you might need to turn it under water to give it a little clean, it could very well be grimey or dirty underneath that bezel. That's the only logical cause unless something happened mechanically.

 

That hadn't even crossed my mind, I will give that a shot a soon as I get home. Thanks.

 

Is there any mention on the owner's manual? On the BB, for example, says that the first bezel rotation is harder than the rest

 

I had a similar issue with my Pelagos. The bezel would turn perfectly fine until I was in water, then it would be really stiff. I actually wore it in the shower after I had been pulling weeds and got it covered in soap to clean it, and since then it's been 100% perfect. Never hurts to try, just make sure your crown is properly screwed down!

 

My LHD bezel was very stiff straight from the shop, until I cleaned it several times in the shower and it loosened up fine. It does however, stiffen up every time I take it in salt water, and needs well rinsing again. This was also true of my 2 liner. Tight bezel tolerance on a dive watch that can be thrown off by salt / sand particles is a bit of a basic design flaw IMO. Still love the watch though.

 

Tried quite a few things over the weekend, under water etc....did loosen up a bit, but still no where near my other watches. I think I will just use the bezel more and it should loosen up.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

In my experience, the new Tudor dive bezels (which are designed just like the contemporary Rolex dive bezels) are a little more sensitive to dirt and grime. I believe this is because the design is different from traditional diving watch bezels and uses close tolerances chosen to enhance feel. After swimming at the beach I notice mine is sometimes slightly more difficult to turn. Never noticed this with my other divers, or at least not as much. Fortunately a thorough rinse in tap water always solves the problem and brings the bezel back to its original feel. After several ocean swims - always followed by thorough rinses - the bezel on my 2-year old Pelagos feels as good as new.

Also, note that unlike traditional dive bezels, modern Rolex/Tudor bezels cannot be serviced by the end user because they require a disposable plastic retainer thingy for reassembly.

This is one area where I strongly feel that Rolex erred. They chose show-room feel over in-the-field functionality and durability.

 

In my experience, the new Tudor dive bezels (which are designed just like the contemporary Rolex dive bezels) are a little more sensitive to dirt and grime. I believe this is because the design is different from traditional diving watch bezels and uses close tolerances chosen to enhance feel. After swimming at the beach I notice mine is sometimes slightly more difficult to turn. Never noticed this with my other divers, or at least not as much. Fortunately a thorough rinse in tap water always solves the problem and brings the bezel back to its original feel. After several ocean swims - always followed by thorough rinses - the bezel on my 2-year old Pelagos feels as good as new.

Also, note that unlike traditional dive bezels, modern Rolex/Tudor bezels cannot be serviced by the end user because they require a disposable plastic retainer thingy for reassembly.

This is one area where I strongly feel that Rolex erred. They chose show-room feel over in-the-field functionality and durability.

To the best of my knowledge this is incorrect. I don't think Rolex uses ceramic ball bearings in their bezels, but more traditional click springs. I also haven't heard of Rolex bezels having a more tactile indent at 12 so that you can reset it blindfolded.

 

It could be due to the fact that the Pelagos is titanium and how titanium likes to gall. I've seen galling occur on more than one IWC titanium bracelets and it caused it to be very difficult to adjust. It'd suggest using the bezel once in a while to free it up since I know there's some resistance from people to lube or maybe even anti seize the bezel.

 

Awesome suggestions from all. The 12 o'clock indent is definitely noticeable and makes a different sound, really difficult to miss setting it right at 12. I do notice that both the SubC and the Pelagos have a similar feel when I press down on the bezels, almost like they have a spring underneath, so I'm sure something can easily get stuck down there.

That being said, I just happened to be wearing it today and its turning unbelievable smooth! Definitely a little more pressure getting it out of the 12 o'clock position, but after that its perfect! Guess it may have been something stuck under the bezel that was washed away when I rinsed it out.

I do have full warranty (2 years I think), I will probably get it checked out if it happens again. I will also be using the bezel more frequently to ensure this doesn't happen again.

THANKS!

 

I wore my Pelagos to the beach and the bezel locked up. I ran it under water and soaped it up and that helped. It wasn't until I rand floss under the bezel that it got back to normal.

 

These pictures from the Interwebs may also help.

 

This is interesting. I'm having the same issue with my one week old LHD. It hasn't been anywhere but work or home, no water, sweaty work out etc. Here's the weird thing. It's intermittent. Today for example the bezel turns just fine when I put my watch on. Now 2 hours later it is stiff and and when it does turn it's rough sounding and not smooth through the full rotation. All I've been doing is sitting and reading the paper. I took it off my wrist for an hour and now it's turns smooth again. I'm wondering if heat is a factor. I wouldn't think body heat would be enough to cause such a change but I have a Tissot T-touch and it has a similar issue. On summer days the bezel is immovable. Anyone else notice this phenomenon?


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I've had mine for under a week and I've noticed the same thing with the bezel, where it's a little stiff to turn and sometimes jumps or turns multiple clicks because I have to just more effort. I did notice that when I put a little downward pressure on the bezel and turned it turn much more smoothly. Perhaps I will give it a little soap when I get home and see if that does a little something.

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I had the exact same issue with mine last year. It would feel fine one day then bind up the next.

I thought it was my imagination initially. Mine seemed to be worse when the lume pip was at the 2 O'Clock position. The bezel eventually detached from the watch. I sent mine back for a refund after that. This all happened within the first month of ownership though.

So I think in this case I would return it to get it checked over properly.

 

well I ran it under warm water and took some soap and a toothbrush to it and it's definitely better. I guess we'll see from here!

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I have just purchased one of these and I’m having the same issue as everyone else. What I noticed was that the bezel was stiff to turn during the day but easy to turn in the morning. Currently we are travelling through Bali, which leads me to believe it’s heat related rather than water related. I’m aware ceramic has good heat resistance properties but it definitely feels like something in the mechanism is expanding/contracting. Thanks.

 

I experienced the tight, gritty bezel when I first bought my FXD. I initially fixed it by scrubbing it in warm soapy water with a toothbrush. Months later I went to the beach and the bezel became so tight that it almost locked up (presumably from the beach sand or salt water). This time, washing the bezel didn't work so I used an air compressor. Using one of those nozzle tools with a black rubber tip, I placed it in the space between the bezel and case, and blew out whatever was lodged in there. This eliminated the grittiness instantly and it has rotated smoothly since.

Not sure canned air would have enough pressure to work while traveling, but it's worth a shot.