How to Open a Seiko Watch

It's important to learn how to properly open the back of a Seiko watch. This knowledge is especially useful if your battery is dead and you want to find out what battery you need to replace it with. Learn how to identify which watch back your watch has, how to remove it and how to locate the battery and battery number.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Butter knife or any metal object with a strong, flat tip

How to Open the Back of a Seiko Watch

1. 
    
   Notice how there are no screws or notches. This is a snap-on back.

   There are three types of watch backs: snap on, screw on using screws and screw on using a press. This tutorial will be dealing with a snap on. Keep in mind that if you take your watch to a watch repair shop, they will unscrew the back for free. It is easy to take the back off of a snap back and screw on using screws. However, if your watch has little notches all along the edges, your watch has a screw-on back that needs a special press to remove it. There are ways to unscrew this back at home, but I would not recommend such techniques because you could injure yourself. Identifying a snap back is easy. If the back of your watch looks like the image pictured here or very similar to it, it is a snap-on back.

2. 
    
   Notice how there is a little lip on the edge.

   Look for a small lip or indentation on the edge of the back. You can find the lip up or around where the watch band is.

3. 
    
   Professional snap-back opener

   Use either a dull knife (emphasis on dull) or a screwdriver (see attached image for example). All backs are different. Some easily pop off with little to no effort and others seem welded shut. Remember to take your watch to a professional if you are having trouble. What you want to do is just put the flat end of what you are using inside the lip and try to pry it off. Hold the back of the watch down with one hand while prying the side where the lip is off with the other hand.

4. 
    
   Replace the battery.

   Once the back is off, check the battery number. The battery number is on the side that is sticking out when you open it. Once you know the battery number, you can go to any watch repair shop and get a new battery.

Tips & Warnings

• Take your time when dealing with tools such as a knife and the delicate parts of the watch.

Resources

• How to Change a Watch Battery

[train-man]

on 8/24/2009 WARNING: Changing a watch battery requires special tools and knowledge. You can very easily turn your expensive watch into a piece of junk that will need to be repaired by a professional at a much higher cost than the $10.00 it costs to have a battery professionally replaced. Trust me I know. :(