Watch Case Opener

You go to a jeweler to have your watch battery changed: Ka-ching!, that'll be $15-$25.

Why not do it yourself?

Below, excerpts from David Titzer's review of the Pittsburgh Watch Case Opener, published yesterday in Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools, edited by Oliver Hulland.

Watch battery replacement is not a dark art, left only to hunched-over jewelers. Most watches I owned had a small notch between the case and the back where you could pry off the back and access the battery. A tedious operation, but anybody could do it.

But this tool isn’t for those watches. This tool is for a watch with a back that screws on.

For years, I took my Citizen watch to a jeweler and paid a little bit of money to get a new battery installed. I was not aware that this magic tool was this easy to use and affordable.

This case opener tool works with watch backs that have even or odd spaced notches, and has an assortment of tips to fit differently-shaped notches. Simply fit the appropriate tips into the tool, adjust for the number and spacing of the notches, press the tool down into the notches, and turn. It's surprisingly easy.

The last time I tried to get my battery replaced, some jewelers said they didn't have this tool, and one told me his was broken. It took me a few shop visits to find somebody who had one.

$7.