Why time matters more than anything else
Water on its own is not the problem. What water does over days is the problem — it starts corrosion on the steel parts of the movement and on the battery contacts, and corrosion is the part that is hard to undo. A watch opened and dried the same day usually comes through it. The same watch left in a drawer for a fortnight is a different conversation.
So if yours has fogged up, that is the signal to walk in rather than wait and see.
How water gets in
- A hardened gasket. The rubber seal behind the back flattens and goes brittle over years, and it is the commonest route in.
- The crown left out or unscrewed. On a screw-down crown, one turn open is all it takes in the shower.
- A pushed button under water on a chronograph.
- A cracked or loose crystal, sometimes from a knock you did not notice.
- Heat then cold — a hot tub or a sauna, then air conditioning, which pulls moisture in through any weak seal.
- A back that was never closed properly after a previous battery.
What we do
Open it, get the moisture out, look at the movement and the contacts, check the crystal and the gasket, and tell you what we find. Some come back with a dry-out and a new cell. Some need more. Either way you will know before anything is agreed.
Water resistant is not waterproof
A rating on the back is what the watch managed when it left the factory with a fresh gasket. It is not a promise about a ten-year-old seal. If you swim in a watch, having the gasket looked at now and then is the cheap way to keep it out of trouble.
Bring it in and we will look at it
Every piece is different and water damage especially so. Put it on the counter, tell us what has happened, and we will tell you what we see and what we would do about it. You decide from there, before anything is agreed.
Questions we get asked
My watch has fogged up — what should I do?
Bring it in today if you can. Drying it out early is what keeps corrosion from setting in.
Can a watch that got wet be saved?
Very often, especially if it comes in quickly. Bring it in and we will open it and tell you what we find.
Why did water get in when it says water resistant?
Usually a gasket that has hardened with age, or a crown not fully screwed down. Both are checkable.
Will it be water resistant again afterwards?
That depends on the gasket and the crystal, which is exactly what we look at while it is open.
Will you tell me what you find before doing any work?
Always. We look at it with you at the counter, tell you what we see, and you decide.
Not sure we can fix it?
Send a couple of details and we will call you back. Or just walk in — it is quicker, and we can actually look at the piece.
Drop it off, shop the mall, wear it tonight
We are inside Orland Square Mall in Orland Park. Walk in during mall hours, no appointment. Most repairs are finished the same day and a good number while you wait.
Where we are
Julio's Jewelry, 800 Orland Square Drive, Orland Park, IL 60462 — inside Orland Square Mall. Mon–Thu 10am–8pm · Fri–Sat 10am–9pm · Sun 11am–6pm. We are also at North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 W Cermak Rd, North Riverside, IL 60546.