09 Aug 2014, 11:21
Well, to be honest, I've given up trying to do that. At one time, I was trying to keep some 200 watches working (that is, as the phrase goes, a lot of mouths to feed!). Even with a set of batteries lasting nearly two years, just sitting in the safe, I realized it was costing over $300 a year in batteries. So, a few years ago, I went through the entire collection, pulling batteries out of anything that wasn't lighting up. Now, I keep only a small group (mostly solid gold models, about a dozen watches in all), powered up for demonstration purposes at NAWCC events. And, there are 40 or so others, for sale, that I don't consider part of the collection, that I keep running (much easier to sell a watch that is obviously working, you see). It's pared the battery bill down to about $40 a year, which is at least reasonable. As long as the case is sealed, the modules are still immune to static electricity, and the "aging" of the electronics is held in stasis, so to speak...and, of course, there is zero chance of damage by leaking batteries.