Whether it’s a gift or a family heirloom, watches can carry a thousand sentiments. As treasured items, we hold them dear to our hearts. Unfortunately, the years aren’t always kind to our timepieces.
From seized buttons to a flat battery, the good news is that many common watch problems can be resolved using our expertise. Take a look at our watch troubleshooting guide to diagnose your problem and discover how our instore or postal repair service can assist you:
“My battery watch has stopped ticking”
There’s nothing more annoying that glancing at your watch only to find that it has stopped. However, rather than let your timepiece linger unused in a drawer, it can usually be easily repaired.
In most cases, your watch will stop when battery replacement is required. The average life of a battery is around two years, although some have an extended life of three or more years. Depending on the type of watch you have, this is usually a straightforward problem to rectify — all you’ll need is a replacement battery along with a pressure test if your watch is water resistant.
Trying to replace the battery yourself can damage the internal mechanism if sufficient care is not taken. To avoid causing unnecessary damage, you should always seek a watch repair specialist to change the battery and ensure the watch is still water resistant.
“My second hand is skipping”
Another common problem is the second hand skipping several seconds. While this may seem like a major issue to the untrained eye, it is actually your watch telling you that the life of your battery is coming to an end. This is usually a feature of high-end watches with electronic circuits that detect a low voltage supply. A watch repair specialist can easily rectify this issue by replacing the battery.
“I’m thinking about replacing the battery early”
A battery can be replaced before it is due to be replaced. This is advised if you are planning to store the watch for many months and know the battery is approaching the end of life. Leaving a discharged battery within the watch for a prolonged period of time can cause a lot of damage to the mechanism and circuit as chemicals can leak out of the battery.
“The screen on my digital watch has gone black”
This can be bad news for a digital watch. A digital display is created by conductive fluid sandwiched between two thin pieces of glass. If the screen on your watch has gone completely black, it is usually a sign that this glass has become cracked or contaminated, damaging the fluid.
As you can imagine, the scale of the damage can be costly, although a reputable repair specialist should be able to fix it for you. However, because of the relatively low price of digital watches, it’s usually cheaper and easier to simply replace your watch.
“The buttons on my watches are stuck”
In some instances, the buttons of your watch can become stuck. While this isn’t a major issue, it is far from ideal. The problem stems from a build-up of dirt and corrosion in the button mechanism of the watch. When the button is depressed, a spring usually returns it to the original position. However, because of the build-up, the spring is unable to function. Lubrication may be required if no other parts are damaged. The usual solution for this is for a specialist to carry out a maintenance check on your watch, cleaning the components and potentially replacing the spring or button if necessary.
With the proper care and attention, you can ensure your watch is in perfect working order. Here at Babla’s Jewellers’, we offer a professional watch repair service. Specialists in OMEGA, Rado, Longines, TAG Heuer and more, we are capable of carrying out a number of repairs. Simply complete and print our watch repair form and send us your watch for a no obligation estimate.