Tudor 79090 Bezel Lost – Compatibility with Rolex 1680?

[kab-ger]

Hey everyone,

I’ve been wearing my Tudor 79090 as my daily watch for the past 20 years. It has always been serviced regularly by an authorized Rolex/Tudor dealer.

About six weeks ago, I was outside in the cold, and later that day, I noticed that my entire bezel assembly was gone – the bezel ring, the insert, and the tension spring.

I took the watch to my Rolex/Tudor dealer, who sent it to Tudor for evaluation. Their response?
“Nothing we can do – bezel inserts are no longer available, and we don’t have any other replacement parts.”

When I asked if the bezel ring and tension spring from a Rolex 1680 could be used (aside from the insert), the Tudor dealer said no.

This doesn’t quite make sense to me. I always thought the Tudor 79090 and Rolex 1680 had identical case dimensions and bezel construction.

Can anyone here clarify?
Would the Rolex 1680 bezel ring and tension spring fit the Tudor 79090?

Thanks in advance!

[jonthefisher]

I installed the entire bezel assembly from a Rolex 5513 on Tudor 9411 and since google tells me the assembles are the same between a 5513 and a 1680 it should work. That being said I initially was just going to snap the bezel on the 9411 crystal retaining ring. It was a very tight fit and was impossible to turn but luckily the 5513 set included that retaining ring and once that was installed it worked flawlessly.

I think this was probably due to tolerance stacking and I recall there was a tool watchsmiths could use to stretch or shrink the crystal retaining rings.

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by jonthefisher

I recall there was a tool watchsmiths could use to stretch or shrink ...

Yep. Contact your friendly Rolex watchmaker.

[Dom9]

Yeah, Rolex 5513 or 1680 will work, not the 1665 SD, which is different.

New 5513 bezels with inserts available, blistered, a couple even on ebay (but not cheap).

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326433033894

Would still need a tension spring.

Well... as long as yours is black! Blue is a quite different matter, of course!

Still, second hand bezels and inserts can be found easy enough!

[kab-ger]

Just wanted to say thank you to all of you who took the time to share your knowledge and insights!

for the sake of completeness: I have (unfortunately: had) a black inlay in my 79090.

I have also seen an original Tudor (black) inlay on the market. Now I am still looking for a bezel ring and a spring.
I would be grateful for information on further sources.