Most watch bands, including Citizen, Seiko and many other brands are held together with cotter pins which look kind of like a hair pin. They are V-shaped with the ends flaring out a bit to make a little ball at the end. Over time, the pins wear out and the flared ends wear down and the pins fall out. After new cotter pins are installed, the band will hold together just like new. In rare cases, Titanium bands will fall apart even with new cotter pins. In this case, we can secure the pins with adhesive.
Why do the pins keep falling out of my Citizen or Seiko watch band?
March 12th, 2010Problems with your Citizen Eco-Drive Watch?
February 16th, 2010We receive emails daily about problems with Citizen Eco-Drive watches. We have tried to include reoccuring questions in this blog. However, if you have a specific problem that has not been addressed in the blog, please leave a comment and we will try to help.
The crown (winding knob) screws off the stem (winding post) on my Citizen or Seiko watch. Is this problem?
February 16th, 2010A crown is secured on a stem on a Citizen, Seiko or any other type of watch with Loctite, a type of industrial glue. The crown is likely to come off and be lost if it is loose. If the Loctite is not holding the crown on, we suggest having this repair done as soon as possible since it is cheaper to have the crown secured rather than having the crown replaced if it comes off.
The second hand on my Citizen Eco-Drive chronograph will no longer return to the 12 o’clock position when I hit the clear button.
January 26th, 2010When an Eco-Drive chronograph watch loses power, or has the capacitor changed, the chronograph must be zeroed out or it will not return to the proper 12 o’clock position. Refer to your Citizen Eco-Drive owner’s manual for specific instructions to zero the chronograph.
The setting stem (winding post) pulled all the way out of my Eco-Drive watch, what should I do?
January 26th, 2010Try to reinsert the stem into the Eco-Drive watch and pull it out again. If you cannot easily pull it out, and the watch still runs, it is probably fine. The detent (the clutch) that holds in the stem probably just slipped. However, if you can still pull the stem out, the detent is likely broken. If the watch no longer runs it is also likely that some of the gears are also broken, so you should have it examined by a reputable Citizen Eco-Drive repair shop.
One of the hands has come off the subdial of my Citizen Eco-Drive watch. It is caught between the hour and the minute hand stopping the watch. What should I do?
January 14th, 2010You should immediately pull out the crown (winding knob) and stop the Eco-Drive watch. This will protect it until you can get it repaired. If the watch movement keeps trying to turn the hands and can’t, it could damage the mechanism.
I have broken the winding post and knob off my Eco-Drive watch, it still runs so I keep wearing it.
January 14th, 2010The winding knob (the crown) has a gasket inside that fits snugly over the post (the stem) and creates a water resistant seal to prevent dust and water from entering the Eco-Drive watch. It takes very little water inside a watch to rust and damage the movement (watch mechanism). We recommend you have the stem and crown for your Eco-Drive watch replaced as soon as possible.
Can you buff the scratches out of my Citizen or Seiko watch crystal?
December 10th, 2009No, Citizen Eco-Drive, Seiko Kinetic and Seiko Perpetual Calendar watches have either a mineral glass crystal or a synthetic sapphire crystal. Neither of these can be buffed. Only plastic watch crystals can be buffed. The only way to get rid of scratches on a mineral glass crystal is to replace it. Synthetic sapphire crystals are scratch resistant but still can shatter.
I have a Citizen Eco-Drive World Time watch and the analog has stopped, but the digital part is still working.
December 10th, 2009On the older Eco-Drive World Time watches (Calibre C605), the analog and digital portions of the watch work independently and are not synced like the newer Skyhawks. If the analog has stopped and the digital display is dim, it may be a capacitor problem. However, if the digital display is bright and the analog has stopped, it is likely a mechanical problem. We can repair this problem, but it is typically twice as expensive as a capacitor replacement.
Why is my Seiko Perpetual Calendar watch showing the wrong date?
December 10th, 2009A Seiko Perpetual Calendar watch has a computer chip which has a four-year date sequence which will always show the correct date without manual adjustment accounting for the different months and leap year. If the date is not correct, the calendar needs to be re-programmed.