Stem broken in the crown

[GenTLe 1,509]

Few weeks ago I asked if the gen 7750 stem fits the asia 7750.

This was because my 3yo daughter made my brand new Hublot rose gold - ceramic bezel (438$ used only one evening since then) made it to fall from a chair and the stem got broken.

 

The problems were 3:

1) the part of the stem protruding from the crown was like 1.5mm. And even with a brand new pin vice I have not been able to grab that tiny bit enough to unscrew it

2) the rest of the stem, still in the watch, was not protruding enough from the tube to be able to grab it and disengaging it from the keyless. Moreover the tube was too tiny to permit the use of a tweezer inside it.

3) the a7750 stem was 0.9mm, so tap 10. On cousins I was only finding tap 9 (1mm)...

Reading around someone wrote in the web that they have fancy measurement system, and actually tap 9 indicated at cousinsuk site was in reality a tap 10 0.9mm... I decided to try.

 

For problem 1I read on RWG cousin forum that the mythical Zigmeister suggested to leave the crown in the vinegar for 1 week or so. It looked a bit an abra-cadabra magician solution, but I gave it a try.

Well... After like 10 days the old stem bit was COMPLETELY dissolved, and the gold plated crown was still perfect!

The Zigmeister was really a wizard

 

Problem 2: well I had to remove caseback, movement holders, autowind counterweight and extract the movement carefully forcing the stem to bend into the tube... Finally when the movement came out I managed to remove it.

 

3: ordered tap 9 stem: got a 0.9mm one that fits perfectly after being shortened to the right length

 

And my Hublot is on the road again (and I am happy )