If you’ve chosen a watch with a battery, you should keep track of how long that battery will last. If you think there is a set time when a battery just automatically dies, think again. Lots of factors go into determining how long a watch battery lasts, and the final number is affected by dozens of things. That being said, most new watches have batteries that will last up to two years, with batteries in older watches lasting 14 to 18 months. Of course, as with other products on the market, the battery life is affected by factors such as how many fancy features it has, any water damage or corrosion it may have suffered, and the age of the watch.
You should also keep in mind that some watches, such as the Diesel brand, have more than one battery inside of them, and this can directly affect the life span of the watch. In addition to all of this, there are different types of batteries, and this also affects the life of these batteries. The new lithium-ion batteries, for example, boast the ability to last for five years or longer. By contrast, if the battery in your watch lasts less than 12 months, there might be something wrong with the movement, so you should have that feature checked out by a professional.
7 Signs Your Watch Needs a New Battery
If you can’t remember when you bought your watch battery, do not worry because your watch will tell you when the battery needs to be replaced. How? By doing things it doesn’t normally do, and once you learn what these things are, you’ll know immediately that you need to run out and buy a new watch battery. Whether you replace it yourself or trust the job to a professional, you need to be familiar with the signs that indicate you might need a new battery for your watch, and below are some of those signs.
1. The Watch Stops Working Altogether
Sometimes, the watch gives you no indication that it needs a new battery – until it just stops working! If you bring the watch to a watch repair person, they’ll automatically check the battery before doing anything else. While some watches will “act funny” before they stop working completely, other watches won’t, so their stopping suddenly may surprise you. Nevertheless, if your watch stops working, it’s very likely that it’s because the battery has finally died.
2. The Second Hand Freezes up or Jumps
If the second hand on your watch jumps ahead a few seconds on a regular basis, or it just freezes up and is no longer working, this could indicate that you need a new battery for your watch. Watch batteries can do funny things when they’re in the process of going bad, and they’ll continue doing those things until they die out completely. If you can catch this type of problem before the watch stops completely, you can keep your watch going and you won’t have to worry about the battery corroding when it’s inside of the watch case.
3. You Notice Moisture in the Case
In case you don’t already know this, the case of a watch has tons of delicate, intricate parts that all work together to provide perfect timing, and if moisture gets inside of that case, it will eventually kill the battery. Any type of moisture or condensation is dangerous to those parts, and it may require that you take the watch to a professional technician. Watches are mechanical objects, and every one of the mechanical parts needs to work right for the watch to work properly. Moisture is a sure-fire way to need a new watch battery eventually.
4. The Watch Doesn’t Keep the Correct Time
If your watch isn’t keeping the right time, it is usually a sign of the battery needing to be replaced. Many watches will run too fast or too slow, and sometimes, the minute hand will actually tick backward before moving forward. This being said, there are other reasons for this to happen, such as gears in a quartz watch wearing out and a mechanical watch that needs the jewels, shaft pivots, and springs rebalanced. These things are rare, however, because in most of these cases, the battery is the culprit.
5. It’s Hard to Adjust the Date or Time
The crown of a watch is the tiny button on the right-hand side that allows you to adjust the time and date, and when you’re trying to do that and it’s just not working, it could be your battery. After all, the battery is what provides the power to your watch and helps it function, and with no power from the battery, you can’t do all of the things you want to do with your watch, including setting the time or date. If you have a mechanical watch, it could be something besides the battery, but the battery will be the problem most of the time.
6. The Case of Your Watch Is Making Noise
Sometimes, you can hear rattling or other noises inside of your watch, and this is never a good thing. When the battery isn’t working properly, even the movement of the hands of your watch can be affected, and you’ll often hear them working incorrectly in the form of rattling. If you hear any type of rattling noise coming out of your watch, it’s imperative that you bring it to a technician as soon as possible. This could be a sign of much more serious problems and not the battery, so getting it to the pros as quickly as possible is important.
7. Your Watch Is Doing Strange Things
Every watch is different, and you know yours better than anybody. If it starts doing strange things that you know aren’t right, for example, working part of the time and stopping for long periods of time, it’s time to get your watch to a watch technician. While it is likely the battery causing it to do these things, that isn’t always the case, and only a repair person will know for sure.
