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How to Recycle Old Watches

Watches, like any other item composed of metal and plastic, can be recycled. Old watches have many intricate parts that can be recycled in many different ways. Because of their metal and plastic content, they can be recycled at any recycling plant for a small monetary amount. However, there are other, more creative ways to to recycle old watches and their parts. For example, the various parts of an old watch can be used in a sculpture.

Things You'll Need

Old watch
Soldering iron
pliers

Instructions

- 1
  Donate your watch to a charity. If your watch does not have excessive damage, the charity will likely be willing to accept it and possibly have it repaired so it can be given to someone who needs it.
- 2
  Recycled your watch at a recycling plant to earn a small amount of money for the metal and plastic it contains. Your watch will be more valuable if it contains copper in comparison to other metals (excluding precious metals), and could surprise you with its recycled value. If your watch is composed of precious metals, take it in to your local jewelry dealer. More often than not, they will be willing to buy it for its gold or silver value.
- 3
  Take apart your watch and piece it back together as a form of artwork. You can easily turn your watch into a simple piece of jewelry, or you can piece your old watch back together in the form a motorcycle model. For examples of projects, see Resources.
- 4
  Remove the timepiece from your watch and solder the other two ends together. Now the former watch can be worn as a bracelet.

Antiques