Can strong ultrasonic cleaners magnetize watches?

[AlexanderB]

Hi,

my wife works at an Optician and has to clean glasses many times a day with an US cleaner. I had several occasion where her watches were magnetizes, i.e. running very fast. After demagnetizing all was fine again.

So is it possible that strong ultrasonic cleaners magnetize watches?

Thanks

Cheers Alexander

 

 

[Tiktok]

Putting a watch on anything metal that could be already magnetised could magnetise your watch or anything electrical like on top of a computer when you go to bed is the most common one. So I would say an ultrasonic tank could well be magnetising your wife's watch.

[AlexanderB]

Thank you Tiktok. So do ultrasonic cleaners emit magnetic fields?

Cheers Alexander

[Tiktok]

Not sure on the technical side of it, considering some watch cleaning machines have built in ultrasonic I would presume they don't emit a magnetic field in general but anything that is metal that is already magnetised could transfer the magnetism to whatever you put near it. I suspect the ultrasonic tank your wife is using is already magnetised. Do some glass's have a magnet built into the frame to hold the legs closed or is this always done by a spring?

I work in a watch repair workshop in a jewellers and if I ever get asked to change a battery downstairs in the shop it's a nightmare, all the tools downstairs (apart from them all being hit with a hammer at some point to take links out and are damaged to start with) are magnetised, it's a nightmare trying to put a battery connection screw back in.

Edited April 25, 2016 by Tiktok

[Geo]

51 minutes ago, Tiktok said:

I work in a watch repair workshop in a jewellers and if I ever get asked to change a battery downstairs in the shop it's a nightmare, all the tools downstairs (apart from them all being hit with a hammer at some point to take links out and are damaged to start with) are magnetised, it's a nightmare trying to put a battery connection screw back in.

Why don't you demagnetise all your tools?  

[Tiktok]

My tools don't need demagnetising in the workshop, it's a no "shop staff" allowed area. The tools I am talking about are the blunt/damaged unusable ones the shop staff use for taking out links and hitting with a hammer, I would be just wasting my time demagnetising them because the steel draws they are kept in are also used to stick magnetic name badges onto when they go home.

Talk about banging your head on against a brick wall!!!

I used to try and educate them but then realised I am fighting a loosing battle!!!

[bobm12]

If I remember correctly, some of our members demagnetize before and after the watch is given maintenance. This means that parts go demagnetized into the ultrasound and after the watch is put together (some even say they demagnetize parts separate, maybe in a basket) it is demagnetized again.

I follow the compass test. Since my demagnetizer is a cheapo one and more than once it has done the opposite, i.e. magnetize! I test always with a compass as if I were paranoid: before, after, during and at any time I remember...(err...what were we talking about?!)

Cheers,

Bob