Cheap quartz watch dial stuck/pressed in?

[fraps8]

I offered to switch out the battery on my friends quartz watch since it had died (the seconds hand was ticking in place) 

I replaced the battery and still nothing. So i thought I'd take out the movement to get a closer look. so I tug on it a little and it pops out, and the watch face  stays in place. Now I have loose hands stuck between glass and the face with no way to get the dial off.

after 2 hours of internet searching I found only 1 post with the same problem. And their solution doesn't help. 

https://www.instructables.com/community/How-to-remove-watch-facedial/

This isn't my watch but It's the exact same problem. There is some sort of retaining ring holding the face from coming out of the back. I cannot pry it out, I've tried. Do I have to remove the crystal? heat? 
I've got basic repair tools for my Seiko 5, but don't have a crystal press. Is this cheap Chinese watch toast? 

I can give pics of my exact watch if you'd like. 

[clockboy]

The mistake you have made is you have forced the movement out of it's case without first removing the stem or if a chrono, retracting the pushers. Most quartz movements are also held in place by a retaining ring.This is the normal procedure horologists use. Why the dial has stayed in place is unclear.You need to post a pic so we can have a clearer idea what the problem is. PS by your fault description it will need a new movement NOT a new battery.

[watchweasol]

Hi   Looks like the Crystal has to come off from the front If it is plastic you need a crystal lift tool and table to enable removal and replacement.  Do not try to pry it out it will result in damaging the dial.

As clockboy said when removing a movement first remove the stem, If its a Chrono release the pushers before removing the movement to avoid damaging the contacts and or the keyless work or even breaking the stem creat care must always be used when uncasing movements. You are lucky in the fact that the dial feet are not broken.    all the best

[yankeedog]

No good deed goes unpunished.It does look like the crystal is removable, as previously mentioned by a crystal lift.Quartz movements are not expensive. If you want to keep this friend you are going to have to source a new one, and buy a few necessary tools. We will walk you through it.If you have only one thumb per hand you can do it.

[Johnnie]

Hi Fraps, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Don't worry, one day soon you look back and laugh about it. Every cloud has a silver lining and this will teach you much. Hope you get it sorted out soon. 

[fraps8]

ok so this watch does't have pushers.
And I did remove the stem before I took out the movement. 
I thought it was all good to come out, so I pulled on the movement a little and the movement came off and the watch face stayed in place along with the hands. Unlike the youtube videos where the watch face plops out with the quartz movement all in 1 piece

So how do I get to these watch hands to attach them back?
 

[yankeedog]

there may be some glue on that dial from assembly, and you are never going to get those hands on without removing that dial. prying it out will do no good, however you may me able to"fish" it out. at this point it seems like you have nothing to loose, So  after advising  that you do this at your own risk , I am going to suggest a paper clip. Straighten it out of course and at one end , put a 90 degree bend file off any burrs, place the hook into the hole in the center of the dial and give it a gentle tug.  you may scratch the dial, and it may not work, but I think it gives you the best chance of success  with the least chance of damage. I would say to make the "L" as long as possible it would spread the load over the greatest area wrapping it with tape, if fitment allows might also helps you avoid scratches. OTHERS PLEASE CHIME IN !

[clockboy]

This is the second watch that has been flagged with this issue. Hopefully this is not a new assembly technic. Looking at the pics it looks like it has a springy retaining metal ring see pic. Try levering through the stem gap with some tweezers.  What ever happens the dial has to come out to repair.

 

[watchweasol]

Hi   Is this a second watch with the same problem ?   In the first case the dial has to come off through the front first removing the crystal  In the second case as clockboy noticed there seems to be a split ring holding the dial either use the tweezers as clockboy said or Yankeedogs method using a bent clip but this time make the angel short to engage the lip on the ring for removal.      

[watchweasol]

Hi  If the other methods fail the alternative is to apply pressure from the back at the edges of the stuck dial and push firmly to remove the crystal this may work in both cases but a crystal press and or crystal remover will be needed to re fit the crystal   good luck.

[yankeedog]

1 hour ago, watchweasol said:

Hi   Is this a second watch with the same problem ?   In the first case the dial has to come off through the front first removing the crystal  In the second case as clockboy noticed there seems to be a split ring holding the dial either use the tweezers as clockboy said or Yankeedogs method using a bent clip but this time make the angel short to engage the lip on the ring for removal.      

Good eyes. i didn't see that split ring.

[fraps8]

no sorry. I didn't word the first post properly. I honestly wasn't even expecting a reply lol. In the first post, I found a watch online with what I thought was the same problem so I threw those pics up until I could take pictures of my watch. Second post of mine is my actual watch. 

So if I get this dial off, can I just push on the hands myself or do I need a special hand tool? Also, what order do they go on ? lol 

[yankeedog]

As you guessed the hands push on.you will need a decent set of tweezers,and magnification helps if you need it. on the second watchThe hour hand goes on first.  if you look closely , you will see what looks like three concentric axles. the hour had goes on the outermost, lay the hour hand down, and press it down with your tweezer tips., next goes the minute hand. I usually rotate the hour hand to the six o'clock position. I believe it gives me the greatest chance of placing the minute hand most accurately.because at six o'clock the hands should be in a straight line.place the minute hand down , and press it on in the same manner the hands should be parallel to each other, rotate them around a few times like you are setting the time to make sure they don't hit.then you press on the second hand. it is usually the trickiest, hold it with tour tweezers and press it down with something like the flat side of a small knife. then let the watch run for a little while to see if the hands hit. for the first watch I am not so sure how the hands are supposed to work, but i would put the hour and minute on first  then set it to either 9:45 or 3:15 just to get the hands out of the way i would then actuate the pushers so the watch would be in the zero position , stop the watch by pulling out the stem and install the sub dial hands.

[Watchtime]

retaining ring or maybe a frontloader?

[watchweasol]

Hi Fraps     Sound advise from Yankeedog follow that and fitting the hands will be a doddle  let us know how you get on with the dial and hands.    When posting on this site you will almost every time get a response no matter what the question or how simple it sounds thats the nature of the site  good luck