IWC

The IWC AntiMagnetic Soft Iron-Cage

 

Sincere Watch Academy , Singapore (4 October 2007) The topic for the Sincere Horology Colloquiums was "Unearth the Dynamism of IWC, Engineered for Men".  The chapter I found to be most interesting was the antimagnetism soft-iron cage.  A sample of a cut-out Mark V was passed around.  I was so excited.  Just Splendid! 
However, I only have a phone-cam and the lighting was dim, still must give it a try to snap some shots from various angles.

1) Top (front) view of a cut-out Mark XV Casing.






2) Exploded view of the structure of the Pilot series. The soft-iron cage is represented by the parts shaded in blue, including the dial.

3) Side view of antimagnetic soft-iron cage ( the dial side is facing up). The dial is also part of the soft-iron construction.
Understand from the talk, the material is BeCu Alloy.

Using the case thickness (10.5mm) as reference, you could estimate the thickness of the cage casing.

4) Another top view, the dial is shifted to expose the case.

5) Flipped over to the bottom view, notice the dial paint is chipped at the edge of the cut-out?
It has the same base-colour as the cage. So the dial could be made from the same material BeCU alloy.
Then I wonder, would the black paint prevent the fast grounding of the magnetism as it could act as an insulator.
Careful observation, it could be using the circumference edge of the dial to maintain continuity between various parts of the cage.

6) Sectional view of the cut-out. This picture was shot with flash to illuminate the soft-iron cage (including the edges).

Typical spec to be qualified as antimagnetic is about 4,800 A/m. And IWC claimed they've ever achieved super antimagnetism
of 500,000 A/m which can withstand the strong magnetic field of a MRI. 
Current production spec per catalogue, the rating is at 40,000 A/m for the Pilot and 80,000A/m for the Ingenieur (heritage).



Kong

 

This message has been edited by Kong on 2007-10-07 07:41:35

Site Info.

Privacy Policy Cookie Policy