Ten minutes, and sealed properly after
A battery change should take ten minutes, and here it does. No appointment, no leaving it overnight, no envelope, no coming back on Thursday.
It is also a job that is easy to do badly. The case has to be opened with the right tool or it marks, the cell has to match the movement rather than just fit the hole, and the gasket has to be seated and the back pressed down properly or the watch loses whatever water resistance it had. Plenty of places skip the last part. We do not, because a watch that survives the battery change and dies in the shower two weeks later is not a repair.
- The right cell for the movement, not the nearest size.
- Tested running before it goes back on your wrist.
- Resealed so the case keeps its rating.
- If a new battery does not fix it, we will tell you what will before you spend anything more.
Walk in any time during mall hours.
What we actually do
A battery change is not just the battery. Done properly it is four things, and the last two are what stop a watch dying again in six months.
- Open the case correctly — screw-down backs, snap backs and four-screw backs each need a different tool. The wrong one leaves marks.
- Fit the right cell — we match the exact reference rather than the nearest size, so voltage and life are correct.
- Check the gasket — the rubber seal perishes. If it is flat or cracked we will tell you, because a fresh battery behind a dead gasket is a watch that fogs up in the shower.
- Reseal and test — the back goes on to the right torque and we confirm the watch is running before it leaves the counter.
Watches that need more than a battery
Some watches come back to life the moment the cell goes in. Others do not, and it is better to know at the counter than a week later.
If a watch has sat dead for a long time the old battery may have leaked and corroded the contacts. If the hands move but the watch loses time, the movement wants servicing rather than a cell. Either way we will show you what we are looking at and what it would cost before doing anything.
Chronographs, divers and smart watches
Multi-function chronographs need their subdials reset after a battery change, which we do as part of the job. Dive watches with screw-down crowns and casebacks get resealed to keep their rating — tell us if you actually swim in it.
Smart watches with sealed rechargeable cells are a different repair and usually belong with the manufacturer. Bring it in and we will tell you honestly which one yours is.
Brands we change batteries in
Any quartz watch with a battery, which is nearly all of them: Rolex, Omega, Movado, TAG Heuer, Breitling, Tissot, Citizen, Seiko, Bulova, Casio and G-Shock, Timex, Fossil, Michael Kors, Invicta, Guess, Anne Klein and Skagen, department-store and fashion brands, and the no-name watch that has been in a drawer for six years.
We stock the common cells — 377, 371, 364, 395, 321, 2016, 2025, 2032 and the rest — so there is no ordering and no waiting.
Screw-back, snap-back and four-screw case backs are all routine. Divers' watches with a screw-down crown, chronographs with a reset-after-battery requirement, and watches that need the hands re-set afterwards are all handled at the counter.
Resealing and water resistance
Opening a watch breaks the seal. We fit a fresh gasket where the case takes one and reseal the back properly, rather than just closing it up.
If the gasket is perished, the crown tube is worn or the case back is damaged, we will tell you before charging you — there is no point sealing a case that cannot hold a seal.
If a new battery does not fix it
Sometimes the battery is not the problem. A watch that runs and then stops, ticks in four-second jumps, or has hands that slip is telling you something else: a tired movement, a bent stem, a loose cannon pinion, or corrosion from a battery that leaked.
We test the movement while you are there and tell you what it actually needs before you pay for a battery that will not help.
What will it cost?
Is it a snap back, a screw back, or a screw-down? Has the old cell leaked and left anything on the contacts? What shape is the gasket in? And if a fresh battery does not wake it up, is it the movement rather than the cell? We put the battery in, reseal the case, and that battery is covered for a year. None of that gets answered down a phone line. Bring it out to Julio’s Jewelry inside Orland Square Mall, let us take a look, and you will get an honest estimate right there at the counter.
Straight to your question
- My watch battery died
- My battery died a month after the last change
- I put a new battery in and it still will not run
- My watch has a screw-down back
- Water got in my watch
Questions we get asked
How long does a battery change take?
About ten minutes at the counter. No appointment and no leaving it with us.
Will my watch still be water resistant afterwards?
It will if the back is resealed properly, and we do reseal it. The gasket is seated and the case back pressed down rather than clipped on and hoped for. If the gasket itself is perished we will tell you it needs replacing.
How long does a watch battery take?
Most are done while you wait at the counter. Watches with screw-down casebacks or heavy corrosion take longer, and we will give you a time before starting.
Do I need an appointment?
No. Walk in during mall hours and we will take a look.
Will my watch still be water resistant?
If the gasket is sound, yes — we reseal the back as part of the job. If the gasket has perished we will show you and quote the replacement rather than hand you a watch that is no longer sealed.
My watch stopped again a month later. Why?
Usually one of three things: a battery that was already old stock, a movement drawing more current than it should, or moisture that got in through a failed seal. Bring it back and we will find out which.
Do you replace batteries in Movado, Rolex or TAG Heuer watches?
We service quartz watches from most makers. For higher-value pieces we will always tell you when a job is better sent to the manufacturer.
Bring it in — or ask first
Walk in during mall hours and we will price it at the counter, in writing, before anything is touched. If you would rather ask first, send a couple of details and we will call you back.
Bring it in today, 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 many while you wait. Or send a few details and we will call you back with a price.
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.
Battery changes bring people in from every direction — Orland Hills, Palos Heights, Oak Lawn, Worth and Crestwood.