There is never a good time for running out of battery on your watch, therefore you should change the battery before your watch battery dies. This is a job everybody is able to do, just take your time and be careful. Are you very worried about scratches you should consider taking your watch to a jeweler to get the battery changed.
There is two important things you need to know before you do anything. First you need to find out how the watch back is mounted. Most watch backs are either screwed in or have a snap-off back.
If the back panel is screwed in, it will have holes in the back where a special tool for screwing it out will fit. And if it is a snap-off watch back it has a lid where a tool (looking like a knife) will fit.
To make the job a lot easier you should remove the bracelet if you have one. This will prevent you from scratching the bracelet, but it will also make it much easier to get off the watch back.
To make the job a lot easier you should have a watch case holder, this will enable you to just focusing on the job and not having to worry about holding the watch at the same time. It’s also a cheap investment to prevent scratches because it prevents the watch from moving around while you are opening the watch back. If you choose to not use a watch case holder you will still perfectly still be able to take off the watch back, but just not so securely.
When you have got the correct tools for the job, you still need a new battery. Very often it’s just a google search and you find the correct battery. Most watch batteries are button cell, often 377 or cr2032, but you will have to either google search it, or just open the watch back and see what type the old battery is.
If there is a plastic cover or big rubber ring (o-ring) there it has to be removed. When you change the battery you should take a cloth or something else and cleand the battery depot very gently.
For the screwed watch back
It is possible to get these with for pins also, but this will do the job. The pins are made in plastic so you don’t make any scratches. You can also adjust the width so it fits perfectly in the holes on your watch back. Remember to use a watch case holder, often you have to use quite a lot of power before the watch back starts screwing out.
For the Snap-off watch back
There is an advantage and a disadvantage to snap-off watch backs. They are easier to get off, but not as easy to get back on. To get the snap-off watch back you simply just find the “lid” on the side of your watch. To localize the lid look around the whole circle until you find a whole, then insert the snap-off tool and gently push until it snaps off.
To put on the snap-off back you can normally just use your fingers and push it down. You should fill it snap in. If that doesn’t work you will have to use a watch press.
Wait with putting the watch back on a little bit.
There is no reason to put the watch back on and off more than what is required, therefore wait a bit and see that the watch is working before you put the watch back on again. If the watch back is scratched badly now is the time to change it, unless it goes nicely to the watch off course.
When your looking at your watch back anyways it’s a good time to give it a little cleaning.
