I wear watches,but know nothing about the workings. I tried to change a battery on my watch a couple of weeks ago, watchmaker said there was a bad battery previously put in. Having a little time at Xmas, I thought I would have a look. I expected to see a battery oozing out, but not so much mess, and no battery. I took a couple of pics below. To me it does not look as though the watch is written off (watchmaker said it was). But it does look as though there should be a positive terminal at the bottom of the battery bay.
Anyone bored to help out a novice please?..... Many Thanks.

 

If your watchmaker said that it's a write-off, I'd say either;

1) you need to find yourself a new watchmaker - Quartz repairs should be fairly cheap in comparison with a mechanical watch.

2) there's more to the problem than meets the eye.

I have no idea about Quartz movements but there are plenty of experts on here that can help. I'd suggest this thread is in the wrong place though and they may not see it - it should probably be under "Modern Omega Watches".

 

Thank you so much for your help I will give that a try...... its appreciated.

 

Based on the condition of the luminous plots on the dial, the smeared nature of the printing on the circuit board of the movement, and I think I see what might be rust on some movement parts, I'm guessing this watch has seen some water inside.

In addition to that, the negative terminal appears to be missing, so likely broken off or possibly corroded away from a leaking cell.

If you are going to bring the watch back to working condition and properly sealed, it could need the following:

1 - New movement (Omega and ETA have stopped selling replacement circuits)
2 - New dial - optional unless the lume is crumbling
3 - New hands (if dial replaced so they match)
4 - New case back seal
5 - New helium escape valve
6 - New case tube and crown
7 - Labour to do all the repairs

While I would not call it a write off, it will certainly not be inexpensive to repair. I don't know the value of these quartz watches on the secondary market, but keep in mind some of the parts needed are quite expensive since they are solid 18k gold. The crown alone for this model is a $175 item, and a new HEV is almost $300. It's possible the cost of the repairs will come quite close to the value of the watch.

If your watchmaker refused the job it could be because they do not have access to all the proper parts for this watch, or something else went on in the conversation that was not stated here possibly. It's foolish to say he was not giving the correct advice if we have not had the advantage of seeing the watch first hand and knowing what all the problems are. This appears to be quite is far from "it just needs a new battery."

Quartz watches are not always cheaper to repair than mechanical watches are - it depends on what is wrong with the watch and how available the parts are. Sometimes, as this example illustrates, the cost of the repairs has more to do with case parts required than with what movement is inside the watch.

Cheers, Al

 

Thanks for the reply.
You guessed it was a small jewelers shop. As this is of sentimental value, I think your advice is worth examining. Many thanks

 

Thank you for the information. I think they were my worse thoughts though. I think my best bet is learn from the lesson, and to start by getting it to a Omega repairer to look the next time I am back in the States.
Thanks for your help.