This is a simple question that is asked of quartz watches very often. Does pulling the stem out of quartz watches extend the battery life in the watch? There are many sides to this debate, some claiming that certain manuals recommend it, others refuting this point.
Mechanically speaking, the crown in a quartz movement stops the hands from running, and allows them to be adjusted. Some movements actually disengage the battery from the movement, making it so the movement is not drawing power, while others just disconnect the hands from the movement, the battery still functioning in the watch, but the hands not engaged. There are even some kinds of watches that actually drain more battery when the hands are disengaged, due to the movement not having to pull the weight of the hands.
Now, while there may be some slight benefits to pulling the crown out of some watches, but they are very slight. By leaving the crown open, you also make a place that humidity,dust and moisture may get into the watch. On top of this, the shelf life of the average watch battery is not the greatest. If you wanted to store the watch for a long time, the best option would be to take the battery fully out, which also protects you from the batteries swelling or leaking with age.
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ReplyDeleteSo why have all the quartz watches I have ever purchased have the stem pulled from the factory and are not running when on display? The obvious answer is to save the battery until a purchaser gets the watch.
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