Why Rolex is an overkill anti-magnetic watch.
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Anti-magnetic watches are tested and certified. The ISO 764 standard dictates that a watch must resist direct current magnetic fields of .48 gauss and show minimal deviation in timekeeping to be considered anti-magnetic.
My watch isn’t a Rolex.
It is anti-magnetic.
Its Antimagnetism is 1600 A / m which is about 20.10619 Oersted or
20 Gauss.
Gauss is the measure of the intensity of a magnetic field.
The ISO 764 standard dictates that a watch must resist direct current
magnetic fields at 48 Gauss and show minimal deviation in time
keeping to be anti-magnetic. +/- 30 Sec a day.
This means my watch is about 1/3 of the ISO 764 standard.
An old antique pocket watch can keep better time than +/-
thirty sec a day!
My watch is +/- 15 seconds a month!
My watch:
https://audaciouscat.com/rabbit/its-a-mechaquartz-watch-that-looks-like-a-new-7500-rolex-explorer/
Thats +/- .5 seconds a day!
My watch is 60 times the ISO 764 standard!
Its an Analogue Quartz Watch.
https://calibercorner.com/seiko-caliber-vh31/
https://calibercorner.com/list-of-seiko-watch-movements/
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Why does anti-magnetism in watches matter?
The anti-magnetic watch, or at least advancements in anti-magnetic tech, remain relevant today. In the ’40s and ’50s, anti-magnetic watches really only proved essential to engineers, scientists and other professionals who encountered strong magnetic fields on a regular basis.
Now, think about all the electronic devices that surround us today: Smartphones, computers, tablets, monitors, speakers, kitchen appliances — they all produce magnetic fields and have the potential to mess with your watch’s accuracy.
How much protection you need, though, is a different story.
The magnetic field produced by a microwave oven from an inch away, for example, is only about two gauss.
Power tools, from the same distance, will produce up to about eight to ten gauss.
So yeah, something like Omega’s 15,000+ gauss-resistant Aqua Terra or Rolex’s Milgauss (1,000 gauss-resistant) is overkill for regular wear.
If you work at the CERN accelerator you need one otherwise you don’t.
Omega’s 15,000+ gauss-resistant Aqua Terra, equipped with the Omega co-axial 8508 movement, is definitely overkill for everyday wear. But that’s part of its apeal.
That said, demagnetization is a fairly common watch servicing requirement, so while the fix is cheap and easy, if you’d rather avoid having to take a watch in for service altogether, or just want the peace of mind, an ISO 764 compliant watch should be plenty. That means your watch is resistant to magnetic fields up to 4,800 A/m, or about 60 gauss.
Still, like super-deep dive watches or ultra-complex movements, embracing the overkill is all part of the allure.
Sets you back about $7,000. 15,000+ gauss-resistant
Do you need this?
For those of you in Reo Linda, as Rush Limbaugh use to say, gauss – resistant isn’t some kind of canned baked bean ingredient.