Earlier in the year Omega presented their first anti magnetic watch. It is a Seamaster Aqua Terra model equipped with the new calibre 8508. Instead of using an inner soft iron case Omega developed a movement based on anti magnetic components…
Everyone knows that we are surrounded by magnetic fields and that they get more and stronger almost every year. Let’s just take the iPad I am writing the article with. Around ten magnets are built in the iPad to assist the original Apple iPad cover to operate correctly. If you use that cover another 20 magnets are added and the whole iPad turns into a huge source of magnetism. That filed is so strong that the iPad can be pinned on a fridge… Crazy. If you brake your fridge or your iPad testing this, I’m not responsible.
But not only the iPad is a source of magnetic fields… Take the magnets in in a mobile phones, headphones, car speakers, electric windows and keyless access, Magnetic fields are everywhere…
If a mechanical watch gets magnetised the magnetic field has a severe influence on the accuracy of it. But also the lifespan of the watch can also be greatly affected. Anyway these forces influence the movement and it starts to loose its accuracy. If the watch is not protected, and most of our wristwatches are not, the watch needs to be demagnetised professionally from a watchmaker. which wont be cheap.
Some watches offer an inner soft iron case to protect the movement. It acts like a Faraday cage by diverting the magnetic fields. This kind of protecting is limited to a very low amount and then no longer works properly. So the movement itself is the appropriate source to be protected in the end. And this is exactly what Omega did.
Now this is the real sensation of that new development: Omega will step by step integrate this magnetic protection to all it’s own movements. It will take some time but in a couple of years magnetism is no more issue for an Omega wristwatch. This will not be an exclusive limited series; this will be industrialised technology available to all Omega watches.
The Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra will cost around £4,100 in the UK. Visit Omega for more information on the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra.
