Magnetism in 16600 Sea-dweller. Comments appreciated.

[roljapan]

I have a 16600 Sea-dweller, still less than a year old.

I've taken in to Rolex 3 times now because it's running "fast".

First time I took it was after about 8 months. It was 10-15 seconds fast. They kept it for a week and gave it back to me fixed.

But I noticed it was still 6-7 seconds fact, so I went back again. This time they said it was due to magnetism. They demagnetised it and said it was upto 3 seconds fast now so OK.

However over a 3 week period I timed it and it was still 6-7 seconds fast. Again I want back and they said it was magnetised. They showed me a timing slip from before and after demagnetising, and it did indeed show the watch was better after demagnetising. The 5 sample timings they did ranged from -1 seconds to 3 seconds after demagntisation.

That was 5 days ago. When I got the watch back, it was bang on accurate when compared to an atomic clock (I used two sources). 5 days later it's 30 seconds out. Even checking after 3 days it was around seconds out. I know 6 seconds is at the extreme of certification and so technically acceptable, but I don't understand why it becomes so inaccurate again so quickly, and after several months it becomes more inaccurate.

I work near computers - but the LCD monitors I have do not have speakers in them so there's no magnetic interference, and the computer is under the desk - a good 1m away. Again, not close enough for intereference. I take care to stay away from any obvious magnetic fields.

Can a watch really become so "magnetised" that quickly? Any ideas how to track down the cause? I don't know anyone else who has this problem, even in the same work environment. I'm wondering whether the excuse of "the watch is becoming magnetised" is actually a red herring.

[Tools]

The watch doesn't have to be magnetised to run fast..

It only needs to be by a magnetic field that affects the timing..

This could be laying on your dresser at night next to your cell phone.. also, if you have a car remote that is "keyless" entry and start, it is a transmitter/receiver and emits a magnetic field..

and there are other sources.......

[padi56]

Well I would seriously doubt if your watch was ever magnetised,first signs of any watch becoming magnetised.It will generally run very erratic speed up by sometimes minutes or come to a complete stop.IMHO its just down to simple regulation and then it could be perhaps your wearing habits.Have you tried giving your watch a full manual wind say 40 crown turns then reset time with reliable source.Wear as normal check time with same setting source daily for a week then average out loss or gain.Myself worked in the Steel industry for almost 30 years,working with and around very powerful magnets capable of lifting 20 tons never ever had a problem with magnetisum.


And today most Swiss watches including Rolex have to pass the Swiss standard for anti-magnetic watches.Which is to withstand a strong magnetic field of 4800 Amps per meter,and to keeps on running with a maximum deviation of 15- 30 seconds per day.Now this test I am 100% sure that 99% of all watch wearers would never subject or come into contact with such a strong magnetic field.