Does the magnet in OLight flashlights influence automatic watches?

Does anyone here carry/use an OLight with magnetic tailcap together with an automatic watch?
Do they play well together?

I'm thinking about getting an S10R for EDC, but I realized that it might magnetize my watch.
The watch I'm talking about is Junkers 6650-2. No special anti-magnetic protection, as far as I know.

Thanks!

AFAIK, any magnet can hurt a watch, if the watch isn't protected from it.

Are you referring to a watch with compass functionality? IIRC, my watch manual says I have to reprogram the compass if the watch gets magnetized. I find I have to do that every couple of months anyway. Not sure if it has anything to do with my watch getting magnetized, or just the compass getting demagnetized.

I don't think I'd want to leave a magnet sitting against my watch for anymore than a few seconds. I'm not sure what would happen, but I'd rather not risk it.

If your watch doesn't have a compass, I'm not sure why getting magnetized would be a problem. If it's LCD, do magnets harm that? I didn't think so. If it is mechanical, I used to magnetize those kinds of watches all the time as a kid and it never caused a problem.

Thanks for quick responses!

WalkIntoTheLight said:

Are you referring to a watch with compass functionality? IIRC, my watch manual says I have to reprogram the compass if the watch gets magnetized. I find I have to do that every couple of months anyway. Not sure if it has anything to do with my watch getting magnetized, or just the compass getting demagnetized.

I don't think I'd want to leave a magnet sitting against my watch for anymore than a few seconds. I'm not sure what would happen, but I'd rather not risk it.

If your watch doesn't have a compass, I'm not sure why getting magnetized would be a problem. If it's LCD, do magnets harm that? I didn't think so. If it is mechanical, I used to magnetize those kinds of watches all the time as a kid and it never caused a problem.

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I'm referring to a plain automatic watch, without a compass. Magnetizing will affect the way main spring works, and the watch will not be accurate anymore.
This means it could gain/lose significant amount of time per day.

kj2 said:

AFAIK, any magnet can hurt a watch, if the watch isn't protected from it.

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Thanks; this was the answer I was afraid of though

I think that magnetic fields can harm hand wind or automatic mechanical watches especially if any of the internal components become magnetized. I am not sure how a quartz watch would be harmed by magnets.

Dingle1911 said:

I think that magnetic fields can harm hand wind or automatic mechanical watches especially if any of the internal components become magnetized. I am not sure how a quartz watch would be harmed by magnets.

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Maybe it depends on the internal construction. The wind-up spring designs I messed around with magnets never had a problem once I removed the magnet.

I stay away from any flashlight with a magnet, I don't want that near my compass.

Remove the magnet? That's what I did when I had an O-Light S20.

The way I looked at it, if the magnet came as an included accessory, but separate, there is no way I would add it in there.

ivanhoe1 said:

Does anyone here carry/use an OLight with magnetic tailcap together with an automatic watch?
Do they play well together?

I'm thinking about getting an S10R for EDC, but I realized that it might magnetize my watch.
The watch I'm talking about is Junkers 6650-2. No special anti-magnetic protection, as far as I know.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Just the many magnetic fields one encounters daily ultimately affects automatics and cause +/- fluctuations, however it's never a good idea to knowingly keep the watch in sustained close proximity to a strong MF like a powerful magnet.

Removing the magnet would help; does anyone know if it is possible with rechargeable lights as well?

Thanks!

As a bona-fide watch enthusiast, Tha answer is yes. Any manual wind or automatic wind mechanical watch (and some hybrid "electro-mechanical" watches) have a balance wheel spring assembly, which is used to control the output Force of the mainspring into usable power for the gear train.
Basically, magnets cause the balance spring coils to stick together, and make the watch run way fast.
It's not a good thing, but any competent watchmaker has a demagnetizer for a 5-second fix.

Dan, thanks for the message.

I contacted OLight and they were very helpful. They said that the magnet cannot be removed from rechargeable lights. It can be removed only from regular batons. Also, the person who replied to me said that he wears a Seiko automatic watch + carries an S10 baton without any issues.

I'll probably get one rechargeable and one regular baton just in case, and see how it goes from there. In the worst case, I'll be carrying the rechargeable one when I'm wearing a quartz watch, and manget-free one otherwise.

Hope this will be helpful for anyone who might be wondering about this.

Thanks everyone for responses!

Absolutely, always has been an issue with watches. Very well explained by DrafterDan. There is even a Gauss rating for mechanical watches that have to be used in a magnetic environment. There has been a recent trend where high-end watch companies (IWC, Omega Rolex) have introduced watches capable of operating in strong magnetic fields. These tiny magnets, used in flashlights, can be very powerful. More than capable of messing up your watch. The problem is how do you know when it is starting to run poorly a little bit at a time.

I use my light's magnet to turn my phone an or tablet on if just laying on bench. Phone cases and tablet cases are riddled with similar magnets and I've noticed people in offices stack their daily wares in piles on desks, tool boxes etc.
Phone, tablet, lights, knife and watches.
I'm mindful of them not just my cheap watch, but wallets and security fobs for my old job. Others never care.
Just being you are aware is best medicine.

WarRaven said:

I use my light's magnet to turn my phone an or tablet on if just laying on bench. Phone cases and tablet cases are riddled with similar magnets and I've noticed people in offices stack their daily wares in piles on desks, tool boxes etc.
Phone, tablet, lights, knife and watches.
I'm mindful of them not just my cheap watch, but wallets and security fobs for my old job. Others never care.
Just being you are aware is best medicine.

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Even if magnets can harm watches (which hasn't been my experience, but admittedly they were cheap watches so probably not that accurate), these tiny magnets in flashlights only have a significant magnetic field at close distances. And, as you say, there are way more powerful magnets in all kinds of household items, hard drives, motors, etc. If watches were damaged by magnets, they'd be broken all the time.

Just don't stick a magnet directly on your watch and wiggle it around, and you'll be fine.

I am more serious watch buyer than flashlight buyer and few days ago I was thinking exactly the same thing when I wanted to buy Olight S1 and Sunwayman C22C. I can see a real functionality of magnet in a flashlight but it will be a mechanical watch killer for sure. My conclusion, don't risk it unless you have Rolex Milgauss, Omega AT 1000mil or any types of anti-magnetic watches. After all, most watches are more expensive than flashlights. Better not taking my chances.

wuyeah said:

I am more serious watch buyer than flashlight buyer and few days ago I was thinking exactly the same thing when I wanted to buy Olight S1 and Sunwayman C22C. I can see a real functionality of magnet in a flashlight but it will be a mechanical watch killer for sure. My conclusion, don't risk it unless you have Rolex Milgauss, Omega AT 1000mil or any types of anti-magnetic watches. After all, most watches are more expensive than flashlights. Better not taking my chances.

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Then stay away from Earth. The Earth's magnetic field is about 1 Gauss. A flashlight magnet might be 100x that, but only in direct contact. Magnetic strength drops off as the cube root of the distance. So, if you're keeping your flashlight magnet more than about an inch away from your watch, the Earth's magnetic field is a far bigger concern. So is probably motors, electric wires, etc.

It's kind of like post Trinity though, it's accounted for these days.
Keep in mind, it's kind of.

The earths magnetic field varies from about .25 to .70 Gauss depending upon where you are on the planet. Neodymium magnets can have field strenghts as high as 14,500 Gauss. Not 100 but 10,000 times the earths magnetic field as measured above the ground. There is plenty of literature going back decades regarding the accuracy of mechanical watches and the impact of surrounding magnetic fields. It is, and always has been, an issue. There are even technical standards manufacturers follow regarding a watches resistance to magnetic influence. Just try walking around northern Canada in many places where your compass needle becomes completely inactivated by the magnetic properties of the surrounding rocks, not in direct contact, but many feet away. Yes, even planet Earth can mess us up.

The shield, forgot about how bad it is there itself.
Thanks.