Cartier Santos back screws

[Timelord]

Cartier Santos back screws

Greetings to all ,

I was searching archives to see if anyone had this problem before me and if there was some solution/ idea but no luck.

 

about three or four years ago, I purchased a Cartier Santos from Silix that originally came out with an automatic and was later replaced with a quartz mvt.  Changing the battery was easy, BUT

 

the problem was when I tried to screw the back screws to close off the case, I noticed they would tun forever and not screw down at all.  I was extra careful in removing them and putting them back on.  I did not want to silicone the back onto case as it is a bodgie dodgie job, especially if I need to change battery again and having to remove a lot of messy crap.  I like things to be as neat as possible.

 

Has as anyone ever encountered this problem and if so,  I would like your feedback on this.  The best would be to retap  the threads and buy new screws, which I do not find feasible for I watch that I had bought for someone that changed their mind about it.