Adventures in Replacing Watch Batteries
2024-Mar-27, Wednesday 11:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chebeI've had a bunch of watches sitting in a drawer for years now. These are the ones that survived; loose occasion wear, and those with leather protecting the metal. (Strangely my skin rots the backs of watches.) They're not expensive watches, just mass-market fashion watches. But having given up the fitbit lifestyle a long time ago, I feel drawn to some wristwatch action.
Thing is, the batteries are long dead. Last time I brought them to a jeweller to get replaced they refused. So I'll have to do it myself. But what size battery? And to change them I need to figure out how to open them! Go go gadget research! Things like 'How to remove the back of a watch' by Long Island Watch, and 'How to Open any Watch' by DIY Watch Club, are quite helpful.
This really is the kind of thing you need to see to understand, and with both my hands busy I couldn't stop to take photos, so there's a video instead, if you're so inclined, at the end.
Turns out all my watches have the same back closure mechanism; pressure fit. Which means I just need to locate the tiny little tab and leverage it up. (Though in some cases I needed to remove the strap/s in order to access the tabs.) I found the flat screwdriver on my penknife was a good fit, just had to jiggle it a bit. Only one gave me much trouble at this step, but I managed in the end. Knowing I was going to have to reopen the watches soon I didn't bother closing them up.
Four of the watches take a SR626SW / 377, which seems to be a very common battery size. But the other one takes a SR616SW / 321, which is very difficult to source. After eventually finding somewhere that had both in stock, I ordered, and waited for delivery.
Once I could return to the watches, I had to learn how to release the batteries in each different mechanism. The first takes some time, figuring out which arm bends and which doesn't. (And I was very aware of the need to not touch the coppery coils.) But I got faster and faster with each one.
Then I had to figure out how to close them again. They're pressure fit, and if you have the strength in your hands you can just squeeze them shut, but I needed to use my vice. I used scraps of veg tan leather to protect the watches from the hard plastic grips, and cautiously squeezed. (I only show one in the video, because I was still figuring out the process with the others.) Then I just had to reattach the straps, and I am done.
Video bychebe
Thing is, the batteries are long dead. Last time I brought them to a jeweller to get replaced they refused. So I'll have to do it myself. But what size battery? And to change them I need to figure out how to open them! Go go gadget research! Things like 'How to remove the back of a watch' by Long Island Watch, and 'How to Open any Watch' by DIY Watch Club, are quite helpful.
This really is the kind of thing you need to see to understand, and with both my hands busy I couldn't stop to take photos, so there's a video instead, if you're so inclined, at the end.
Turns out all my watches have the same back closure mechanism; pressure fit. Which means I just need to locate the tiny little tab and leverage it up. (Though in some cases I needed to remove the strap/s in order to access the tabs.) I found the flat screwdriver on my penknife was a good fit, just had to jiggle it a bit. Only one gave me much trouble at this step, but I managed in the end. Knowing I was going to have to reopen the watches soon I didn't bother closing them up.
Four of the watches take a SR626SW / 377, which seems to be a very common battery size. But the other one takes a SR616SW / 321, which is very difficult to source. After eventually finding somewhere that had both in stock, I ordered, and waited for delivery.
Once I could return to the watches, I had to learn how to release the batteries in each different mechanism. The first takes some time, figuring out which arm bends and which doesn't. (And I was very aware of the need to not touch the coppery coils.) But I got faster and faster with each one.
Then I had to figure out how to close them again. They're pressure fit, and if you have the strength in your hands you can just squeeze them shut, but I needed to use my vice. I used scraps of veg tan leather to protect the watches from the hard plastic grips, and cautiously squeezed. (I only show one in the video, because I was still figuring out the process with the others.) Then I just had to reattach the straps, and I am done.
Video by
chebe
