Wenger Watch: Movement Change Round 515

Due to a failure to change the battery in this Wenger watch, the movement coil has been damaged. As the price of a new movement coil was higher than buying a complete movement, I purchased it and replaced it in the watch. This is the process of how I made the change.

Introduction

It is always important to bear in mind that when we perform an operation on our watch, due to misdirection or bad handling, we may end up unintentionally damaging our watch.
In this case, it all started with a simple battery change. This watch has a time, and one day I found it stopped. As I had noticed it was working perfectly a few days earlier, I sensed that the problem would be that the battery was exhausted.

In principle, a simple operation that in a few minutes would be solved. Big mistake. But let's take it one step at a time.

The first thing, obviously, is to open the clock, removing the screwed back cover with the jaxa key.

Una vez abierto el reloj, deberemos quitar la bata plástica que ajusta la posición del movimiento dentro de la caja del reloj.

Once removed, we will have access to the battery, where we can remove it and make the change and that was the problem. The pile is attached to the body of the movement by a metal tab.

Due to a mistake I made when holding the tab with the clamps to be able to release the stack, they escaped and hit the coil. The problem is that the coil is a very sensitive component, and with a simple blow we can section the copper wire wound around its body.

In this case that is what happened to me, which means that the watch stops working. The problem was no longer the battery, but I would have to find a replacement for the coil. Searching on ebay I found some spare coils for this Ronda movement. The problem was that the price was exaggerated (several times the price of a complete new movement).

So, after searching on the internet, I decided to order a Ruiz Revuelto, a new Ronda 515 move and some batteries that I also needed.

So I closed my watch case again and just waited for my order to arrive with the new Ronda 515.

Replacing the Round 515 movement

A few days later, I received the package and proceeded to perform the movement change.

We started by dismantling the watch again. First we removed the back cover with the jaxa key, we also separated the back gasket to grease it before reassembling it.

Then we remove the plastic gown that keeps the movement in its correct position inside the watch case.

The next step is to remove the stem. In order to release the movement's stem, we have to press with the pliers on a small notch in the movement marked with a small arrow. We can guide ourselves with the following picture to know where we have to press:

Once the seat post has been removed, we set it aside to grease the crown seal before reassembling it later.

We took the movement out of the clock so we could keep working. The next step is to remove the clock hands. In order not to damage the dial with the hand extraction tool, we cut it out with a simple paper and protect it as follows:

Once the needles have been removed, they will be placed in a reserved area to avoid any kind of stain or damage to the lumen or the needles themselves.

The next step is to separate the dial from the body of the movement. The Ronda 515 does not use any screws to attach to the dial, but simply goes under pressure. To disassemble the dial, we must use a simple flat screwdriver to separate it. There are a couple of notches in the movement that will be where we must make leverage to go separating it little by little.

Then we must install the new movement. Round 515 comes already with a new battery and a stem.

Adjusting the date change

An important step is to adjust the position of the hands so that the date change occurs at 12 o'clock.

What we'll do is insert the stem into the new movement. Move the crown to the time change position and turn it slowly until the date changes on the calendar.  Once the date has been changed, the hands should be positioned at 12 o'clock.

Clock assembly

Once the needles have been mounted, we check that they turn freely without rubbing against each other and the date change is carried out without any problems. We remove the movement's stem again and proceed to blow a pear on the watch's dial to clean any hairs or fluff that may have remained on it.

We can help ourselves from a magnifying glass to check that there are no remains. We will also proceed to clean the back of the glass of the case.

Once we have checked that they are completely clean and lint free, we insert the movement into the watch case.

We insert the seat post back into the movement and check that it can be moved between the different clock setting positions.

We place the plastic gown inside the watch case, adjusting it correctly, leaving the movement in its correct position.

We should also grease the back gasket of the watch, this will improve the life of the gasket and the waterproofing of the watch.

Before closing the watch, we will check for the last time that there are no hairs or dust spots on the dial. Once checked, we close the back cover with the jaxa key and leave the watch in perfect condition to enjoy it for the next few years.

In short, this experience serves to avoid trusting an operation on our watch, however simple it may seem, since we always run the risk of damaging it through carelessness or ignorance.

The good part of the matter is that you always learn more from your mistakes, so the next time I have to change a battery (and with this move Round 515) I have to be more careful when releasing the battery from its support.