Best Case Back Opener Tool?

[bucko170]

I recently had my Breitling 9106 refurbished, the watch had damage on the front dial from leaking battery acid and was in an altogether sorry state, with the refurb' work done it now looks amazing and a whole lot better than I had dared to hope, (before\after photo's to follow on a separate thread.)

The case back is the press on type and it's quite tight fitting, I am scared of of spoiling all the hard work that has been done on the watch by scratching the case back when removing it for battery changes. I have a cheapy Hong Kong opener brought off eBay but it is not up to much, I have seen some for sale via a link on the forum at 'cousinuk' but they are quite expensive, are they worth the investment? Can anyone recommend which particular model would make a good purchase?

http://www.cousinsuk.com/catalog/6/0/14 ... 258#select

[digibloke]

I've had several case openers over the years and to be honest I think that the bergeon and horotec openers are too expensive for the job they do. More often than not I end up using a sharp solid carving knife (Global are good) to open press on casebacks which are flush fit. Don't try to lever it open just carefully push the blade edge into the join and roll it back and forth a little. It'll either pop off or give you enough of an opening to use the cheapo seiko style tool (usually has an orange handle) that you can pick up on ebay for next to nothing. If a caseback has a "lip" ot "notch" then the cheapo tool works as good as anything else.

It can also be an idea to put a little electricians tape around the area that you're opening just in case you do slip.

That's a great collection you've got there by the way - Looking forward to seeing the after pics of the Breitling.

[bucko170]

That's a great collection you've got there by the way - Looking forward to seeing the after pics of the Breitling.

Thank you digibloke.

I have posted the Breitling photo's on the forum today.

Thanks also for the tips with the case back.

[retroleds]

...More often than not I end up using a sharp solid carving knife (Global are good) to open press on casebacks which are flush fit. Don't try to lever it open just carefully push the blade edge into the join and roll it back and forth a little. It'll either pop off or give you enough of an opening to use the cheapo seiko style tool

Very true about not prying. Sometimes you have to start with a razor blade, push in a few places, then switch to the knife.

Using a flat diamond file, a few light swipes and you can make a definite entry point on the case back lip..