Anti-magnetic (non-magnetic) watches are those that are able to run with minimal deviation when exposed to a certain magnetic field.

Overview

According to DIN 8309 (Deutsche Industrie Norm - German Industry Norm) a watch must resist a magnetic field of 4,800 A/m (Ampere per meter) and have a maximum deviation of 30 seconds per day in order to be acknowledged as an anti-magnetic watch. There are two ways of building an anti-magnetic watch: Look up din in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For the Unix command, see Watch (Unix). ... Current (I) flowing through a wire produces a magnetic field () around the wire. ... Current can be measured by a galvanometer, via the deflection of a magnetic needle in the magnetic field created by the current. ... The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ...

• The first way consists in using different alloys, capable to withstand magnetic fields. Such alloys as Invar (iron - nickel - carbon - chromium alloy), Glucydur (beryllium - bronze alloy), Nivarox (iron - nickel - chromium - titanium - beryllium alloy) and Elinvar - an alloy similar to Invar, though less resistant to magnetism and more resistant to thermal influence. Due to different components these alloys have different properties. They were differently used by various watch-making brands. However, since the 50's Nivarox and Glucydur were extensively used by the watchmakers. Starting with the 60's almost all Swiss watches had Glucydur balance and Nivarox hairsprings. The anchors, escape wheels and other parts of mechanism were also made of non-magnetic metals or alloys.
• Another way of making a watch non-magnetic is to house the entire movement into a case made of a highly conductive material. The movement is covered by an additional soft-iron clasp to prevent the forming of magnetic fields inside the watch itself.

An alloy is a combination, either in solution or compound, of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal, and where the resultant material has metallic properties. ... Invar, also called FeNi36, is an alloy of iron (64%) and nickel (36%) with some carbon and chromium. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nickel, Ni, 28 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 10, 4, d Appearance lustrous, metallic and silvery with a gold tinge Atomic mass 58. ... General Name, Symbol, Number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Atomic mass 12. ... General Name, Symbol, Number chromium, Cr, 24 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 6, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Atomic mass 51. ... General Name, Symbol, Number beryllium, Be, 4 Chemical series alkaline earth metals Group, Period, Block 2, 2, s Appearance white-gray metallic Atomic mass 9. ... Assorted ancient Bronze castings found as part of a cache, probably intended for recycling. ... General Name, Symbol, Number titanium, Ti, 22 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 4, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Atomic mass 47. ... Elinvar is the name of a type of metallic alloy with a modulus of elasticity which does not vary with temperature; the name means elastically invariable. ... Magnetic lines of force of a bar magnet shown by iron filings on paper In physics, magnetism is one of the phenomena by which materials exert an attractive or repulsive force on other materials. ...

History

First comments on experimenting with anti-magnetism in watch-making were reported in 1846. The watchmakers from Vacheron Constantin were among the first to experiment with anti-magnetic features of a watch. However, they succeeded in assembling the first antimagnetic watch only several decades later. That watch was able to withstand magnetic fields because some of its parts were made of non-magnetic metals: the palladium-made balance wheel, balance spring and the lever shaft. 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Vacheron Constantin is a swiss watch manufacturer. ... For alternative meanings see metal (disambiguation). ... General Name, Symbol, Number palladium, Pd, 46 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 10, 5, d Appearance silvery white metallic Atomic mass 106. ... Red arrows indicate the balance wheel on this movement. ... The balance spring is a scientific device invented by Robert Hooke. ...

In 1896 Charles Edouard Guillaume discovered the nickel based alloy Invar. Afterwards, in 1920, when he received the Nobel Prize in Physics, he developed another alloy - Elinvar. These events played an important role in assembling anti-magnetic watches. Invar is able to resist magnetic fields, thus protecting the watch from its influences. Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ... Charles Édouard Guillaume (February 15, 1861, Fleurier – June 13, 1938, Sèvres), was a French-Swiss Physicist that received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1920 in recognition of the service he had rendered to precision measurements in Physics by his discovery of anomalies in nickel steel alloys. ... Year 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Nobel Prize medal. ... Physics (from the Greek, (phúsis), nature and (phusiké), knowledge of nature) is the science concerned with the discovery and understanding of the fundamental laws which govern matter, energy, space, and time. ...

The first anti-magnetic pocket watch was assembled by Vacheron Constantin in 1915. Later, in 1929, Tissot assembled the first ever non-magnetic wristwatch. In 1954 Vacheron Constantin has continued the innovative rush by producing the first anti-magnetic chronograph. In 1958 Jaeger-LeCoultre has improved the chronograph resistant to magnetic fields by doubling its anti-magnetic case. 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Tissot watch Tissot is a Swiss watchmaker company founded in 1853. ... This page is about timekeeping devices. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A stopwatch is a timepiece designed to measure the amount of time elapsed from a particular time when activated and when the piece is deactivated. ... Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control: réserve de marche, date on hand. ...

Usage

Parts made of anti-magnetic alloys

Since their appearance anti-magnetic watches have found a wide application in different activities, especially where people deal with high magnetic fields. Such timepieces are wide-spread among engineers who deal with electronics and where magnetic fields are present but are not very intensive.

Today even divers' watches (according to ISO 6425) must correspond not only with such criteria as water resistance, luminosity, shock resistance and strap solidity, but also anti-magnetism. The pitch drop experiment at the University of Queensland. ... Luminosity has different meanings in several different fields of science. ...

Contributions

After discovering the alloys for assembling anti-magnetic watches many watch-making brands use the materials in production and try to improve the performance of such timepieces. The most outstanding watches of this class were made by IWC: in 1989 IWC assembled the Ingeneur. It was able to withstand a huge magnetic field of 500,000 A/m. In 1993, when IWC celebrated its 125th birthday, the company substituted this model with a more conventional Ingeneur, resisting a magnetic field of 80,000 A/m. IWC Pilots' watches have the feature of showing accurate time under a moderate magnetic pressure too. This article or section reads like an advertisement. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Almost all timepieces from Vacheron Constantin have this feature, especially those from the Overseas collection. These watches had an anti-magnetic screen in soft-iron for the protection of the movement.

The Olympic Games' timekeeper Omega also manufactures watches corresponding to ISO 764, which is based on the accidental exposure of the watch to a magnetic field of 4,800 A/m. Patek Philippe has also introduced a few innovations into this field: the engineers developed a non-metallic, silicon-based material for building parts of a watch's mechanism, thus making them fully non-magnetic. Breitling and Panerai also use such alloys as Glucydur to manufacture anti-magnetic watches. The five Olympic rings were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and debuted at the Games at Antwerp, 1920. ... Look up Ω, ω in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... ISO has many meanings: Iso is the stem of the Latin transliteration of the Greek word ίσος (ísos, meaning equal). The iso- prefix in English derives from this and means equality or similarity. ... Patek Philippe & Co. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silicon, Si, 14 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 14, 3, p Appearance as coarse powder, dark gray with bluish tinge Atomic mass 28. ... Breitling logo Breitling is a brand of Swiss watches from the Canton of Jura. ... Vintage Panerai Marina Militare (courtesy of Hammer) Officine Panerai is a luxury Italian watch brand. ...

References

• High-end Materials for High-end Watches

External links

• Vacheron Constantin and Nonmagnetic Watches