The battery in my Swiss Army watch died. Now, the manufacturer of this thing purposely designed it be a lifelong pain in the butt and money-sucker: unlike most other watches, this one is designed to discourage the owner from easily replacing the battery. You’re supposed to take it to a dealer or professional repair shop.
Well, screw that. I managed to open it once before, then seal it up using a special jig I built. The problem is I don’t remember exactly how I did it.
I assumed there would be hundreds of like-thinking watch owners out there, and one of them would have posted the instructions and diagrams on the web. Well, if they did, I could not find them. All the hits I tried opened to pages filled with just ad links.
Can anyone out there remind me how this thing opens/closes? Thanks all.
(I’m not bothering to give the model number and year, because I’m pretty sure that all SA watches open the same way. If I’m wrong, I’ll dig out the details.)
The applies to my SA watch which has a plastic case. Look on the back at approx 6 o’clock position. There is shallow bevel cut in the the plastic right below the steel back. You insert a sturdy edged tool itno this bevel and snap the back case off. It pressure snaps back on after replacing battery.
Astro may have provided the correct method.
OTOH if a special holder clamp and “wrench” is required you will have to redesign and custom make them both.
If it’s all that much trouble start a journal with all the sordid details for future reference!
My watch is not the easy-off kind that astro described; it’s the type that spingears described, requiring the clampy thing. But like I said, I’ve managed this before using homemade parts that I built myself. I just forgot how to start – that is, get it open.
I mean this seriously. I really want to know, and I don’t mean to offend. How much are these watch shops charging you that you want to go to so much effort?
-Lil
Watch backs with screw down notched case require a small 3 point spanner watch case wrench and (preferably) a holding watch vise, to safely remove without scratching. I have removed these cases with a sturdy pair of needle nose pliers with end points small enough to seat in the notches while gripping the case, but the seating is not super solid and you run a high risk of scratching the back case or gouging your palm with the pliers if you are not careful.
I use the nasty (super cheap) 14.95 Indian wrench about 1/2 of the way down the page. It’s cheap and nasty but it works.
This topic pops up now and then, and the usual response is to suck it up and take the watch to a professional who can change the battery in about 15 seconds without scratching the case or goobering up the works.
Even if you do it yourself, you should still take it somewhere to get pressure tested (assuming it is a water-resistant watch), or buy some pressure testing equipment yourself. Otherwise you may find it leaks in the shower or whatever.
In my experience, I have to take my watch back to where I purchased it and they have to
Send it to Germany , it is a pain! It takes weeks and it costly.