Magnetism and watches

I was reading some information at Europa Star and came across a Knowledge Database written by "Professor J C Nicolet". In it he answers questions posed by various people about aspects of watches. In the magnetism section he wrote:

"So where are the risks of these forces in the home? Non-negligible magnetic fields are found near loudspeakers, stereo systems, televisions and radios. Therefore, one should avoid setting a gold watch on top of any of these
items. Less obvious, but posing an even greater danger for a gold watch are the magnets found in refrigerator doors or other cabinets. Even a brief contact with these items is enough to magnetize a gold watch. Caution is the byword when wearing one of these timekeepers in the kitchen. Although a magnetized watch can be demagnetized as mentioned above, the procedure is tedious. To do a good job, the watch must be dismantled and each steel part demagnetized separately."

I get that there are magnetic fields in the home that can impact your watch. What I have never seen before is his statement that "To do a good job, the watch must be
dismantled and each steel part demagnetized separately."

Has anyone ever heard this before? All the posts I have ever read about de-magging a watch involved doing so to the entire watch at once and not dismantling the watch and doing each part.

I know a few guys have demagnetized some watches here...

...I'm sure they will chime in soon.

The only reason gold watches get magnetised easier is that gold is a great conductor.Its used for the airbag sensors on all cars and trucks.
It was used in the 1st circuit boards as the contacts between the board and the housing.

Only one thing gets magnetised in a watch.The hair spring.It takes about 15 minutes to degausse it.
I've never heard that the entire movement has to be treated.That would suck ass.
exhibition caseback watches and mechanicals like pocket watches and the unitas and soprod movements are very
susceptible to any magnetic field.I've had this happen alot around my house.
When the hairspring gets next to a magnetic field,it contracts into itself.The coil will bunch up,sometimes it will overlap itself.
When that happens,the spring is shortened and can run 20 minutes fast in an hour.
316L has magnetic properties but does limit the amount that gets to the movement.the watch is positive and the magnet is positive.
That repels and negates the field to a point,unless the magnetic field outside the watch is much stronger.

Thats also the reason that most dive watches have a soft iron core,to negate magnetic fields.
Titanium is Amagnetic.Other words,magnetic fields don't see it.Thats why airport screeners don't get set off.

If the steel in the movement gets magnetized is it possible for the spring to become remagnetized by the watch itself?

It would seem to me that if you demag it properly all at once then there is nothing left in the watch with a problem magnetic field to remag the spring.

Am I missing something here?

As for gold watches, not a fan for a variety of reasons. Now the new Sinn is antimagnetic up to 80,000 A/m. Sinn achieves that by using special case and case back construction, and soft iron components in the case and protective rings surrounding the movement.

Docrwm wrote:

If the steel in the movement gets magnetized is it possible for the spring to become remagnetized by the watch itself?

It would seem to me that if you demag it properly all at once then there is nothing left in the watch with a problem magnetic field to remag the spring.

Am I missing something here?

As for gold watches, not a fan for a variety of reasons. Now the new Sinn is antimagnetic up to 80,000 A/m. Sinn achieves that by using special case and case back construction, and soft iron components in the case and protective rings surrounding the movement.

A magnetic field has to be generated.once the watch is demagnetised,its clean.Normally,its takes a charged magnet.like from your alarm clock that has
current running to it.Thats why companies say don't put a watch by one,or by your monitors and tv sets.

Some of the 1st watch winders that came out magnetised the watches.The small motor uses magnetic brushes.After that was noted,they put the motors
behind a shield so this wouldn't occur anymore.

yamahaki wrote:

Docrwm wrote:

If the steel in the movement gets magnetized is it possible for the spring to become remagnetized by the watch itself?

It would seem to me that if you demag it properly all at once then there is nothing left in the watch with a problem magnetic field to remag the spring.

Am I missing something here?

As for gold watches, not a fan for a variety of reasons. Now the new Sinn is antimagnetic up to 80,000 A/m. Sinn achieves that by using special case and case back construction, and soft iron components in the case and protective rings surrounding the movement.

A magnetic field has to be generated.once the watch is demagnetised,its clean.Normally,its takes a charged magnet.like from your alarm clock that has
current running to it.Thats why companies say don't put a watch by one,or by your monitors and tv sets.

Some of the 1st watch winders that came out magnetised the watches.The small motor uses magnetic brushes.After that was noted,they put the motors
behind a shield so this wouldn't occur anymore.

Funny the things you learn, even after collecting for a time. I had honestly not thought about my alarm clock. I put my watch on the nightstand abour 6-8in from the alarm clock every night. Of course, that won't be a problem with the new Sinn with its antimagnetic up to 80,000 A/m rating

The motor brushes themselves don't create the magnetic field. Motor brushes, (made of carbon) are simply the means to conduct current to the armature windings via the rotating commutator segments. Current applied to the armature windings creates an electromagnetic field that is alternately attracted and repelled by the stationary field coils. The constantly switching attraction-repulsion is what makes the armature rotate creating torque.
The anti-magentic watch ratings are akin to the very high water resistant ratings. If your watch is subjected to a magnetic field approaching 80000 Amps per meter you have more important things than your watch to worry about.

merichar wrote:

The motor brushes themselves don't create the magnetic field. Motor brushes, (made of carbon) are simply the means to conduct current to the armature windings via the rotating commutator segments. Current applied to the armature windings creates an electromagnetic field that is alternately attracted and repelled by the stationary field coils. The constantly switching attraction-repulsion is what makes the armature rotate creating torque.
The anti-magentic watch ratings are akin to the very high water resistant ratings. If your watch is subjected to a magnetic field approaching 80000 Amps per meter you have more important things than your watch to worry about.

True, but I am around diagnostic radiology from time to time. Those MRI machines generate a strong field.

strong fields don't affect titanium.Thats in my neck and both knees.So I'm safe when in the mri.But steel? when put close to an mri
while its running,besides getting sucked into the chamber,it gets hot.Very hot.

Here's the link to what Robert originally posted. Pretty interesting stuff.


http://www.europastar.com/watch-knowledge/1004082412-magnetism.html

And this link will take you to even more watch info, and help to explain why things are the way they are inside your watch.

http://www.europastar.com/watch-knowledge/

SO, .....................What's a safe distance for a watch from a magnetic field?..................Disregarding the obvious such as ...it depends on how strong the field is.....I mean in general. I know all electrical devices give off electromagnetic fields but some produce low exposure over time and others produce high exposure over shorter times.

The auther of those articles ended them with an opinion without evidence.He says that its a tedious process to demagnetize a watch because
every steel part has to be done seperatly.My watchmaker did my pocket watch in 15 minutes,so I'm calling crap on europa star.
Saying that speakers don't pose problems for todays watches is also horse hockey.
Your desk clock doesn't pose much of a risk.I place mine about a foot away from it.I never place a automatic within a foot of my monitors either.
Quartz watches aren't affected by this.My opinion is through observations over 6 years so I'll trust what I've seen during those years
and also take my watchmakers opinion on the subject since pocket watches are his specialty.

yamahaki wrote:

The auther of those articles ended them with an opinion without evidence.He says that its a tedious process to demagnetize a watch because
every steel part has to be done seperatly.My watchmaker did my pocket watch in 15 minutes,so I'm calling crap on europa star.
Saying that speakers don't pose problems for todays watches is also horse hockey.
Your desk clock doesn't pose much of a risk.I place mine about a foot away from it.I never place a automatic within a foot of my monitors either.
Quartz watches aren't affected by this.My opinion is through observations over 6 years so I'll trust what I've seen during those years
and also take my watchmakers opinion on the subject since pocket watches are his specialty.

Thanks Sean! There has been some speculation that we (humans) are affected by EMF's with-in 6-8 feet of devices producing them such as an alarm clock or tv. Certainly wouldn't want to live next to high tension wire towers let alone climb one with a mechanical watch on.