When I started teaching myself watchmaking, I was immediately approached by family and friends for battery changes. Given my lack of professional skill, I never asked for money; for the minimal cost of a battery and the occasional gasket I was happy to do it gratis for the experience gained. Until I couldn't fit the case back onto a Movado museum watch. I applied enough force to shatter the crystal and scratch the dial. That was an expensive lesson, and the reason I don't change watch batteries for friends anymore.
That happened to me last week. I had to replace the entire watch and was super upset about it considering I gave her that watch for free to begin with.
@@CATech1138 it was a snap back. I tried every die combination that came with the press, silicone grease... I agree with the general principle that if you have to force something, you're probably doing it wrong. I definitely did it wrong, but I still don't know what I could have done differently. Cheap Chinese press?
Was it a handheld press, like a nut-cracker? I hate those. One of the best 20 dollars bills I ever spent was a table-top vertical screw-down vice-press for watches! I broke a crystal myself once, before I had my press, and before the days of readily available internet orders for anything. I have seen people use the hand-held type, that looks like a large nut-cracker or a garlic-press, and I do not like them. When the back snaps in, your hand is still pressing, and the sudden snap can cause extra force that may break the watch. With the screw-type, pressure releases, as soon as the case-back snaps in, and it is done. You also get good control and enough pressure to snap the plate in. Believe it or not, straining to put on enough force with a handheld press can actually lead you into applying excessive force, and then bad stuff happens.
You are absolutely right, you have given valuable wise advice (as always), so let's see, raise the hand who has never touched a battery without gloves...
Good video. If I can, I tend to change batteries myself. Always had issues with jewellers/watch repair agents and my Junghans Mega 1000. Some won't touch them for some reason, others seem incapable of doing the job without disturbing/losing the two tiny unsecured springs that contact on the case back. The last time I had someone else do it (a long-established and respected shop I have used many times without problems) I was charged £14 and the battery lasted 6 months. Turned out they had fitted an el cheapo £1 Agfa 3V battery which would no doubt have leaked had I not opened the watch to check as soon as it stopped working. Needless to say they don't get my business any more.
I have a few quartz watches I stopped wearing. After they died, I removed their batteries and cased them back up without installing new batteries. Proper long term storage.
@@PpaStrmpfnah, you just don't want a dead battery in there, the reason being it is not unlikely for it to leak after a while, and the reason for that (if I remember correctly) is because the electronics are still trying to draw power from it and that causes it to leak...somehow, don't remember.
Pardon the repetition (I replied with this elsewhere), but one reply here mentions breaking the crystal, trying to force a case-back on, so I thought I'd add this for other viewers' benefit: One of the best 20 dollars bills I ever spent was a table-top vertical screw-down vice-press for snap-on watch case-backs! I have seen people use the hand-held type, that looks like a large nut-cracker or a garlic-press, and I do not like them. When the back snaps in, your hand is still pressing, and the sudden snap can cause extra force that may break the watch. With the screw-type, pressure releases, as soon as the case-back snaps in, and it is done.
I took my father’s Omega quartz watch (vintage 1980s I think) to my jeweler to have the battery changed. He said they no longer make the same batteries (Mercury?) and that it wasn’t going to last very long. He was right. After just a couple months the watch stopped. Is there nothing i can do? Dad was so proud of this watch. He always wanted to own a real Omega. I would love to wear it, but it’s silly to have the change the battery that frequently.
Hi Kalle very nice video. Cheap batteries is something I see so often, acid leaked into the works, parts eaten away from the amount of time the acid has had to corrode the works. So often it is also expensive watches Omega and Breitling, where the customer has gone to the cheap battery "watchmaker", to save a few Euro, but then has a broken watch which needs a fair amount of Euros to repair. But what also needs to taken into account is the correct height, I see so many wrong sizes placed into the watch, most often to high. It maybe only a 0,5 mm too much, but it can damage the dial when the case is closed. Seen it happen to an Omega Seamaster analog - digital; the dial cracked and needed replacing. High drain and low drain batteries are something else. Maybe an idea for another short video. Take care and happy Easter. AKA Britsh Exile
Hi Kalle, Swatch Irony Chrono is even worst in this regard... If someone try to pry out the battery without care, easily destroy one of the coil in the watch.
Well that explains the many 1 star reviews on Dutch webshop Bol with button cell batteries when they are used for watches!😂 Many reviews.. even with Duracell say that half the batteries came empty in the package and didn't work in their watch! I guess they touched + and - a few times too many or a little bit too long and drained the brand new batteries!😂
In 1995 my parents gave me a Tissot Seastar quartz for my 21st birthday. I've been wondering what maintenance I should do on it? I have changed batteries and case back o-rings but should I be stripping, cleaning and re-oiling anything to keep it nice?
I aim to have nothing to do with quartz watches, but end up having to change a battery occasionally.. im surprised anyone bothers with cheap batteries when the best batteries from cousins are available so cheaply compared to 1 single mainspring.
Great video thanks. Here in Australia they have banned the sale of small watch batteries to the public!! however where I live, we have no watchmakers and none of the retail stores can be trusted with my quartz watches. at the moment it seems to be still possible to get batteries from overseas but for how much longer??
Hlo sir, i am from india. I am a watch technician am i still learning watch making. I watch every one of your videos . May i learn from you . Humble request for you please support.
Ok, listen to a speed up of Megalovania on a watch repair video wasn't on my bingo card for this year. Not a crazy thing, just that I didn't expect it.
YES I KNOW . BUT JUST BUY A SOLAR POWER WATCH THAT CHARGE THE BATTERY WITH SUNLIGHT OR BETTER BUY A CASIO G SHOCK RETRO MODEL THEY CAN RUN WELL OVER 10 YEARS ON A BATTERY
It's a matter of calibre thickness. A coil cover can add that hair in thickness, that makes a watch a bit thicker. However, the days of almost paper thin watches seem over, so that is really not necessary anymore.
@@owenlaprath4135 the Swiss like to put brass coloured plates over their plastic quartz movements to make them look more expensive on certain brands so a £14 movement is installed in a £1400 watch.
I average 20 batteries a week and replace 4/5 movements a month and maybe 1 repair/service quartz a month. 1. Never use China made batteries and drug store batteries are just as bad 2. The worst is all the damage to the case and internals done by do it yourself changers-leave to pro and department store and battery shops are watch killers (the worst)!
Important is this: When a watch stops, IMMEDIATELY remove the old battery! I started changing batteries in DIY mode 35 years ago, when I found a store with $2 batts, that saved me paying $50 to a self-declared watchmaker-shop for putting a new battery in a $30 watch! That same idiot also destroyed a brand new watch-band, trying to fit it on a watch. I said then, I can do this better! I figured, OK, if I break it, I can still get a new watch cheaper than a "pro" battery change (competent watchmakers or any good craftsmen are RARE to find in this cursed country), but if I get it done, I saved a bunch of money, and money was tight! It worked. Now I buy them bulk for a few cents a piece. In the last few years I also found that Chinese branded batteries in general are now longer lasting and better than the two big names sold here in stores in USA, whether household AA, watch buttons, or other types!
![จบจนได้ ! | Black Myth: Wukong #007 [ตอนจบ?]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DSqvWndF0sw/mqdefault.jpg)
When I started teaching myself watchmaking, I was immediately approached by family and friends for battery changes. Given my lack of professional skill, I never asked for money; for the minimal cost of a battery and the occasional gasket I was happy to do it gratis for the experience gained. Until I couldn't fit the case back onto a Movado museum watch. I applied enough force to shatter the crystal and scratch the dial. That was an expensive lesson, and the reason I don't change watch batteries for friends anymore.
Not "for free" anymore indeed😉
That happened to me last week. I had to replace the entire watch and was super upset about it considering I gave her that watch for free to begin with.
if a can't rethread a case back by hand, i look for the reason
@@CATech1138 it was a snap back. I tried every die combination that came with the press, silicone grease... I agree with the general principle that if you have to force something, you're probably doing it wrong. I definitely did it wrong, but I still don't know what I could have done differently. Cheap Chinese press?
Was it a handheld press, like a nut-cracker? I hate those. One of the best 20 dollars bills I ever spent was a table-top vertical screw-down vice-press for watches! I broke a crystal myself once, before I had my press, and before the days of readily available internet orders for anything.
I have seen people use the hand-held type, that looks like a large nut-cracker or a garlic-press, and I do not like them. When the back snaps in, your hand is still pressing, and the sudden snap can cause extra force that may break the watch. With the screw-type, pressure releases, as soon as the case-back snaps in, and it is done. You also get good control and enough pressure to snap the plate in. Believe it or not, straining to put on enough force with a handheld press can actually lead you into applying excessive force, and then bad stuff happens.
You are absolutely right, you have given valuable wise advice (as always), so let's see, raise the hand who has never touched a battery without gloves...
I always use a pin, what I insert it vertically into the hole of the battery holding lever, and it never slips! I'm talking about the Ronda movement.
Thanks for posting this, all good advice. 👍
Good video. If I can, I tend to change batteries myself. Always had issues with jewellers/watch repair agents and my Junghans Mega 1000. Some won't touch them for some reason, others seem incapable of doing the job without disturbing/losing the two tiny unsecured springs that contact on the case back. The last time I had someone else do it (a long-established and respected shop I have used many times without problems) I was charged £14 and the battery lasted 6 months. Turned out they had fitted an el cheapo £1 Agfa 3V battery which would no doubt have leaked had I not opened the watch to check as soon as it stopped working. Needless to say they don't get my business any more.
I have a few quartz watches I stopped wearing. After they died, I removed their batteries and cased them back up without installing new batteries. Proper long term storage.
This is the way
If I'm not wrong quartz movements should not be long without battery?
@@PpaStrmpfnah, you just don't want a dead battery in there, the reason being it is not unlikely for it to leak after a while, and the reason for that (if I remember correctly) is because the electronics are still trying to draw power from it and that causes it to leak...somehow, don't remember.
Good points
Pardon the repetition (I replied with this elsewhere), but one reply here mentions breaking the crystal, trying to force a case-back on, so I thought I'd add this for other viewers' benefit:
One of the best 20 dollars bills I ever spent was a table-top vertical screw-down vice-press for snap-on watch case-backs!
I have seen people use the hand-held type, that looks like a large nut-cracker or a garlic-press, and I do not like them. When the back snaps in, your hand is still pressing, and the sudden snap can cause extra force that may break the watch. With the screw-type, pressure releases, as soon as the case-back snaps in, and it is done.
Great advice Kalle, thank you 👍😁
Hey Kalle. Thanks for “The Knowledge “
Would you recommend Renata batteries?
I took my father’s Omega quartz watch (vintage 1980s I think) to my jeweler to have the battery changed. He said they no longer make the same batteries (Mercury?) and that it wasn’t going to last very long. He was right. After just a couple months the watch stopped.
Is there nothing i can do?
Dad was so proud of this watch. He always wanted to own a real Omega. I would love to wear it, but it’s silly to have the change the battery that frequently.
Hi Kalle very nice video. Cheap batteries is something I see so often, acid leaked into the works, parts eaten away from the amount of time the acid has had to corrode the works. So often it is also expensive watches Omega and Breitling, where the customer has gone to the cheap battery "watchmaker", to save a few Euro, but then has a broken watch which needs a fair amount of Euros to repair.
But what also needs to taken into account is the correct height, I see so many wrong sizes placed into the watch, most often to high. It maybe only a 0,5 mm too much, but it can damage the dial when the case is closed. Seen it happen to an Omega Seamaster analog - digital; the dial cracked and needed replacing.
High drain and low drain batteries are something else. Maybe an idea for another short video.
Take care and happy Easter.
AKA Britsh Exile
Excellent content as always ❤
I changed a battery yesterday..lol
dont touch with your hands in the p+osoitive and negative sides shortcuating it.
You can’t go wrong with Energizer, Renata or Seizaiken (Seiko). :)
Muy buena está batería de consejos 👍
Hi Kalle,
Swatch Irony Chrono is even worst in this regard...
If someone try to pry out the battery without care, easily destroy one of the coil in the watch.
Thanks!👍
Well that explains the many 1 star reviews on Dutch webshop Bol with button cell batteries when they are used for watches!😂
Many reviews.. even with Duracell say that half the batteries came empty in the package and didn't work in their watch!
I guess they touched + and - a few times too many or a little bit too long and drained the brand new batteries!😂
In 1995 my parents gave me a Tissot Seastar quartz for my 21st birthday. I've been wondering what maintenance I should do on it? I have changed batteries and case back o-rings but should I be stripping, cleaning and re-oiling anything to keep it nice?
I aim to have nothing to do with quartz watches, but end up having to change a battery occasionally.. im surprised anyone bothers with cheap batteries when the best batteries from cousins are available so cheaply compared to 1 single mainspring.
Exactly 💯😂
Great video thanks. Here in Australia they have banned the sale of small watch batteries to the public!! however where I live, we have no watchmakers and none of the retail stores can be trusted with my quartz watches. at the moment it seems to be still possible to get batteries from overseas but for how much longer??
Sadly the Australian government has gone too far and for too long, Australia is a cautionary tale of government overreach and corruption.
Australia has become such a nanny state, can't do this can't do that!
My Orient Star doesn't have the copper coil, so changing battery should be easy, right?
Hlo sir, i am from india. I am a watch technician am i still learning watch making. I watch every one of your videos . May i learn from you . Humble request for you please support.
Ok, listen to a speed up of Megalovania on a watch repair video wasn't on my bingo card for this year. Not a crazy thing, just that I didn't expect it.
have a Seiko Alpinist 6R35A, which works 40 seconds a day
I've already left it under warranty 3 times and they don't fix it.
What do I do?😮
Interesting, what are some top battery brands?
Thank you,
Chris
I swear by Renata, but there are other opinions above here.
YES I KNOW . BUT JUST BUY A SOLAR POWER WATCH THAT CHARGE THE BATTERY WITH SUNLIGHT OR BETTER BUY A CASIO G SHOCK RETRO MODEL THEY CAN RUN WELL OVER 10 YEARS ON A BATTERY
Why do they almost
always put the coil exposed.
Many modern quartz movement coils are resin covered to protect them unlike the earlier quartz movements that could easily be damaged.
It's a matter of calibre thickness. A coil cover can add that hair in thickness, that makes a watch a bit thicker. However, the days of almost paper thin watches seem over, so that is really not necessary anymore.
@@owenlaprath4135 the Swiss like to put brass coloured plates over their plastic quartz movements to make them look more expensive on certain brands so a £14 movement is installed in a £1400 watch.
Whats the best brand? SONY? Renata?
Renata imo
VARTA batteries should be good.
I average 20 batteries a week and replace 4/5 movements a month and maybe 1 repair/service quartz a month. 1. Never use China made batteries and drug store batteries are just as bad 2. The worst is all the damage to the case and internals done by do it yourself changers-leave to pro and department store and battery shops are watch killers (the worst)!
Important is this: When a watch stops, IMMEDIATELY remove the old battery!
I started changing batteries in DIY mode 35 years ago, when I found a store with $2 batts, that saved me paying $50 to a self-declared watchmaker-shop for putting a new battery in a $30 watch! That same idiot also destroyed a brand new watch-band, trying to fit it on a watch. I said then, I can do this better!
I figured, OK, if I break it, I can still get a new watch cheaper than a "pro" battery change (competent watchmakers or any good craftsmen are RARE to find in this cursed country), but if I get it done, I saved a bunch of money, and money was tight! It worked. Now I buy them bulk for a few cents a piece. In the last few years I also found that Chinese branded batteries in general are now longer lasting and better than the two big names sold here in stores in USA, whether household AA, watch buttons, or other types!