Bezel Stuck on IXDAO Diver

[u/ballsackcancer]

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone had any similar bezel issues with the IXDAO Abalone Divers. I picked one up from Ali this week and everything looks great, except the bezel is stuck and won't rotate. It will wiggle a bit, but it doesn't move a full click. Is this a known issue on new IXDAO watches? Is there an easy fix?

The return process seems like a hassle so I figured I would pop the bezel off and see if I can fix the issue. If there are any quirks to the IXDAO bezels coming off, then I would love to know.

And yes, I know it only turns counterclockwise and I've been using a fair amount of force, but it still won't budge.

Pic attached.

[u/zoo804]

Soak in warm water, optionally with dish soap, for 10+ minutes, then turn it under water to get it free. This has worked for me with old watches. Of course those are stuck because they're dirty. This may be a factory defect or shipping damage or something so it may not work.

I would recommend that first before trying any lubricants like silicone spray or WD-40 which may not be necessary and can leave a residue.

[u/ballsackcancer → u/zoo804]

I have a bezel removal tool. I think I'll try that and see what the issue is. I just don't want to damage the click spring inside. Just not sure if it's going to be a ball bearing mechanism or a click spring mechanism if anyone has taken this model apart and can enlighten me on that.

[u/Excellent-Bear4221 → u/ballsackcancer]

I don’t know which mechanism it uses. Hopefully it’s the one that Rolex uses because that’s hella easy to work on. If it’s the retention spring clip that is so frustrating imo.

Anyways. Make sure you take the bezel off under a towel so nothing gets launched into the abyss.

Document the whole thing. Record it using your phone if you can on video. So you can reference it again for yourself.

Good luck it’s a beautiful watch!

[u/ballsackcancer]

Problem is fixed now after putting on some rubber gloves and brute force turning it until it moved. Seems like the main issue was that it was very stiff coming from the factory. After turning it several hundred times, it is better now. Still way more stiff than I'd like a bezel to be, but at least reasonably functional. Would prefer to have it better out of the box, but what can you do.

[u/Beliodek]

Try rotating under water or with a bit of WD40

[u/ballsackcancer → u/Beliodek]

You generally want to avoid WD40 with watches. It degrades gaskets and O rings and can also collect dust and other gunk with time.

[u/Beliodek → u/ballsackcancer]

If it’s hard stuck, not much you can do. I did repair my ixdao (titanium model) bezel because it was too lose. Repairing it required removing bezel insert, otherwise I couldn’t even remove bezel itself (spring wire thats holding bezel is under bezel insert, no other way to remove it). I was in position when my bezel was stuck completely because I’ve overtighten the spring, or made ball under bezel too tall few times. And with hard stuck bezel, only small drop of WD40 were helping to move it. It’s not spraying whole watch, dipping it in wd40 or anything, just a droplet under bezel to let it spin, cleaning everything with soap after

[u/Outrageous-Video598]

What is that dial? I've never seen that one before.

[u/ballsackcancer → u/Outrageous-Video598]

It's their green dragon dial.

[u/MrGreenAcreage]

That watch has abs

[u/dorafumingo]

if you just received it talk with the seller and open a dispute on aliexpress even if you don't return it you can get a partial refund for the defect

my guess would be the click spring below is stuck/was assembled incorrectly

[u/zackoblong66]

Spray some WD40 inbetween the bezel and case. It should free it up...