I've got a couple of watches that need new batteries, and during the pandemic prefer to mail them to a dealer who does watch battery replacements. Any that you've used and recommend?
Watch Battery Replacement
- Thread starter TinyTim
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Why not buy the tools and do it yourself?
- Thread starter
- #3
Because for many years I have had watch batteries replaced for $5 at the Watch Repair training program at the Community College where I teach. I'll continue to do that after Covid precautions are lifted and the training program reopens.
I guess that program was terminated eh? Bummer
I don’t know anyone you can mail it too. But I bet if you have a local jeweler in town they can change a battery for you depending on the watch. I’ve had some watches where the jeweler wouldn’t do the battery change so I‘m guessing it depends on the watch maker. It’s worth dropping it off though.
Of course if you are looking for no contact, through the mail only....
Maybe you can simply mail it to a repair center in town if you call them an explain you are not comfortable meeting in person.
I don’t know anyone you can mail it too. But I bet if you have a local jeweler in town they can change a battery for you depending on the watch. I’ve had some watches where the jeweler wouldn’t do the battery change so I‘m guessing it depends on the watch maker. It’s worth dropping it off though.
Of course if you are looking for no contact, through the mail only....
Maybe you can simply mail it to a repair center in town if you call them an explain you are not comfortable meeting in person.
Just out of curiosity, I googled it and came up with this: Mail Order Watch Battery Replacement - No further than your mailbox - https://www.dakotawatchservices.com/. They seem pretty expensive. My local jeweler will typically charges $10-15 depending on the watch and I get it back in a few minutes or can leave it and come back later if necessary.
It's a simple 5 minute procedure. You could wait outside.
Do you go to the grocery store? The risk is way less at a watch store.
Do you go to the grocery store? The risk is way less at a watch store.
- Thread starter
- #7
True. There's a small watch repair shop near me. No, I order groceries online for delivery or pickup.
I actually have a watch that I need to try a battery change on as well. And due to high-risk individuals, going out is something we are limiting as much as physically possible. Anyone have a good battery replacement kit they recommend? I actually suspect the watches movement gave out, as it's been replaced twice already. I would like to validate it with a battery swap first though....
It depends on your watch. The most difficult part on some watches is removing the case back. If it has a screwback case then a soft ball can often provide enough grip to unscrew it....often better than those multi-purpose tools that fit different case backs, which depending on the "screw head" shape and offset spacing needed can be problematic IMO. If your caseback can be pried open or unscrewed with a screwdriver then you should have a good chance of success. A small kitchen knife (one you do not care so much about) can work well to pry open a press fitted case.
You might find that someone has posted a youtube video of the process for your particular watch. The battery may or may not be trivial to access after you have it open.
Harbor freight sells most of the watch tools you would need... Case openers and also case closers and tool kits and magnifiers and whatnot. I bought most of my tools there.. I used to work for a watch company years ago and changed plenty of batteries and did repairs with basically the same tools l got from HF.
People pay other people to change watch batteries?
Interesting...
Interesting...
Well, I can only speak for myself. The places I've gone to purchase my watch batteries have installed said battery for free. Now, one could argue that I could get the battery itself less costly elsewhere, but the battery price seemed fair and I'm not always interested in finding the cheapest option available. So perhaps I "paid" for the extra convenience.
That being said, it is something that I've been wanting to get the tools for myself. Mostly because it's starting to be less convenient to get time to go to the places I previously went.
That is something that needs to be considered. I retired the watch I was using because the strap pin broke and I felt safer onlineing a new watch rather than take the broken one in for a strap repair.
Might be worth it for the pressure testing. I don't think that's something jewelry stores typically do.
I have a nice watch so it's expensive to get a battery changed. I was taking it to a place that did it reasonably (like ten or fifteen bucks) when every jewelry store wanted $50 or more.
After that place closed down I ordered a really nice watch tool kit (under $20) and batteries (like $5 for a dozen) off of Amazon and I do it myself now. No more waiting in line or dropping my watch off and having to come back and pick it up later on. With the proper tools, it's really easy to do and I have no idea why they charge so much for this service.
Some of the expensive places tell me it's because they pressure test it, but do they really? They are usually busy and I could see this step being skipped to save some time. Paying attention to the seals and replacing them when needed will avoid any leaks. If I was using it for diving then the pressure test might be something to pursue, otherwise I don't find it necessary. While I would feel confident in doing so, I don't generally wear the watch in the shower or the pool. I have worn it in the pool after changing the battery myself and it worked perfectly.
In doing it myself, I also no longer have to worry about the battery leaking inside the watch. I change it immediately when the second hand starts changing from 1 to 5 second increments to let me know that the battery is starting to decline. Much better than it sitting in a drawer at risk until I have a chance to take it in. I also don't have the inconvenience of being without a watch for any length of time when I can change the battery out in just a couple minutes.
After that place closed down I ordered a really nice watch tool kit (under $20) and batteries (like $5 for a dozen) off of Amazon and I do it myself now. No more waiting in line or dropping my watch off and having to come back and pick it up later on. With the proper tools, it's really easy to do and I have no idea why they charge so much for this service.
Some of the expensive places tell me it's because they pressure test it, but do they really? They are usually busy and I could see this step being skipped to save some time. Paying attention to the seals and replacing them when needed will avoid any leaks. If I was using it for diving then the pressure test might be something to pursue, otherwise I don't find it necessary. While I would feel confident in doing so, I don't generally wear the watch in the shower or the pool. I have worn it in the pool after changing the battery myself and it worked perfectly.
In doing it myself, I also no longer have to worry about the battery leaking inside the watch. I change it immediately when the second hand starts changing from 1 to 5 second increments to let me know that the battery is starting to decline. Much better than it sitting in a drawer at risk until I have a chance to take it in. I also don't have the inconvenience of being without a watch for any length of time when I can change the battery out in just a couple minutes.
I bought the watch case opener from Harbor Freight for the screw off backs. I bought a cheap watch repair kit and a press for pop off case backs from eBay. I probably have less than 30 bucks in the tools. I buy battery assortments in bulk cheap. I have changed a few dozen batteries for others. I really don't need all that junk...I wear a self-winding mechanical watch....lol
In New Jersey it's illegal to change your own watch battery.
Replacing the strap is much easier than replacing a battery. You don't even really need speacial tool - a pointed knife will do. You can find a wide variety of straps in the Internet.
It is just the pin. Out of alll of the ones that I have none are the right size.
But only at a gas station.
