I’ve magnetized a few watches, which is a pain: the watch will start running fast, which takes a while to notice, and it’s tricky to be sure that magnetism is the cause. I’ve read that you can hold your watch near a compass and if the compass deflects then that’s evidence of induced magnetism and you can then DIY with a demagnetizer coil.
If that reminds you of hand-cranking a car to start the engine, then yeah.
All of which kind of violates the first implicit contract between a watch and its owner: Keep time.
Quartz is much less susceptible, and of course a better keeper of time, so while I wait for the new 9F watches from Seiko, I’ve done some reading.
This is the Casio Oceanus OCW-S100F, in it’s -2AJF flavor. Solar powered, radio set, titanium case with titanium carbide surface finish, available in a few different color ways, most notably IMHO black vs plain metal bezel. From a design perspective, its the least-obtrusive world timer/perpetual calendar I’ve seen, and garners universal praise as a travel watch that won’t get you mugged.
I like the metal bezel version, myself (OCW-S100-1AJF). A tiny bit of blued metal detailing on the hands, and notably Casio got Seiko to do the casework using their Zaratsu (tin wheel) polishing, so by all accounts its superbly made and finished.
It’s even got decent lume:
Anyway, if you’re in the market for a watch, worth a look. It’s extraordinary enough to have a 9-page thread on WUS, a glowing review on usually-snobby TimeZone and a rave on WatchTalkForum.
These are JDM, so a bit of a pain to buy:
- Seiya has them for $558. I’ve bought from him more than once, great guy.
- Rakuten has them for $473, haven’t bought there but many have.
ultracrepidarian 