so aside from the new 12G Aqua Terra and newest Seamaster 300 retro release 8400mvmt, are all current in house auto movements anti-magnetic? Are the two I mentioned just super anti-magnetic...

 

Is the Aqua terra 12g? It was quite less when I got it.

But yes, those are the two models for now that have the 15000 gauss anti magnetic propperties.

Omega has announced their entire line will adopt master ( anti magnetic) movements so most likely this month they will announce the next round.

This said many other movements have anti magnetic propperties, just not quite at that level. 15000 gauss basically allows you to wear the watch during an MRI

 

Oh I'm sorry it was 15G (gauss) not 12... You're right Sergio thanks for the correction.

Ahh ok, well I wonder if I should hold off on buying a new PO until after the new lineup and upgrades are released. Thanks for the response

 

I think it's less. I believe the AT Master coaxial movements start at 6 g more or less.

Yes, I would hold at least until the new lines are revealed in March, then you can decide what you want. Bare in mind that yhe new models will still take a bit of time to hit the stores

 

This info kinda makes my next watch purchase decision a little easier... Been kicking between the Speedmaster and a PO for the last few weeks. But if the PO is gonna end up with a possible upgrade and the Speedy will always remain the same, I should probably grab the Speedmaster first.

 

Deville Tresor is also master coaxial

 

Didn't know that, great watch!!

Frunkinator, I would wait if I where you, see what comes up. That said, a speedy is always a good buy

 

I think @Frunkinator is using the 'G' as short for Gauss, not Grand (as in thousand dollars)

So to clarify - the antimagnetics are safe to 15,000 Gauss (add 7 Gauss for the Bond limited editions )..

but the MSRP is ~ $6,000ish USD ( the previous co-axial is 5500, so not a huge premium being asked for an advancement in technology)...
However, as was stated the silicon spring is already anti-magnetic, and would be the most vulnerable piece to a magnetic force...

So your everyday magnetic challenge would still be handled quite well...

I think it will be a long time before we see the PO line in antimagnetic...

the AT going Anti-mag was easy - any left over 8500 movements could just go into the POs (the smaller ones) ... the POs are selling well anyway...
the Anti-mag in the AT gives it a separate identity and 'hook'

Anti-mag in the SM300, and Tresor as well...new movements, why wouldn't they start with the latest technology...

To Anti-mag with PO means also having the 9300 movement manufactured in anti-magnetic material...
a big expense, and one that might be undertaken when they've used up all of the 9300 movements being made... plus the expense would be passed on to the consumer... on a watch that is already flirting with its ceiling price...


Look at what happened to Breitling... all that momentum, then they starting charging 2-3x as much for its 'in house' movement, and they lost their biggest demographic..

Omega has played it all out masterfully so far...they can't shoot themselves in the foot with an anti-magnetic planet Ocean right now...

there is no need, it would cost more, and there's far too much momentum to start to mess with it...

 

Yes Doc I was abbreviating Gauss, sorry beinglazy...
Your point makes sense. Maybe there is no reason to wait and see what Basel 2015 has to offer. Unless they create a thinner 8500 movement, what else could they really do to it at this time.
In an interview with The CEO Urquhart (did I spell it right) he said last year that he wants to keep up with fashion as well. Meaning color schemes of his bezel and dials. So it will be interesting to see what new colors may hit some of the generally un-updated models. I'm a sucker for a white dial. But when they put out a white dial on a titanium frame and jack the price to 11k+ like the beautiful coaxial blue handed Speedmaster, I have a hard time...

 

You do realize only a very few parts are changed in the 8500 to make it meet the 15,000 gauss rating...

Most of these movements are already made of anti-magnetic material - brass. And if you think all the parts in the 15,000 gauss movements are made of anti-magnetic materials, that would be a mistake as many are still made of steel, but if they get magnetized it would have no effect on the movement's performance.

It would not take a great deal to bring the 9300 to the same level as the 8500.

You are right, Omega has handled the marketing of this very well - they have people convinced this is a huge change, when it really isn't.

Cheers, Al

 

Brilliant post...
Thanks Al,
I was fully of the belief that pretty much every cog in the machine was changed in order to achieve the master-coaxial rating...

In all fairness to myself...it is very tasty kool-aid!

 

The gentlemanly behavior in the last two posts is why I enjoy this forum so much. I'll likely never be a superstar here with watch & photo knowledge but this is definitely classy company to keep.

 

Fruit punch flavour?

Anyway, when the tech guides were first released on the 8508G in the Bumblebee watch, I had a look at the guide to see what they changed. Omega nicely summarizes the differences between old and new versions when they do an update like this. So the parts they list as "different" from the 8500 to make it an 8508G are as follows:

Main plate*
Balance bridge*
Both mainspring barrels
Oscillating weight**
Co-axial wheel
Pallet fork
Balance complete

* - the tech guide for the 8508G states that the only difference in the main plate and the balance bridge is the shock absorber, so the plate and bridge themselves are the same except for the shock setting. So really it's only the shock absorber setting that is different.

** - the only difference in the oscillating weight is that the one for the 8508G has additional text on it stating ">15,000 gauss" so this is purely a cosmetic difference.

So none of the train wheels, setting parts, large plates or bridges, or anything else are different, just those few parts listed above.

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Al

 

How does one recognize that his watch has been magnetized? Runs slow/fast?
What are the common ways that a watch gets magnetized?

 

Typically, but not always, a watch will run fast when magnetized. It can be as small as less than a minute a day in my experience, or very fast at several minutes per day. In extreme cases I've seen the balance spring so contorted from magnetism it's stopped the watch completely.

Magnets and magnetic fields are all around us. If you handle loudspeakers with permanent magnets for example that could cause problems with the watch, but in my experience the iPad covers are a big offender, or any other device that uses small but powerful permanent magnets.

Cheers, Al

 

Al, Thanks for the response!

 

I was at Cartier buying a strap 2 years ago and a woman there had a 10 g watch that she could not use because it kept getting magnetized. She was extremely distressed at the service counter when they gave her the watch back and basically told her that although now running well this would happen again. This was her second service. The client was of course mad that she spend that much money on a luxury piece that she could not wear on her normal life. They gave her a list of possible culprits and her answer after reading it was basically " so in order to wear a 10g watch I have to live and work in a cave" Cartier would not take any responsibility as it was not a faulty watch, so she had to leave. My wife and I have a few Cartier and never had an issue like this, but it did make me think hard.

Probably that's why my subconscious wanted that master coaxial the moment it came out.

 

Cartier and magnetism - that reminded me of this watch:



This quartz Cartier was sent to me with the complaint that it would lose big chunks of time at random. My mind immediately thought of things that would cause this, and the most likely thing was a loose cannon pinion. I had the client send me the watch, and I tested the movement first:



All the numbers looked good, so I removed the movement from the case, but before I got a chance to start taking it apart, the hands lined up in a specific way, and the watch stopped:



So the hands on this watch are blued steel hands, and most of the time the watch was fine, but occasionally when the second hand would land on top of the minute hand, it would draw the second hand down to touch, and this would stop the watch - the hands were magnetized:



Through wear the hands would get jostled and the watch would start again, so the owner never actually saw it stopped, just noted it didn't keep time well.

I demagnetized the hands, put them back on the watch, and it kept perfect time. I sent it back to the client, and everything was fine...for a while. A few months later I received another email, and the watch was having the same issue. They sent it back and the same thing had happened - it was magnetized. I told them they really needed to figure out where the magnetism was coming from and avoid it, but the client simply told me to remove the seconds hand and send it back. I did as requested, and it has been fine since.

I sympathize with the owner you encountered, but I also understand Cartier's stance. Unfortunately the watch industry is sort of a victim of it's own marketing success. They have told people for years these are special machines with almost magical powers, so when something goes wrong people can't understand why their precious is not working perfectly no matter what they do to it.

I recently had someone email me about service who had initially thought because he had bought a "lifetime watch" that he thought it would have a "lifetime" warranty. After many years of wear when it stopped, he found out that wasn't really what the sales guy meant when he used that old sales line...

Cheers, Al

 

Very smart solution to just take the seconds hand out.

I also get Cartiers point, it is what it is. But for the cost of Cartier you think they would get something like you describe covered. I still love their watches though

 

iPad covers and alarm clock radios are big. I'm sure many people leave their watches on their nightstand maybe even on top of their radio or clock. That watch was being magnetized all night.