water proof watch battery

water proof watch battery

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Discussion

baldy1926

Original Poster:

2,136 posts

199 months

Friday 28th August 2015
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Hi
How much should i pay for a water proof watch to have a battery replaced and the watch resealed.
The next question is any recommendations where i can get it done preferably in east or central london
Thanks

Variomatic

2,392 posts

160 months

Friday 28th August 2015
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It varies a huge amount, often (and for no good reason) depending on the name on the dial. Seeing as it's one of the biggest myths out there, let's have another go at explaining the score:

When you change a battery on (most) watches the only seal you disturb is the back seal. this is usually a simple round O ring and its condition should be obvious to anyone competent -

Not distorted, broken, or stretched, and still "rubbery" = fine, can use again.
Kinked / stretched / cut or either hard or gummy = fecked, needs replacing.

So, a competent battery changer will leave a watch just as water resistant after a battery change as it was before he touched it because he'll see any problem with the only seal he's disturbed and correct it.

But there are also seals on the crown, any push buttons, and around the glass. These will (or, at least, should) not be affected by a battery change. If they are then the changer is doing something very wrong!

The condition of the back seal (still rubbery or hardened / perished)) will also give a pretty good idea of the condition of the crown seals because they're the same material, the same age, and been exposed to the same things. Glass seals very rarely give a problem unless they're disturbed or the glass is damaged.

Where it gets a little complicated is that the person doing the battery change has no way of knowing if the watch was leaking before it came to them. So, to guarantee proofing afterwards (as opposed to "guaranteeing that the proofing hasn't been made worse") it's necessary to run a pressure test. That takes around 20 minutes assuming the watch passes.

So, a "fair" price is the cost of a basic battery change plus maybe half an hour's labour (the time + a bit for the equipment) with a quote if the test shows that something like a replacement crown is needed to restore proofing.

For us that works out at a flat rate of £15 in the shop - brand makes no difference to that unless parts are needed. Bear in mind that most of the places that charge "by brand" will also charge extra if an original crown is needed.

Also bear in mind that we price for a deprived area with low wages and low rents - someone in the middle of London will necessarily be working at a higher hourly rate, but I personally wouldn't see anything more than about £25 justifiable unless you're having the "maker's service centre replace everything regardless" service which is nice but not needed to maintain proofing.


SVS

3,824 posts

270 months

Friday 28th August 2015
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Great advice from Variomatic (as usual) thumbup

dudleybloke

19,718 posts

185 months

Friday 28th August 2015
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It's not that deprived an area any more though vario, I was shocked when I found out there was a McDonalds up there now. Was only Tigers Den there back when I was causing mischief in my younger days.

Variomatic

2,392 posts

160 months

Friday 28th August 2015
quotequote all
dudleybloke said:
It's not that deprived an area any more though vario, I was shocked when I found out there was a McDonalds up there now
That's there for the tourists, and for the locals to stand outside the window drooling biggrin

Dicky Knee

1,026 posts

130 months

Monday 31st August 2015
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I have used Jonathan Geeves near Liverpool Street Station without a problem. I think it was around £20 for a battery change and they can pressure test as well for an extra fee.