[northdock]

Picked up this 7546-5019 went to check the battery and turned hatch in the indicated open direction and it would not come off. Tried to remove case back by depressing the retaining springs, movement with back and crystal comes out complete. Is there a trick to removing the case back? TIA.

 

[rileynp]

Hi Dan,
It appears that your hatch is on 180 degrees from where it should be- this can make it very hard to remove it. Sometimes you will need to inspect the bayonet thread from the inside of the case back, to see how to coax it off.
To remove the movement from the case, you will likely need to remove the bezel gasket around the dial, finding a release lever above the stem area. Pull the crown out if necessary to present the lever in the most opportune position (though it might be most visible when the crown is in all the way, I can't remember). Something close to the size of a blue oiler tip is a good fit if I recall, you want to make sure you don't damage the edge of the dial with whatever tool you use.

Best,

 

[northdock]

Thanks Noah, I was afraid of that, now to check availability of the gasket.

 

[akable]

I have had this on a few occasions and in some cases I was able to easily rotate the hatch but it would just not pop off.

I have tried a couple of tricks and got a sticky substance like blu-tack and used that to lift off the hatch when it seemed to be in the right loose position.

I have previously also used a small magnet to lift it off in the same way but as we all know magnets and watches to not generally mix, so this would be a last choice.