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Ok, I have a new theory here. It may seem outlandish, and there may be reasons any watchmaker could tell me that immediately disprove it. But here it is: Magnetism.
Yes, I realize that the movements' key components are as antimagnetic as they've ever been. But I think that may be part of the problem: Magnetism only affects the minor components, and therefore goes unnoticed for much, much longer. In other words, a lesser/older movement would show signs of erratic behavior long before parts have actually worn out.
It would certainly explain why some movements are impacted and others not so much - some get magnetized and some don't. But what I hadn't known until recently is what can happen when minor components (and only those components) are magnetized. The strain on them becomes greater and watches can slow down, as opposed to when it happens with springs and the watch speeds up.
Thoughts?
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