Bezel Upgrade in 3 Simple Steps

How to Change or Upgrade the Bezel and Bezel Insert of Your Watch (Applicable to Seiko Mod)

The three things you’ll need for a bezel upgrade: the watch, bezel with insert, and case knife

Changing, replacing, or upgrading the bezel or bezel insert of your dive watch is one of the most popular mod for a dive watch, such as those done in Seiko mods, and not without reasons: a simple bezel switch can drastically transform the look of a watch, and this mod is not difficult at all.

Check out our example below. It takes one bezel and insert change to transform an otherwise mundane Seiko SKX007 into a modern dive watch with a personal edge:

View fullsize

left: SKX007 with original bezel; right: SKX007 with blue bezel mod

See for yourself: even though it’s only change in one part, the whole effect is quite transformative. If you wear the watch with new bezel, you’ll be surprised by how many people think you’ve bought a new watch!

In this article, we’ll walk you through the tools you’ll need, and how to do this mod step by step.

Tools and parts you’ll need

• Watch Case knife

  A watch case knife is a tool usually used on pry snapped-on caseback. It has only one thin, but not razor thin, edge, and a handle to apply pressure with. It comes relatively cheap and isn’t hard to find (you can get one here). But if you don’t have one and you’re in a pinch, just get something with an edge thin enough to insert into the gap between the bezel and the case, and strong enough to pry the bezel off.

• Bezel

  Bezel is the outer metal part of the turnable ring. Different bezels come in different edge style (coin edge, knurled edge etc.) and different thickness.

• Bezel insert

  The insert is the colored part on the bezel. Different inserts differ mostly only aesthetically, but some insert, like dual time bezel, can tell you additional information on time.

• (Optional) Adhesive

  This is used to apply the bezel insert onto the bezel. Usually when you purchase a bezel insert, it comes with dedicated adhesive tape, cut to the precise dimension of the insert (which is the case of our inserts). But if that’s not the case, you can use some double-sided adhesive tape as replacement.

How to change the bezel and the insert: in 3 simple steps

This video walks you through the 3 steps needed to replace bezel and bezel insert:

1. Remove the old bezel

   Bezels can be secured onto the case by different means, like screws or by the geometrical construction of the case. But for most watches, including Seiko’s dive watch, the bezel is just snapped on. So what you need to do is to simply pry it off.

   To do this, you’ll need a watch case knife (if you don’t have one, you can find one in our online store). You want to insert the knife into the gap between the bezel and the case. It’ll take considerable force if the watch is new. For our dive watch, there’s a notch at 12 o’clock to make this easier. Push the knife in all the way and then you can pry the bezel off.

2. Install the new bezel

   This is as simple as pressing the new bezel onto the case. But be aware of one thing: depending on the construction of the watch case, there might be a click ring between the bezel and the case. If so, make sure the click ring is in place before you press the bezel in.

   Similar to the last step, it may require consdierable force to install the bezel. So it’s a good idea to get some protective material between the case and the working surface (a stack of post-it works well for this) to protect both the case and the working surface.

   Put the case flat on the surface. Press one side of the bezel in first, then press the rest in. If it’s done correctly, it should be possible to rotate the bezel now. If it is a uni-directional bezel, check also if the bezel turns only in one direction.

   (If you don’t have the finger strength to carry this out, a crystal press can help you do this with ease.)

3. Apply the new bezel insert

   Peel off the back of the adhesive tape, then align the 12 o’clock of the insert and the chapter ring, and stick the insert onto the bezel. Work the whole circle to make sure the insert is applied firmly onto the bezel.

And that’s it!

If you have multiple bezels and inserts to try out, feel free to repeat the process multiple times. Time to enjoy the new look of your watch!