The battery in a not very expensive watch has died. I've tried to open the back of the watch - there is a tiny ledge that I can get a Stanley blade under - but I haven't succeeded in shifting the back.
Is there a secret to this? Or are some watches not intended to be opened?
They usually have 3 or more notches around the edge to unscrew them, using a special tool, e.g.
I usually use a stainless steel dinner knife. I think a Stanley blade may break and ping a fragment in your eye if you aren't careful. My dinner knifes are too blunt to do much damage if you slipped.
Oh, and make sure it's not one which unscrews (will have a couple of keyways on it). I've not seen one like this for some time, but they used to be common.
You should assume it's no longer waterproof once you've opened it. Even some professional clock repairers seem to say that -- often you have to send back to the manufacturer to fit a new battery if you want to retain any waterproof assurance.
You may find you can't get the back on again. I have a Calvin Klein watch, which I can get the back off and replace the battery, but it needs a watch press to get it on again, which I don't have.
Try not to touch the new battery with your fingers. If you get finger grease bridging the battery contacts, the tiny current drain it causes can noticably shorten the life in a watch.
Not on cheapo ones. Put on some goggles (in case the blade snaps!) then pry harder.
Andy
Irwin do some bimetal blades that are supposed not to shatter in such circumstances.
Oh, come on! This is a DIY group!
How about having a rummage in the socket set for a socket which the face of the watch will sit face down into, so that it's resting on the metal case, not the glass part.
Then find a second socket, of such a diameter that it will bear down upon the outer rim of the back, where the force is needed to press it into the casing.
Carefully place the whole assembly into a vice, and....
Well, you didn't actually want the watch anyway, did you?
PS: a work colleauge had a watch which he was very boasfull about. He was blowing hard one day about the pressure it could withstand. At our work, we have pressure controll equipment which screws onto the top of oil and gas wells, rated to either 10 or 15 K PSI. We have a pressure testing and certification facility for this gear. He was persuaded to place this watch in a length of pipe, and allow it to be subject to the claimed pressure rating. When it came out, it was, of course, crushed to destruction :-)
ROFL! come clean, he didn't know the difference between PSI and bars, did he!
reminds me of a watch brought in Florida rated to 50M, I went swimming with it and it filled with water took it back and they said 50M rating is only good for washing your hands, 100m would allow normal swimming,I have no idea what rating you needed to snorkel, these ratings are nearly as bad as the 2000w PMPO portable HiFi's running on 6 c size cells
I asked about this once at a divers shop - normal watches sold by jewellers et al are generally rated as 50M, 100M etc - this does not relate to the depth they can go to, rather the length they can be worn for when swimming, on the surface, at an average pace.
Take them a few metres down, and they will leak. Alan.
Yep, if at first you don't succeed, pry, pry again :)
If at first you don't succeed, hide the evidence that you tried...
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.