Exactly How Does A Rolex Get Magnetized

[DCGuy1965]

Ive been reading a lot on the latest totally anti magnetic watch from Omega and have seen comments as of late talking about watches getting magnetized. Just how susceptible is a Rolex to this? I'm a normal desk jockey and am not around MRI machines or the like but I've been told the little magnet on my blackberry case could throw off the movement.

Thank God I've never had any of my watches lose or gain time but still I'm just a bit concerned and if it does happen to they require a full service or can an AD demagnetize it right in the shop? Thanks in advance for the inputs.

[77T]

The newer movements with parachrom are anti-magnetic - earlier ones were less resistant.

Any mechanical watch can be affected by magnetic fields - ergo the need for the faraday cage in the Milgauss.

But most Rolexes now can withstand fairly strong fields.

As for the blackberry magnet...methinks your leg was being fully pulled. If the watch was to rest perfectly on it at just the wrong spot for hours, perhaps some minor affect...

[Tools]

Originally Posted by DCGuy1965

Ive been reading a lot on the latest totally anti magnetic watch from Omega and have seen comments as of late talking about watches getting magnetized. Just how susceptible is a Rolex to this? I'm a normal desk jockey and am not around MRI machines or the like but I've been told the little magnet on my blackberry case could throw off the movement.

Thank God I've never had any of my watches lose or gain time but still I'm just a bit concerned and if it does happen to they require a full service or can an AD demagnetize it right in the shop? Thanks in advance for the inputs.

In the old days a watch was very susceptible to magnetism because the hairsprings and balance wheels were made from ferrous materials.. For decades now Rolex and most top makers have used anti-magnetic hairsprings (regardless of the parachrom hype, the previous FAR Nivarox hairsprings were also non-magnetic)

Those days are gone, but there are still other parts in the watch that can take on a charge... most notably the mainsprings and the lever pallet...

When these parts become magnetized they "stick" and do not move fully.. This causes the "tick-tock" to be quicker because the movement of these parts is shorter and therefore faster..

Therefore, magnetized watches almost always run faster than otherwise..

Magnetism is the alignment of the metal structure internally.. A piece of metal can be magnetized by dropping it (forcing the alignment of structure) or exposure to a strong magnetic field that forces the metals grain to align along the flux-line of the field.

Some of the culprits are the cell-phone and the remote car fob. When transmitting they produce a strong magnetic pulse...

[kilyung]

Any watch is susceptible to a strong enough magnetic field like a MRI/CT or large speaker magnets but doubtful from a phone case magnet. Keep in mind that it's not just the balance that can be magnetized.

An easy way to demagnetize watches is to get a demagnetizer (dm) - very cheap on eBay. Looks like this:


You place the watch on the dm and press the power button for 10secs. Then, while still pressing the button, raise the watch straight up at least 12" then shut off power. Voila! Demagnetized.

[joe100]

Magnets everywhere. Cellphones, iPads, especially iPads. They have tons of magnets in them for the clip on case.

Magnets are everywhere.

[A.Sharp]

Wore my dj thru two cts, what symptoms should I look for? Watch always ran a little fast.

[kilyung]

Originally Posted by A.Sharp

Wore my dj thru two cts, what symptoms should I look for? Watch always ran a little fast.

Move it near a small compass. If it's magnetized, it'll move the needle.

[btinl]

Originally Posted by A.Sharp

Wore my dj thru two cts, what symptoms should I look for? Watch always ran a little fast.

CTs are xrays. MRI utilizes magnets.

[fisherman79]

Originally Posted by kilyung

Move it near a small compass. If it's magnetized, it'll move the needle.

Its not exactly true. If you have demagetized iron, it would still attract a magnet.
The needle itself is a magnet, zo it would be attracted by a demagnetized object.

Btw the steel case of a Rolex is not attracted by a magnet, it can not be magnetized.

[Phil t 32]

Just a point, a gauss meter tells you if something is magnetised, and if it is you need a simple horseshoe magnet and hold it near the watch and draw it away slowly and twist it through 180 degrees as you do, that's how we demagnetise a weld that's been inspected with magnetic particles, I'm sure it must be the same with a watch.....haha

[kilyung]

Originally Posted by fisherman79

Its not exactly true. If you have demagetized iron, it would still attract a magnet.
The needle itself is a magnet, zo it would be attracted by a demagnetized object.

Btw the steel case of a Rolex is not attracted by a magnet, it can not be magnetized.

[subtona]

Originally Posted by kilyung

Ahh well said

[Baco Noir]

Originally Posted by joe100

Magnets everywhere. Cellphones, iPads, especially iPads. They have tons of magnets in them for the clip on case.

Magnets are everywhere.

+1 - I think the iPad cover was responsible last time my watch got magnetized.

[salty_snack]

Agreed with above about the hairspring being non-magnetic. For any other part if the watch to become sufficiently magnetized to have much of an affect on timekeeping it would have to be strongly magnetized by a rather large magnet.

On another note... I'm not sure why everyone keeps saying the milgauss has a "faraday cage" core and that prevents it from getting magnetized. The point of a faraday cage, whether it is a solid enclosure or a mesh cage is to block electromagnetic radiation or electric fields... not magnetic fields.

To block magnetic fields you need a highly permeable metal, such as a soft iron core found in the milgauss, which will absorb/bend the magnetic field around the enclosure.

This leads me to my final comment. The second hand of the milgauss being a lightning bolt sort of design is stupid being that the shileding capability of the milgauss has nothing to do with electric or electromagnetic fields.

[handsfull]

If a watch gets saturated with a strong field, it's sometimes necessary to pass each individual part past a demagnitizer....thought this is the exception.

In most cases, the watch (or entire movement) can be passed by the demag tool and it will correct the issue.

[A.Sharp]

Originally Posted by kilyung

Move it near a small compass. If it's magnetized, it'll move the needle.

Good advice... will pick one up. thanks

[sugiharto]

Originally Posted by kilyung

I guess you've done a lot of research

[krieves]

My Daytona is must be highly magnetized because I have a strong attraction to it.

[kilyung]

Originally Posted by sugiharto

I guess you've done a lot of research

I've had several magnetized watches and also use the demagnetizer on my watch tools.

[Beelzy]

I accidentally magnetized my 5513 when I put it in my pocket with my magnetic money clip.
So I went to OSH and had the cashier run it through their demagnetizer at the checkout counter.
Worked like a charm.

[fisherman79]

Originally Posted by kilyung

It will act the same with any watch, magnetized or demagnetized.
With a compass you should avoid any metal object that can be magnetized.
If an object can be magnetized, it will affect a compass, even when its not magnetized at that moment.

I just tried it with an app in my phone, which uses the build in compass. My watch is nog magnetized, but it still makes the compas move.

[kilyung]

Originally Posted by fisherman79

It will act the same with any watch, magnetized or demagnetized.
With a compass you should avoid any metal object that can be magnetized.
If an object can be magnetized, it will affect a compass, even when its not magnetized at that moment.

I just tried it with an app in my phone, which uses the build in compass. My watch is nog magnetized, but it still makes the compas move.

Yes, some metals will make a compass move but not much (more like a twitch). A magnetized watch will make the needle follow the watch.

The compass app on a phone uses a magnetometer and accelerometers to simulate a compass. It's not quite the same as a real compass. Still, I just tried my iPhone compass and my steel watch does not move my phone compass' needle (maybe a twitch) but a weak magnet did affect the magnetometer in the phone. Maybe your watch is magnetized?

[Cc1966]

Had one magnetized several years ago. Blamed it on a pro Hardon Kardon speaker I was moving. The watch ran fast.

[Rolexitis]

By a magnet. You're welcome.

[rmfnla]

Originally Posted by krieves

My Daytona is must be highly magnetized because I have a strong attraction to it.

Lame but I like it!

[landroverking]

Emf

[Survivor]

Originally Posted by DCGuy1965

Thank God I've never had any of my watches lose or gain time but still I'm just a bit concerned and if it does happen to they require a full service or can an AD demagnetize it right in the shop? Thanks in advance for the inputs.

I'm not sure that a watch losing or gaining time is worthy of a "Thank God"....just sayin'...........

[slvrbulletv6]

Would there be a chance for a Rolex to be magnetized while "walking" through the x-ray machine or submitting it to the x-ray machine with the luggage at the airport?

[kilyung]

Originally Posted by slvrbulletv6

Would there be a chance for a Rolex to be magnetized while "walking" through the x-ray machine or submitting it to the x-ray machine with the luggage at the airport?

Anything is possible but I've never magnetized a watch by passing it through security at the airport.

[sugiharto]

If there is a small portable demagnetizer, you might wanna put it on your wrist along with your watch while you pass through x-ray machine