On Sunday afternoon I looked down at my trusty Luminox to check the time and saw that it was 11:46. Given the fact that I was starting to get the mid afternoon munchies, it wasn't dark, and the second hand wasn't moving, I reasoned that my watch had stopped. Drat.

Monday was a busy day so Tuesday I started looking for a watch shop and found one close that did replacements & repair on all dive watches. Nice little shop, awesome guy. Then came the surprise....

He called out from the back room and asked me how long the watch had been dead. I told him that as far as I knew, the time the face showed on Sunday morning. He brought the battery out and showed me that it was just starting to leak fluid. Had I waited any longer, even just a few days it might have ruined the watch. He thoroughly inspected and cleaned the internals, luckily no damage.

Once the battery was replaced and the watch pressure checked he brought it back out and we talked. He just had a client bring in a nice watch that had been dead a week. The battery had leaked and ruined the internals.

His advice: When a watch stops, especially one that is expensive or has sentimental value, get it in as quick as you can for inspection & battery replacement.

Bit of thread drift but is it just me or has the quality of all batteries gone to shit over the last few years. It seems like I never used to have leakage and damage problems unless a battery was left in a device dead for a long time. Now it seems that I get leaking batteries on a monthly basis and have had some good equipment messed up. What gives? Cost cutting or some environmental regulation/changes in the batteries.

I have one battery powered watch and I only use silver batteries in it.

All my others are autos now.

I thought watch batteries were lithium...and generally solid and not prone to leaking?

This is just another reason why I will only own solar powered watches from now on. My current solar Seiko keeps perfect time and charges with any light source.

Jim

I know that Duracell alkaline batteries are complete pieces of shit nowadays. They sometimes leak even new in the package. I won’t buy any of their junk anymore.

I'm in the thick of it. My father's stainless steel quartz Omega has been locked in a box for 10 years. Local Omega won't touch it, too old they say.

It's as plain as you can possibly imagine. Not worth a full rehaul at Omega but also the oy I will ever own an Omega.

Just scared of hearing what another watch repair might diagnose if it take it there...

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quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
I know that Duracell alkaline batteries are complete pieces of shit nowadays. They sometimes leak even new in the package. I won’t buy any of their junk anymore.

Even Eotech recommends the use of Energizers in their HWSs.

The Luminox uses Swiss Rhonda quartz movements.
They're around $30 for a replacement if it was bad.