The appearance of fog in a watch is concerning, but it is readily corrected. If you were alarmed when you noticed a few tiny droplets of fog on the inside of your watch, you're not alone. Condensation is quite prevalent in timepieces and can occur for a variety of reasons. Fortunately, there are a few quick and easy solutions for removing the fog from your watch face, which we have highlighted in this helpful tutorial.
HOW TO DEFOG A WATCH LENS
Here are a few extremely basic methods and procedures for removing fog from a watch that have been utilized by many people in a similar scenario and have not caused any damage to the watch. Try one of these procedures and your watch will be looking as good as new in no time.
Baltany Retro Luminous Sub Dive Watch
THE RICE BED
Have you ever been out on the town and dropped your phone in a puddle, a drink, or a toilet? Remember how everyone urged you to soak your phone in rice overnight? They were correct! A bed of rice can help to eliminate condensation from a watch, just as it has helped to preserve hundreds, if not thousands, of phones throughout time.
Simply remove the crown and place the watch on a bed of rice in a container overnight or somewhat longer, before inspecting the watch face in the morning to see if the moisture has been absorbed.
Top tip: Silica gel sachets are equally effective in removing moisture from a watch. Replace the rice with a couple of sachets of silica gel and repeat the process.
Baltany California Sandwich Dial Retro Watch
USE DIRECT SUNLIGHT
On warmer days, you may be able to defog your watch by allowing sunlight to evaporate the condensation. Wipe the outside of the watch to remove any extra liquid, then place it, face and crystal facing upwards, in a position where it can be warmed by sunlight. It's entirely up to you whether you do it in your garden on a dry day or on a windowsill indoors.
Top tip: If you can remove the back of the watch before drying it out in the sun, this procedure will be more efficient at removing moisture. Remove the back and place it in direct sunlight, this time with the watch face and crystal on the cloth and the back up.
Baltany Retro Bubbleback Watch
USE AN ALTERNATIVE HEAT SOURCE
On colder days or when the weather is particularly bad outside, it may be preferable to utilize an alternative heat source to evaporate condensation from a watch.
You can use the same method as with direct sunshine, but instead of leaving it on a towel outside or on a window sill, place it near a fire or under a lamp.
Many watch owners choose to defog their watches using a hairdryer because it is a quick and effective method. Place the watch on a towel and carefully remove the back. Turn on the hairdryer and sweep it over the back of the watch for 10 minutes on a low setting. Never leave the hairdryer in one location over the watch for an extended amount of time — it should always be moving.
Allow the watch to sit in a warm location overnight before checking to see if the dampness has evaporated and fitting the watch's back into place.
If you are unfamiliar with removing the back of a watch, or if you are concerned about causing harm to the watch while attempting to remove the condensation, take your watch to a specialist jeweller, who should be able to defog your watch for you.
Once the condensation in your watch has cleared, it's critical to maintain it protected to prevent it from forming again in the future. If you want to collect many wrist watches, look through the Baltany Watch line of watch collection cases.