Battery replacement, repairs and other watch services

All watches need regular service and care to function optimally. 

Here our watchmaker has gathered some of his best and useful advice for how to best maintain yours.

A watch is often used for both every day and parties. As with other things you wear, the watch must be cleaned. Remains of skin, creams, perfumes, and sweat accumulate on the back of the watch. Worst case, a coating can form which can damage the metal; especially on the link joints.

Fortunately, most of the dirt can be easily removed by regular cleaning with a soft brush, such as a toothbrush.

If the watch is waterproof, it can be washed gently with lukewarm soapy water and a soft cloth or brush. Finish cleaning with clean water. Never use chemicals or other cleaning fluids on a watch.

If you are unsure whether your watch is waterproof, a pressure test should be performed by a watchmaker before cleaning.

Leather is an organic material that weathers over time.

Cosmetic products, sweat and moisture are factors that reduce longevity. Long exposure time in strong sunlight and heat can lead to bleaching of the color, that the skin becomes dry and loses suppleness. To enjoy the belt for as long as possible, these elements should be avoided.

Many different types of leather are used in the production of belts, and a number of leather cleaning products with different properties are available on the market. The watch manufacturers do not recommend cleaning with such products, but changing the strap when it is worn.

There are several different degrees of water resistance, ranging from a watch that can barely withstand a rain shower and to a watch that is intended for professional diving and tested to several hundred meters of pressure. Common to all is that the gaskets weather over time and weaken the watch's protection against water penetration.

Before bathing and use in humid environments, make sure that the watch is tight. The watch should be pressure tested once a year (preferably before the bathing season) to make sure that the watch's gaskets are still intact. When replacing the battery, you should also make sure to have the watch pressure tested. Most watch manufacturers recommend a gasket change every other year.

Clocks to be used in contact with water should be waterproof to 100 m. (10 atm.) Or more. The crown and pushers must not be activated under water (unless this is permitted by the manufacturer), and the screw crown must be screwed to the box. Remember that pressure and temperature fluctuations such as diving, sauna and showering, etc. are a great strain on the watch, which can cause dew and water penetration.

If dew is detected under the glass or other signs that the watch may have ingested water, the watch must be returned to an authorized dealer immediately to reduce any moisture damage.

Even stainless steel will oxidize in contact with salt water, and chlorine water can have an adverse effect on the gaskets. Therefore, the watch must always be thoroughly cleaned after use in such environments.

The best guarantee to avoid water damage is to leave the watch on when you are in the water.

Today's timepieces are accurate timers that are composed of small mechanical and / or electronic components that are in operation around the clock.

In an ordinary mechanical movement, approx. 1 gr. oil is distributed on the various lubrication points in the movement. This helps the watch run as frictionlessly and accurately as possible. With time the oil dries in. Normally, a mechanical watch needs an overhaul every 3-5 years. The interval the watch needs an overhaul is affected by how the watch is used and the environment in which it is used. 

Analog quartz watches consist of fewer components and often have longer intervals before the need for maintenance of the movement arises. A clear sign that the watch should have an overhaul is often detected by the battery lasting shorter than normal.

Discontinued batteries tend to leak and there is a risk that battery acid will damage the movement. Therefore, it is a good rule of thumb to replace the battery as soon as it is empty instead of leaving the clock in the nightstand drawer.