No More Watches Requiring Battery Changes

Automatic, manual, solar, and kinetic.  All available power choices other than those watches requiring new batteries on a regular basis.  The argument would need to be overwhelming for me to buy a standard battery driven watch again.  Why?

Several reasons come quickly to mind. 1.  The install cost of a new battery.  Often exceeds the value of the unit.  2.  Poor/faulty workmanship resulting in the death of the unit.  My SPF40 is an example.   3. Tossing batteries in the garbage...  a no no.  4. The unit is ignored b/c you haven't replaced the power pack yet... read that as 60 months.  

Anything missed here?  And no, my current battery driven watches are not for sale!

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The same issues are what sent me down the automatic rabbit hole -- those and the fact that the batteries always seemed to die when I actually needed the watch.

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JBird7986

The same issues are what sent me down the automatic rabbit hole -- those and the fact that the batteries always seemed to die when I actually needed the watch.

Yessir.  

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I  have only two battery watches.  Each has a battery that least 2 times the service cycle on my TAG automatic.  Replacing the batteries will cost a fraction of the service cost on the TAG.  That leaves Kinetic - about ten years between capacitors - and solar.

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I get it but because I replace my own batteries, reasons 1, 2 and 4 don't apply.

Also, 1, 2 and 4 also apply to automatic watches. 

1 (new battery install cost vs. mechanical service cost/ exceeding the cost of the unit part depends on the watch for both e.g. auto Orient/ Seiko 5),

2 (poor and faulty workmanship), and

4 (unit is ignored/ when the stem on my automatic wedding watch broke, it sat for 4+ months until I digested the significant repair and service cost for which it was due).

Properly disposing of batteries and waste (3 on your list) is definitely an issue BUT we seem to be greatly multiplying this issue every year. There are batteries everywhere in ever more disposable things. Why does everything need to be wireless requiring their own batteries now?!?!?

Ok, grandpa rant over.  Back to listening to my records on my 10 year old wired headphones while reading my emails on my plugged in desktop computer using my wired keyboard and wired mouse and playing games using my wired controller while answering my landline phone.  I trip a lot.

Sorry, this is all just me rationalizing my intense desire to get an X-33.

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Just changed a watch battery. It cost me around $2 and took maybe 10 minutes. Replacing the battery in a kinetic is an uncommon event, but isn't trivial, and with the right parts more expensive. I have not replaced a battery in a solar watch yet, but that should be easy.

Anything manual is more of an effort.

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I have a kinetic I bought about five years ago (mainly out of curiosity) and it really annoys me. It does not hold a charge well without lots of wear and you can’t charge it using the crown so you have to spend a bunch of time swinging the watch back and forth whenever you want to wear it. The rotor is also quite loud and you can definitely feel it moving. It’s also very thick.  I would not buy one again. 

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RandyC

I have a kinetic I bought about five years ago (mainly out of curiosity) and it really annoys me. It does not hold a charge well without lots of wear and you can’t charge it using the crown so you have to spend a bunch of time swinging the watch back and forth whenever you want to wear it. The rotor is also quite loud and you can definitely feel it moving. It’s also very thick.  I would not buy one again. 

Yeah, my kinetic was very noisy, and it was thick. I tried to wear it as often as possible, but then realized that taking it for a run really recharged that thing. I would prefer a solar watch.

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I thought about this before but did beg the question: how often do people service cheap watches when broken? 

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I think the rechargeable battery inside a solar powered watch will degrade over time.  Likewise, the parts in an automatic watch will be subjected to wear.  As such it comes down to a bunch of very complex questions of personal preferences, total cost of ownership and environmental impact.  Going on environmental impact, it is reasonable, if not necessarily correct, to assume a mechanical watch has least impact given the ingredients that go into a modern battery.  The trade off is probably that the quartz watch will have greater longevity given regular battery replacements. 
 

Overall, my bias is with purely mechanical but I wouldn’t underestimate the electrical watch given the complexity of supply chains for either (all the way from the earth to mechanical parts, battery components and so on).

Looking at the OP’s arguments, I agree the cost of having a battery installed and the case properly resealed can be surprisingly high.  I paid £80 for a battery replacement in a watch that typically sells for less than £200.  Yet modern batteries seem to last rather a long time.  For my old Swatch Irony, it’s entirely free (caveat you need access to a Swatch Shop so had better be living somewhere fashionable - never thought I’d see me writing that about Manchester).

So, definite mechanical bias with me, but I think the questions and answers are rather more complicated. 

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I’ve never owned a watch I could not replace the battery in myself with just a simple watch toolset off Amazon that costs under $20. Additionally I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a watch battery over $5-6 dollars. Just saying. 
Plus generally two years or more so not that often. 

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I don't know man...my GA-700SK is only one example of many watches I own that I am ecstatic to periodically change the battery...because the watch is so friggin cool! I mean I could just as easily be burning through the Tatooine desert with my R4 droid heading to Mosseisley for some drinks and a little gambling while wearing this horological beast!

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Internaut

I think the rechargeable battery inside a solar powered watch will degrade over time.  Likewise, the parts in an automatic watch will be subjected to wear.  As such it comes down to a bunch of very complex questions of personal preferences, total cost of ownership and environmental impact.  Going on environmental impact, it is reasonable, if not necessarily correct, to assume a mechanical watch has least impact given the ingredients that go into a modern battery.  The trade off is probably that the quartz watch will have greater longevity given regular battery replacements. 
 

Overall, my bias is with purely mechanical but I wouldn’t underestimate the electrical watch given the complexity of supply chains for either (all the way from the earth to mechanical parts, battery components and so on).

Looking at the OP’s arguments, I agree the cost of having a battery installed and the case properly resealed can be surprisingly high.  I paid £80 for a battery replacement in a watch that typically sells for less than £200.  Yet modern batteries seem to last rather a long time.  For my old Swatch Irony, it’s entirely free (caveat you need access to a Swatch Shop so had better be living somewhere fashionable - never thought I’d see me writing that about Manchester).

So, definite mechanical bias with me, but I think the questions and answers are rather more complicated. 

Well you guys have a cracking football team.

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I think I had at least two Timex models that boasted ten year battery life. At around that point a DIY type will realize it's because they use a big 2016 cell.

I have to say that I was truly bummed to find a dead battery in my cheapo Walmart pocket watch after less than half a year, but then I found out that some leftover cells from a Harbor Freight sampler pack would work, and I had like four of those. Generally the 50m and less water resistant watches can be popped open with a butter knife or just about any knife if you don't have the not-so-fancy case knife.

Of course the joke is that if the stopped watch were rivable on the spot when discovered, I'd still need a reference to set it. At which point, who needs the watch to work anymore?

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DariusII

Well you guys have a cracking football team.

We have two.  I support the struggling one.

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At the end of the day,  we all justify in OUR OWN MINDS what we already are bias towards or against. If you love someone, you'll easily overlook his/her million flaws. If you don't like someone, you won't be able to get past 1 flaw.

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I'm swinging back toward quartz watches for practicality, as resetting my automatics gets annoying at times. 

My Navigator has a battery hatch, and tells you exactly what type of battery to use. My Timex watches have four screws on the back, and also tell me what type of battery to use. No need to pay anyone else to change batteries for me. 

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I can understand your reasoning, and solar is one of my favorite movements for sure. However, I have a love of digital watches, especially vintage digital watches, so battery changes are a part of my collecting experience. I take care of most of them myself so the cost is not horrible, and there is a Battery Store near me for disposal of dead batteries. My love for digital watches exceeds any frustration with having to change batteries.

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With proper maintenance, a mechanical watch can last many, many decades. A quartz or solar, not so much. 

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This watch has been rolling for 31 years with only battery changes. Batteries last 1.5 to 2 years. Batteries cost $6usd for a 20 pack on Amazon. Takes me a couple minutes to change. Honestly, if you are paying someone to change a battery, you’re just throwing your money away.

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If we change our own batteries, recycle the old, and trust the final product, then most hurdles are met.  Outstanding.  My kinetic has a 4 year shelf life after a full charge.  The capacitor will eventually need service. Same story with my citizen eco charge.  However, my 48 year old seiko DX, never opened/serviced still works well. I expect 2 decades from my orient kamasu.  My dad's WW2 watch still limps along (a mechanical that I want to restore) .  Yes, quartz and hybrids are fine, but mechanical watches seem to have them beat at all turns.  And automatic and mechanical watches seem to have a soul.  Silly, yes. But I think most of you would agree. 

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edjmiller

With proper maintenance, a mechanical watch can last many, many decades. A quartz or solar, not so much. 

I got my first Seiko quartz watch in 1988, and bought a few more over the years. They may be banged up, but every single one is running just fine. I think in the end the limiting factor will be parts availability, no matter what type of watch you own.

My first mechanical watch (Vostok), died on me after 2 years, and a repair did just not make sense economically.