Will washing machines damage Rolexes (with magnetism)?

[Jocke]

No problem here with magnetism.

Click here to find out

[HogwldFLTR]

Originally Posted by Jocke

No problem here with magnetism.

Click here to find out

Nice, Jocke.

I suspect that as long as one isn't wearing the watch while it's in the washing machine all should be well.

[flyingtiger85]

Originally Posted by brmeyers

Interesting I had a big magnet accidentally got laid down RIGHT next to my watch roll (like 20,000 gauss) and they are all fine.
Hulk was the closest.
I checked the +/- and they all did not get affected.
But please don't try this at home...
(I am into magnetic and pulsed magnetic therapy for the human body - good stuff for the body, not so great for watches that can be magnetized).

BTW this is a LOT stronger magnetic flux than even the biggest electronic appliances put out.
You can buy magnetic field detection meters and you'll see it is next to nothing.
I have something called a trifield meter that measures magnetic and electric fields and the strength is low relatively speaking for almost all appliances.
MRI's use actual 1.5 Telsa static magnetics, so that is one appliance you may want to avoid unless you have a milgauss.

why did you lay down that big of a magnet next to it?

[The Libertine]

....only in the Twilight Zone.

[Thunderbird88]

I wear my Rolex inside a 10MW generator (3 meters diameter, 15 tons of rotating mass, 6.3kV and HUNDREDS of amps).
You'll be fine...

[breitlings]

Originally Posted by meganfox17

Beats me!What do YOU GUYS think?
Sometimes,you wished you had a METAS certified watch, right ?

Laundry-Master

[Superburrito]

I did get my Panerai (with sapphire caseback) magnetized once at a library check out stand. It scanned the book's barcode and zapped the book so it could leave the library without setting off the alarms. Watch ran funny after that but was easily fixed by a local AD.

I've not had any problems with 3 Rolexes (steel casebacks). Also the new ones have the antimagnetic hairsprings.

[bradyb]

"Is it Safe?" is my favorite gameshow on the TRF channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzw1_2b-I7A

[Paul_I]

Wow.

[Romeojk]

This string is cracking me up


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bostonbert]

I've magnetized a 1980s Rolex date just in the lab so frequently that I eventually gave up on mechanical watches. I got a Milgauss GV a few years back and it's never been magnetized but since the case of the latter is a bit too thick I got an Omega 15'000 Gauss. The Omega is not as accurate as the Milgauss so if the new 3235 movement is more resistant to magnetism than 3135 (Rolex seems to imply it is), then I'd trade my Omega in for a steel datejust 41. Does anyone know how many Gauss the 3235 can endure?

[Bostonbert]

This YouTube video (https://youtu.be/elq8p8ZVCUk ) shows how a magnet can stop a watch so this is a real issue for people working in labs. After being magnetized a watch will accelerate suddenly and be off by hours. Despite the Omega PR stunt in the video, the Milgauss has enough resistance for me (you'd have to be in the MRI tube while its running to get 15000 Gauss exposure) but your typical Rolex can't even go into the lab. The problem with Omega's co-axial is its inferior accuracy and the service cost of $750 they charge. That's why I'd trade it in for a Rolex date-just 41 if I knew how much magnetism resistance it had.

https://youtu.be/elq8p8ZVCUk

[brmeyers]

Originally Posted by flyingtiger85

why did you lay down that big of a magnet next to it?

I was not me... I know better than that...LOL
My watch roll was on my kitchen table and someone coming to do magnetic therapy accidentally placed his strong magnets close to the roll while I was not looking.

Anyway everything is running fine a week later, which is a testament to modern Rolex watches being very robust in the presence of external magnetic fields.

The Parachrom hairspring used in modern Rolexes is a paramagnetic alloy that is unaffected by external magnetic fields (and very shock resistant).
The hairspring (and balance wheel) is the guardian of time in your watch because it's oscillations determine the accuracy of the watch.
So thankfully Rolex has created a hairspring to handle the modern world of electricity and magnetism.
If you work around magnetic fields, better to get a milgauss for constant exposure but this little accident showed me Rolexes can handle short term exposure to high gauss magnetic fields.

[Bostonbert]

See this (https://youtu.be/elq8p8ZVCUk) YouTube video of a test of the modern Rolex Milgauss (it has he Parachrome blue and a Faraday cage) vs the Omega 15'000. It's a shame Rolex hasn't posted a similar video of their date just 41 vs the Milgauss to show they have matched Omega. Such a video would get me to trade my Omega for a Rolex. Omega has other "master co-axial" watches with the same magnetism resistance so even if the Omega is less accurate some folks will go to them for that feature alone despite Rolex being better in every other property. I also have IWC watches with magnetism resistance (~400 Gauss in the pilot watch line). The IWC match Rolex is accuracy.

[Calatrava r]

Wow, I thought you were cleaning your watch in the washing machine. I was about to tell you I would worry more about it getting banged up pretty bad in the spin cycle.

[cht]

Originally Posted by Tatertots

Hi Everyone,

I am new to TRF but am finding the forum to be very helpful :). I was wondering if anyone wears his/her Rolex to laundry room (in apartments). I am slightly fearful that multiple washing machines and dryers in one room may generate magnetic field strong enough to damage watches. What do you guys think?

If this is a serious concern to you, just to be on the safe side, i'd wrap your head and the watch in aluminum foil everytime you did your laundry.