EMF radiation danger in quartz watches - time to switch to automatic?

Did you know that quartz battery powered wristwatches emit radiation?

Electromagnetic fields or EMF for short is something that some people are sensitive to. Usually when people talk about this, they're referring to wireless devices like wireless routers, cellphones or smartphones. Or they could be referring to wireless networks like 5G that started deployment in late 2019. What I'm talking about here is the battery powered quartz wristwatch that's been around since the late 1960s.

The problem

EMFs in most instances are harmless, but where they can cause a health hazard is when they're in close proximity to you.

A wristwatch is, obviously, directly touching you when wearing it. That's as close at it gets.

An EMF detector when its sensor is placed over a battery powered quartz wristwatch will register on the meter.

However, the type of quartz wristwatch matters because some have greater EMFs than others.

Does something physically happen?

Plain non-smartwatch quartz wristwatches that emit the most radiation are ones that physically move something to tell the time.

A quartz watch with a ticking seconds hand emits the most radiation because the movement is physically moving a hand once every second. On the EMF detector mentioned above, you will notice that the meter jumps once every second when the sensor is placed on the watch. This is directly because of the movement moving the seconds hand.

Quartz analog watches without a seconds hand still do register on the meter, but instead of once every second, you'll usually see the meter jump once every 20, 30 or 60 seconds. This is directly because of the movement moving the minute hand.

Digital quartz wristwatches emit low radiation, but may make the meter jump from the two physical things they can do. First is beeping when the watch electrically makes a sound. Second is illumination whenever the night light is used and the watch electrically produces light. On some watch night lights (particularly Indiglo from Timex or Electroluminescent from Casio), younger ears can even hear the high pitched whine that comes from the watch whenever the light is on.

Would an EMF sticker placed on the underside of the watch help?

You have most likely seen inexpensive EMF stickers on Amazon. Would one of these stickers work on a quartz wristwatch to block radiation?

I seriously doubt it. Something that thin really doesn't offer that much protection. But then again, I have not tested an EMF sticker, so maybe one would work. But again, I doubt it.

The better option to avoid 100% of any radiation a quartz movement battery powered wristwatch would make is to use...

Published 2020 Jun 9