Perhaps not all owners of analog watches know that magnetic fields can put their functioning at risk. In everyday life, small magnetic fields are found almost everywhere: for example in smartphones, speakers, induction hobs and bags that close with magnets, just to name a few. A mechanical or quartz watch that is kept very close to one of these magnetic fields for some time can become magnetized, resulting in the movement of the gears being altered and the hands to slow down, speed up or stop completely. All things that should never happen to an object whose purpose is to measure time.
Most manufacturers and sellers recommend that anyone who finds themselves with a magnetized watch to go to the store where they bought it and have it demagnetized. But for those who prefer not to go out these days and for those who love to fix things with their own hands, there is also a home way to do it: and that is to use a demagnetizer. Online they can be found almost everywhere – for example on Amazon – and usually cost around fifteen euros.
According to James Stacey, Bloomberg editor who has written only about watches since 2018, the first thing to do is to check that your watch is actually magnetized and rule out that its problems have no other cause. To do this, you can use a compass: just place it on a table and then slowly bring the clock face closer. If the compass needle starts to move and moves from its original position (to the north), your watch will probably be demagnetized. If you don't have a compass at home, you can download one of those applications that detect magnetic fields to your smartphone and do the same experiment. Stacey suggests Lepsi, which is particularly sensitive and works on iPhones, but there are others that are fine for Android-powered phones as well.
Once it has been ascertained that the clock must be demagnetized, it is possible to intervene with a demagnetizer. Stacey points out that the process is very simple, but it has to be done precisely, otherwise it won't work and you risk magnetizing the watch even more. In fact, the demagnetizer itself works by creating a magnetic field. Before starting, you need to stop the clock: if it is equipped with a “machine stop” it will stop simply by pulling out the wheel with which you set the time, otherwise you will have to wait for it to run down by itself.
After attaching the demagnetizer to the socket, bring the face of the watch close to its “soft part”, the rectangular one near the switch. Some support it directly, but Stacey suggests holding it up with one hand about half a centimeter away, oriented parallel to the surface of the demagnetizer.
Then you have to press and hold the button that activates it and at the same time bring the clock upwards. It should be brought to at least thirty centimeters and then you can stop holding the button down. At this point you can retest the compass and see if the watch has actually been demagnetized.
Stacey writes that if she didn't have an anti-magnetic watch (there are several on the market), she would do it with any watch that doesn't work perfectly: “I consider it a bit like sharpening knives. It is quick maintenance and it doesn't take long to demagnetize even a large collection of watches “.
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