Tissot T-Touch disassembly photos and instructions

I recently got a used (perhaps abused?) T-Touch titanium with lots of scratches. I wanted to remove the scratches, but in the process I decided that a complete teardown would make things easier.

So here it is. A T-Touch disassembled for ALL to see!

THIS WILL DEFINITELY VOID THE WARRANTY. I do not take ANY responsibility for your actions! (Although, if you do it very carefully, they'll never know!)

I took the pictures during assembly, as I was doing scratch removal. but I'll show them in reverse order to show the disassembly. So, um.. it will show the watch going from good condition to worse. :-d

I'll assume that you've already removed the band

Sorry, the pictures will start with the final polished product: The final product for me, but the first step for you.




Remove the back cover. To do this, just insert a knife blade or use your favorite snap-back remover.

Interestingly, the ENTIRE BACK of the module is DIRECTLY EXPOSED to water and any outside elements.



NOTE : :rodekaart DO NOT, for ANY reason, stick ANYTHING into that little circular thing just above the word "swiss". That's the pressure sensor, and it is SUPPOSED to have a gooey substance inside. (It's silicon gel designed to waterproof and protect the sensor)

Set the back cover aside.



There is a mesh screen glued to the inside of the back cover--this probably helps keep the dust away from the watch's sensors.



Begin Battery change instructions. Skip down to continue disassembly!

Remove the two tiny screws holding the battery cover, then gentry pry up the cover using a jeweler's screwdriver in the small slot on the 8 O-clock position.



The cover will come out, but it will probably fall apart into 3 separate pieces.



Here's the battery. It's a CR1632, somewhat odd size but you should be able to buy one somewhere for a dollar. You can pop the battery out by wedging a small screwdriver in the open slot at 3 O'clock.


You reverse the steps to install a new battery, but you have to be careful when u put the cover back on. The battery cover is DIRECTLY exposed to water, so the O-Ring seal MUST BE PROPERLY SEATED. Otherwise you'll end up with a dead T-Touch next time you wash your hands!

Place a well-oiled oring on the back cover, followed by the metal lid There is a groove/step in the plastic lid designed for the oring.



Then you can put the assembled battery cover onto the battery and gently tighten the screws. Do NOT over-tighten the screws! (It looks like somebody already messed up the screws on my poor used watch. )

END Battery change instructions.

Okay so you have this: How do you remove the module from the case? Is it even safe?? -- Yes it is!


But before you start pulling at it, take a closer look! There is a large screw-down ring holding it down!

Turn it with a jaxa-type case opener, and set the ring aside.




The module will probably stay put despite your efforts to claw at it. There are TWO tiny holes on either side of the module to help you remove the module from the case. One of those are shown here:



Insert your bracelet sizing pin tool (or maybe a paper clip could work?) and use gentle force to pull the module up. A lever action worked well for me. The resistance is coming from an o-ring. If it does not budge, check to make sure you removed the metal ring!

Once the module is removed, a large oring will probably fall out with it.



NOTE: When re-assembling, make sure you place the o-ring like the picture below and insert the module into the case. The module will "float" a little bit and it won't slide all the way back into the case properly. Don't worry about it, and give it a gentle push. You'll feel the O-ring expand and slide into its proper groove. Once the O-ring is secure, you can pick up that metal screwdown ring and secure the module.



AND, there you have it, the naked module, outside of the case.



And here is the empty case. Notice a notch drilled out at the 3 O'clock (9 O'clock from the watch's front) . This notch needs to line up with the slight bulge in the module's brown plastic. Compare the pics of the case & module if confused.




The three buttons are mounted in a cylinder with internal springs. They appear to use a novel way of staying put--something like a tapered screw assembled directly into the plunger.

The touch sensor is mounted on the sapphire crystal--I am not sure if this can be replaced. I do know for sure that it cannot be replaced with a generic crystal, and that a replacement crystal must be aligned perfectly.

WHY?

If you look at the module, you'll see two thin curved strips from 8:40 to 11:30. These "zebra" strips carry the electrical signals from the crystal's touch sensors to the module. Therefore, any misalignment of the crystal, or any dirt trapped on those zebra strips, will cause a touch-sensor malfunction.

The bezel is also removable. This requires brute force, so I don't recommend that anyone do it. There is a good chance you will damage the underlying clicking mechanism trying to remove the bezel.





If you are feeling adventurous, You COULD go further and disassemble the module. To do that, you have to remove the hands and dial. I didn't want to leave any smuges anywhere so I stopped here. If somebody donated a T-Touch I'd be glad to complete a REAL teardown all the way to its circuitboard. :-d

Some notes on removing scratches on this titanium polish:

On the back cover, I started with the stock factory finish.


But I wanted to give it a uniform brushed look, and remove some of the scratches.

So, I put some scotch tape on the back and cut out the hole:


And used scotch-brite (the maroon colored one) and removed most of the scratches.

Then I put some scotch tape on the back and this time left the center covered--and then I rubbed the outer ring with my scotch-brite.


I like the final look. I know it's not that pretty, but I'm going to use this watch as my "beater" anyway.


The end! :-!

YES, THE WATCH IS 100% FUNCTIONAL AFTER GOING THROUGH THIS PROCEDURE.


But I haven't decided if i want to put it back on its stock orange rubber band, or get some fancy orange color schemed band somewhere else... It will NOT fit a nato band properly because of the way the case is shaped, but it looks like it will fit any standard 20mm band. Maybe I can find a nice waterproof black leather band with orange stitching. How cool!