watch on something, the risk is very low that it will shatter.
Can you replace the crystal on a Rolex?
The bottom line is yes. You can absolutely replace the crystal on a Rolex, regardless if you have a sapphire crystal or an acrylic crystal. Now, we wouldn’t advise you to do it yourself since you need the proper crystal, the correct tools, and the know-how. But if you want to change the crystal, you can take it to a professional matchmaker and they will be able to assist. Changing the crystal on your Rolex, assuming that it hasn’t shattered, is also quite affordable. You can expect a cost of around €$100 to $300.
