Horological Meandering

mycroft
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Confucious, he say ...

... "when you cannot see your feet, navel gazing is difficult!".

But seriously, Harry, whatever is said, the number of electrically operated objects that generate an electro-magnetic field has increased exponentially since the time of Breguet, or Confucious. If we are to believe that the regulating organ of a timepiece is affected by magnetism, then it will be affected, but to different degrees and frequencies over time.

The effect of magnetism varies inversely to the square of the distance from the source of magnetism. Therefore when you move a watch away to twice the distance, the effect lessens by 4 times. Much like gravity's effect on my sagging gut. This together with the fact that magnetism has 2 poles and that these may change over time as the current varies through an electro-magnet and the uncertainty of time exposure, makes for a large number of variables.

If a watch is consistently placed in a particular position in approximation to a constant unvarying source of magnetism over a fixed time, then the effects of this constant exposure will be more easily demonstrated.

Of course, over all this, one has to consider the overlay complexity of residual magnetism left on the watch components after the source of magnetism is removed, and the resistance to these effects, or indeed its source by the depolyment of various components such as the parachrome hairsprings.

So, do you see your navel, Harry? or has your visual acuity blurred to beyond the circle of confusion?

Oh, did I mention the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle ...?