The concept of anti-magnetic watches can be mystifying, their utility hard to perceive in our modern era. I imagine it can’t be too far from the confusion people felt when the development of anti-magnetic watches started in the first place. But this is simply the nature of opportunity, where some see a barrier, others seek to tear it down. In this case, it was Vacheron who accepted the challenge.
IWC Mark XI / Credit: AnalogShift
Vacheron started their experimentation with anti-magnetic materials in the mid-19th century, even joining an association for research into non-magnetic materials in the 1860s. After more than half a century, in 1915, they completed the first known anti-magnetic pocket watch using Palladium, their investment finally paying off. It took another 15 years for the first anti-magnetic wristwatch to hit the market, this time it was Tissot who led the way. At this point, there were two main methods of assembling an anti-magnetic watch: housing the movement inside a soft iron cage (Faraday) or, perhaps the more strenuous way, making the parts out of alloys like Invar, Elinvar, or Nivarox.
During WWII, militaries around the world needed watches for their pilots that would not be disrupted by the magnetism of the plane engines. As such, in the late 1940s, Jaeger and IWC partnered to manufacture watches for the British RAF, using a Faraday cage to produce the famous Mark XI. The Luftwaffe had also developed similar watches for their pilots and even the Czech Air Force supposedly had Longines make them some pieces.
After WWII, the watch world entered the Tool Watch Era, with watches like the Polerouter and the IWC Ingenieur gaining prominence. This is also when the everyday utility of anti-magnetic watches became apparent to society at large. Engineers, scientists, doctors, and railway workers all needed anti-magnetic watches, as magnetism from electronic equipment would disrupt the accuracy of their timepieces. Finally, Vacheron’s effort had paid off and was being shared around the world, although even today recognition for this feat is hardly given.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story was written in a way that was interpeted by some to imply that the IWC Mark XI was developed at the beginning of WWII instead of at the end of the 1940s. It has since been modified to be more clear.